Naturally Haberman starts out by saying: "Let's make one thing clear: cock and ball play is not about real torture... It is delightful torture and intense sexual play at the same time. The point of cock and ball play for me is not to simply inflict pain, but to take my play partner to a peak experience" (18).
One of the techniques he describes, sheathing the cock, actually makes sensations around the cock shaft duller, which adds to the tease while forcing the cock head to become the focus of attention -- very sensitive attention. Haberman also points out that bondage techniques meant to stretch the ball sac by pulling the balls away from the body actually create a pleasurable if not unusual sensation. A lot of what is called "torture" simply turns out to be extreme, unfamiliar sensation. Put it in "context," say the excitement of D/s or of arousal, CBT works to make sex play hotter and hard-ons harder. But of course, CBT has a versatile set of applications for players into D/s or S/M, and Haberman covers most of them in his book. Unfortunately, Haberman remains rather sketchy when covering more advanced techniques, (like electro play and play piercings). He does this deliberately, urging the CBT novice to seek out experienced players who can walk them through these advanced techniques.
The book starts with an anatomy lesson that is actually useful from a CBT point of view since it points out the parts that can be bent and folded, and the parts you can mutilate if you're not careful. And you learn that most "torture" (like clamps and clothespins) is applied to the loose skin that encases the cock and balls, not the delicate testicles or corpus cavernosum of the penis. And of course all this runs into the next chapter, the obligatory safety thing. People trying this for the first time, by all means, the safety chapter is a must. Also, anyone wanting to try this but who gets serious chills just thinking about it, well Haberman's considerable safety awareness is comforting -- he knows how to keep the jewels safe and sound and convinces you that it's pretty simple.
But put this chapter next to the chapter on toys and you can get dead bored. "The Toy Box" is the chapter in which Haberman runs through all the toys and equipment, how it works and how to apply it. There is a big payoff in the final chapter, which entails scenario after clever scenario, yet a less tenacious reader is never going to make it to the payoff chapter, "Soup to Nuts." Not only that, but many of the things in "The Toy Box" are repeated in "Soup to Nuts," which is set up so that each scenario is preceded by a "tools and techniques" section. What you might want to do in reading this book is skip over the "Toy" chapter, go straight for the "Nuts," but then refer back to the toy chapter (which has great pictures you can use to easily locate the toy you want to read about).
As I said, the "Soup to Nuts" chapter is fun because Haberman puts you in the scene as the top man. "Once his legs are quivering and reddened from slapping, you gently stroke his cock and balls, just letting him become used to your touch. Finally you grab his scrotum. Right at the base of his cock..." (Sorry to leave you in the lurch on that one, but there's a lot of moaning and groaning to come; and come too). The actual scenario's (he calls them "Context") include a cock flogging session at a public play party (which ends in the harrowing gravity defying scrotum weight lifting demonstration), an abduction/interrogation scene (that Haberman pulled off with a lot of planning and several friends) involving a warehouse and cock torture with a Violet Wand (an electro stim device -- read all about it). And the coup de grace is a butterfly piercing scene in which the bottom's cock and balls are pinned with surgical needles through the skin (like a dead butterfly in a collection) to a home-made, one-time-use board. Oh, the agony, the ecstasy.
This primer has a few more great tips in it than some other beginner type books, probably because Haberman is such a joyous jewel connoisseur and CBT practitioner himself. And the illustrations help: in the bungee whipping to the penis, the implement is rendered by illustration as a small flail made of stringy little rubber band-like strands. In one set of illustrative panels, instructions for a good cock and ball bondage were so detailed even I could follow the sequence to implementation. Haberman discusses bamboo cooking skewers: "They are the miniature equivalent of a cane, and when used with force can raise welts, but they also work nicely as sensation playthings for poking, stroking and tickling" (96). And he offers other little add-ins to improve the torture -- like putting anything steel or metal in ice water before applying it to the skin. There's tweezers, for pulling out ball hairs one by one, and the Wartenburg wheels (spiky medical counterparts of the sewing pattern wheel), and speaking of spikes, Haberman reminds us that donning a cock sheath with spikes on the inside can get an unruly hard-on to stand down. Finally, his "Pervertables" section under toys includes all the little household items that can be converted by perverts to make very useful toys, like mini spatulas, mushroom brushes and pulleys.
The book will certainly enlighten the would-be torturor, give some new nefarious ideas to the skilled torturer. Even if you're someone whose interest in CBT activity is strictly voyeuristic, Family Jewels is sure to get a rise out you.
You can order it from www.greenerypress.com
