Should I Go Custom?
Is it really worth it?
Anyone who has read much of what I’ve written knows I have a special place in my heart for custom chastity cages, especially the expensive kind. But that’s just my thing. So let’s talk about custom cages, what their benefits are, and if they are really worth the expense. And for fun, I’ll sprinkle this article with a few of the designs I personally find appealing (or ridiculous).
If you don’t already have some experience with chastity, give this a read first:
How much are they really anyway?
I was just messaging with someone today who was debating between Mature Metal and Steelwerks Extreme and wanted my opinion. As that seemed like a strange pair of artisans to be torn between, I replied, “You realize Steelwerks Extreme devices start at something like $3,000, right?”
He’s getting a Mature Metal cage.
If we’re only considering ball trap devices (vs shaft-only devices), custom cages start at just under $200 and they can go into the thousands or even over ten thousand. Yes, $10,000. In the sub $300 range, you will only see 3D printed cages. I know of two artisans making custom cages in that range, RoosterCage and Blackout Devices
It’s also worth mentioning Cherry Keeper here as she has so many cages and rings available, you can practically get a custom fit. A cage and ring from Cherry Keeper will run you a bit less than $100 after US shipping.
In the $300 - $400 range, you start getting into custom steel as well as Evotion nylon. Names like Mature Metal, Steelworxx, Red Chili and Badass Workroom start appearing1. In the $500 range, you’re getting into titanium and higher-end (or at least higher cost) steel cages.
In the $1,000 – $4,000 range, you’re looking at entry level Steelwerks Extreme devices, Evotion steel and titanium, and Badass Workroom Premium (a service for making something 100% your design – something I’ll write more in a future post).
Above $4,000 is solely the domain of Steelwerks Extreme.
How are these cages made?
For anything plastic, 3D printing is the only method. You can’t injection mold a custom cage after all. I won’t go into all of the various 3D printing techniques but there are differences in the texture and porosity of the various methods. Vapor-smoothed nylon is the most popular choice of custom cage artisans.
For metal, you see three techniques used, sometimes in combination. The classic is traditional metalworking techniques: cutting, grinding, bending, and welding. And finishing that sentence exhausted the extent of my knowledge on metalwork. This is the domain of Mature Metal and other similar artisans. If it’s made of bars and rings, that’s likely how it was made.
There’s also 3D printing for steel and titanium cages. Evotion’s cages are made this way as well as some parts of some of the cages made by Badass Workroom. There are some other artisans that are 3D printing metal cages. DMLS is the most popular technique. These small business aren’t doing it themselves as such devices cost a huge amount of money.
Finally, there’s CNC techniques where a steel or titanium ingot is cut into a cage. I know of only one artisan who uses such: Steelwerks Extreme.
Are they worth it?
Let’s assume you have an anatomy that works quite well with an inexpensive off-the-shelf cage. Maybe it’s an Olympus Hera, a Cherry Keeper, or a Kink3D Cobra. Or maybe it’s an inexpensive steel cage from any number of Chinese manufacturers. Will a custom cage be that much better? No. A $350 Mature Metal Jail Bird made from 316L stainless steel is not quantitatively 10 times better than a $30 Ternence 304 stainless steel cage. You will find it a better cage. It won’t have the play in it thanks to the security screw. It will be made of better materials. But in no way can I claim it’s a better value in and of itself.
But for many of us, there’s more to it than just fit.
Custom carries a certain cachet. Everyone and their mother has a Cobra, knockoff or the real thing. Few have something exotic like a SteelWorxx Steelheart or a Red Chili Ibicella. And if we’re honest with ourselves, the value we place in something is often tied to what we paid for it. If you doubt me, explain Prada, YSL, or Louboutin (I might have a shoe fetish). So, looking down at a $500 custom cage, a cage made just for you, may give you a different experience than looking down at a mass produced Chinese cage.
But what about fit?
Fit is the default reason (or excuse) for going custom. Very few people wouldn’t be able to find a Kink3D or a Cherry Keeper that will fit them well enough for forget-you’re-wearing-it comfort. But maybe you want steel or titanium or maybe don’t care for the three styles of cages Cherry Keeper and Kink3D offer. Well, custom becomes far more justifiable, even if only ostensibly so. That’s what moved me to custom (or so I claimed). I was comfortable in Cherry Keeper but I wanted steel (I wanted Mature Metal). At 38 mm girth, there is nothing out there. So, off to Mature Metal I go and then I unlocked (satisfied) my true kink – owning expensive custom cages of which I have quite a few and more on the horizon.
This gives me a chance to segue into another rationale for custom: consultation. If you’ve read much of my writing, you know what high regard I have for Mature Metal in this area. They are the ones who taught me how a cage was supposed to fit. They taught me about the ball gap, a lesson I have tried to pass on.
So, despite Cherry Keeper and Kink3D having such broad offerings, custom is still king especially as it broadens the style of cage available.
Piercings and tetherspouts, oh my…
You see quite a few number of Chinese cages out there with PA support. I doubt an off-the-shelf PA cage would be very comfortable as people have different PA set-backs (I’m by no means an expert). But there are other piercings out there, numerous other piercings. And what about my personal method of choice – tetherspouts?
None of these extra security measures are well served by the off-the-shelf market and custom is really the way to go here. Despite me not being a huge fan2, Evotion is king for any security solutions beyond PAs: frenum, apadravya, ampallang, and tetherspouts.
Customization
I don’t mean cusrom fit, I mean cusrom design. Most artisans are willing and able to do some changes to their designs. Some artisans will do pretty much anything you ask for including making a unique design that has never been seen before. Most of the time, it will cost a bit more or maybe a lot more.
But going from a cage that was fit just for you to a cage that was designed just for you, well, to me that has a certain value.
I have been working with Guan on a couple of cages as part of his BAWR Premium service, a more open design and a design intended when I or Jenn is out of town. They will be completely unique and so when someone asks me what kind of cage I have, I’ll be able to tell them it’s La Retinue Exquisite - the name I’ve decided to give them (to my French readers, apologies for the horrible translation but it sounds good to my boorish American ears).
Will I get my $2,000’s worth from the titanium cages Guan is making for me? Not in everyone’s eyes. Maybe not even in most people’s eyes. Maybe only in my eyes. I hope in at least my eyes (realistically, Jenn won't care).
And that brings me to something that deserves its own article. Making your own. For around the price of a custom cage, you can get yourself a 3D printer and with some time spent learning CAD tools like Fusion or OnShape, you can actually make your own cage. You want it in steel or titanium? Once you have it all worked out in plastic, there are plenty of companies that you upload your design to and in a few weeks, you’ll have your unique designed-it-yourself titanium cage for a reasonable price. Happy with plastic, I highly recommend getting a printer capable of printing in ABS / ASA so you can vapor smooth it yourself. How much does printing an individual cage cost? Less than $1 (printer not included).
So, is it worth it?
Maybe. Can’t find your perfect fit in the style of cage you want? Does price alone give some amount of value? Do you take pleasure in knowing it was made just for you? How about if it was designed just for you?
Sadly, I would imagine custom is well out of the reach for many people out there. But for those with the means, well, I personally have found it seriously adds to my enjoyment of chastity.
And I'll let everyone know if my Retinue Exquisite lives up to its name. And you can let me know if I paid too much for it (hint: I did).
For a fairly complete list of cage artisans, custom and otherwise, see r/chastitytraining's list.
Evotion has an email-only policy. I found that out just as I was ready to pull the trigger on a titanium Bijou.
Maybe one I’ll get a custom right now it’s not in my budget and since I’m the only one who will see it it’s not a big deal. Great article!
Excellent article as always. Shoutout to Google for all the words I didn’t know :)