All About BDSM Knife Play in the Bedroom

Knife play is a type of BDSM activity where the dominant uses a knife or other sharp edge object to instill fear, submission, and sometimes pain, into a willing and consenting submissive.  While it might seem strange to some, being at the mercy of a sexual partner to apply intense pain, injury, or possibly death, can provide an array of sexual emotions leading to intense orgasms and an overall positive sexual experience.

Knife play is considered a type of edge play within the BDSM umbrella.  Edge play involves a dominant pushing a submissive to their limits pertaining to pain or risk.  The submissive consents to handing over complete control over to the dominant, who now has the responsibility of dishing out certain types of pain that results in sexual excitement, without going too far and causing serious long-term injury or worse to the submissive.

Negotiate Your Knife Play Prior to Starting

The use of the knife can be used in a variety of ways depending on how far a couple is willing to play with the danger.  As is true with all BDSM activities involving pain or the potential of pain, a detailed discussion should occur prior to entering the fantasy scene.  Setting aside a solid five minutes to lay out how far the submissive is willing to be taken, as well as how far the dominant is willing to go, will avoid any confusion that could lead to unintended harm during the scene.

Obviously, the partner playing the role as the submissive needs to outline to what level of pain they are willing to experience.  The starting point can be literally zero pain.  In this sense, they are agreeing to allow the dominant – the person with the knife – to attempt to threaten them with a knife and force them into submission with the fear of being cut or stabbed.  However, in reality, they are not consenting to any true physical harm.  For many just the presence of a sharp knife in the bedroom is enough to cause a heightened sense of arousal.

For the more pain obsessed, the submissive can consent to everything between being lightly scratched up by a knife to more serious cuts, though extreme safety caution should be taken if the latter route is taken.  The pain of the knife followed by sweet aftercare attention can be a form of power exchange that can lead to intense love making.

It is important that the Dom of the knife play also expresses their limitations.  The Sub might want to explore being lightly cut, but if the Dom is unwilling to impose that level of harm onto their lover than they should not be pressured into going past their limits.  Just because of submissive is willing to take the pain doesn’t mean that their dominant partner is willing to apply that pain. 

In addition, if the time isn’t taken to discuss limits before the scene starts, you and your partner will have to constantly stop during the scene to discuss whether or not you are willing to go here or there.  In order to really enjoy a BDSM scene involving knife play you need to separate yourself from reality and fully engage in the play time.  Constantly having to stop, or get out of character, will take away from the emotional excitement that knife play can impose on a couple.

Role-Playing with Knife Play

Intertwining role-play as stereotypical characters, or characters from movies, with knife play can add another layer of fun to the BDSM bedroom scene.  This is actually often preferred and sometimes necessary for a couple wanting to explore knife play.  The couple might not feel comfortable threating each other with knives, but role-playing as fictionalized versions of themselves is something that might want to be explored.  After all, this is what role-play is all about; portraying a version of yourself that is far removed from reality in order to build level of sexual excitement that is beyond what you and your partner are accustomed. 

One role-play idea to play out a knife play scene is a home intruder who breaks in and threatens an unsuspecting victim.  This can further lead to a rape role-play as the victim is forced to engage in sexual activity with the threat of a knife at their throat.  As a couple you can also play with hostage and prisoner play themes where the submissive is captured and forced to give up information and do whatever the dominant demands as they hold the knife up to them and potential to inflict great harm and pain.

Knife Play Movie Scene Reenactment

Another form of role-play involving knife play can involve reenacting a movie scene where a knife to inflict the threat of danger is used.  The original scene from the movie doesn’t have to involve an undertone of sexual domination.  You and your partner can use your imagination to create a new outcome where sex is involved.

One such scene is from the movie and book “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.  In the movie, one of the main characters is a petite young woman who is a computer programmer by the name of Lisbeth Salander.  Due to Lisbeth’s prior cross with petty crimes, she is forced to see periodically check in with a government social worker to make sure that she is staying out of trouble.  The government worker, a fat and slobbish man, abuses his power over the young woman and forces her to give him oral sex in exchange for a good report, otherwise he will dish out a negative report that can have numerous negative implications on Lisbeth’s life.

In response, Lisbeth comes up with a scheme to turn the tables on the social worker.  When he least expects it, she electrifies him which leads him to go unconscious.  While unconscious, Lisbeth securely ties up the large man.  When he awakens, he is captured and completely under her control as she has a knife to his throat.

This can be a great scene to reenact for a couple wishing to combine the themes of reversal of power and knife play.  A small woman goes from being in the submissive position - having to pleasure the large man because of the power he obtains through his government job – to the dominant position having reversed the power and now being in complete control.  In the story she tattoos and brands him a rapist.  In the role-play scene the woman can threaten to brand the man a rapist with the knife, making him submit to whatever demands she desires.

Knife Play Games

A competitive couple can intertwine knife play into their bedroom activities in order to raise excitement and arousal levels.  The danger of a sharp-edged object will increase alertness, which leads to enhanced levels of sexual arousal.  This in turn will release endorphins and create a sense of well-being when the game and foreplay has been completed. 

Engage in a playful “knife fight” with your lover.  Instead of using actual knives, you both can be armed with a red marker that represents a knife.  Wear cheap clothing that you don’t mind getting marked up.  Start off kneeling on the bed.  The object of the game is to mark your opponent.  Every time one of you receives a mark of at least two inches from your opponent, remove a piece of clothing. 

Other games can involve the submissive being handcuffed or tied up with the dominant using a knife to get the submissive to spill important information.  That important information might be to confess which friend of the dominant the submissive would want one night with alone in a bedroom.  The submissive will try everything in their power to disclosing this uncomfortable information while the dominant will use the knife to get the confession.  The confession might happen to stop the knife from getting closer to an uncomfortable body part, but admitting the confession might be just as scary as keeping it in.