For those into sensory play, steel claws make for a great and option and HammerFell Armoury makes a top-tier offering.
If enjoy the feeling of fingernail scratching and want to step it up a notch, steel based claws can be a lot of sensory play fun. The concept is similar to knife play, where commonly people use the tips of knives for sensory play, however claws are a nice option to narrow down the intent to avoid accidental cutting and also being able to control several sharp points at once.
I've had this HammerFell Armoury stainless steel set for quite some time and feel a bit silly I just now got around to making an article since I think they are a great sensory play option more people should know about. As inferred by the HammerFell Armoury name, each claw is literally forged by hand. Typically they are sold per claw and offered in 6 sizes to let people really dial in the desired fit; ranging from X-Small fits 1 3/8" – 1 5/8" circumference fingers all the way to 2X fits 2 5/8" – 2 7/8" circumference fingers.
Sizing also comes into play on deciding how one would like to wear the claws. For example some may want the claws bases to sit more at their finger tips to give a lot of extension, or have the claws sit further down on the finger so the claw tips sit closer to the actual finger tips.
The 2 piece construction works out well were the finger band is an appropriate thickness to hold position, yet with enough force can adjust the fit a little if needed. The main nail piece then sits on top of the band making an appealing look and come with a nice default sharpness. Not so sharp that using lightly causes marks and bleeding, but no so dull it just feels like a ballpoint pen. With this "reasonable" sharpness I find it nice to be able to do easy sensory play, however can easily add intensity by adding more pressure.
Offhand my set came with a simple pouch, although handy and has been "good enough" if I was more worried about keeping a perfect polish and preventing light scratches it would be better to have a pouch that kept each claw separate. Since made of solid stainless steel construction, I should still be able to polish these up like new if I ever get inspired.
As a bonus idea for those with violet wand setups, steel claws like these make for a great option to use with body contact cables. For those not familiar, this essentially lets the wearer have the violet wand current travel through their body and thus through the claws to react to touching another person. The result can be a lot of fun where it makes the shock contact much more direct compared to the default shocking with a "wand".
Unfortunately it appears HammerFell Armoury is not currently taking orders with their website down so this article is a bit of a late unintended tease. That said, these claws are a great example of the concept as a BDSM "tool" idea and since executed so well, they set the bar in desired features to look for in any claws.
