fchan

>>1
Silicone is a non-porous material and can be boiled to disinfect it. Pyrex is also non-porous(meaning bacteria doesn't get into pores on the surface).

I have no experience in making them so I can't say how easy those two materials are to deal with...they are the safest though if you plan on using them.

>>3
I'm just here because I thought it might be a common interest. If the thread dies the thread dies, no big.

>>2
I've read this before and it made me curious; does this mean you're just supposed to always use a condom with jelly dildos or the like?

Advantage of glass/pyrex:  You can chill it or heat it up (don't do both at the same time, as you could shatter it) and increase the thrill.  And because glass is usually smooth, it's a lot easier to play with, especially solo, than latex or rubber.  And it's dishwasher safe (if you aren't living with your parents...

There is already a company making these.

>>9  That's kind of... scary to think about :)

I really have come to love silicone.  It seems to have the best properties of both rubber/jelly and Pyrex/glass.  It has no latex, so it is not an allergy concern. It is easy to clean, you can boil them or stick them in a dishwasher (only be careful with soap).  Like glass it holds heat and cold fairly well (though not as long as glass does).  It usually is fairly firm, yet still pliable (one of the downsides to glass is it's rigidity).  Silicone products usually sit between rubber and glass in terms of cost.

As for making your own, I have no experience, but I think you can get silicone that can be placed in a mold and cured.  While I doubt you'd get something of commercial quality, you might be surprised.  The nice thing is that silicone is pretty easy to handle and most varieties are completely safe once cured.  Regardless of what you do though, I would suggest using some kind of protection with any home-made products.

You'd probably want to look at something like this: http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Materials:GE_Silicone_II  You might also just stop by a hobby shop or Home Depot and tell them you want some silicone you can mold.

I think it's a cool idea and hope you share results if you try it :)

Do you think it is possible to make a mold of an actual animal erection? Like a horse or a goat etc, how would it even work? Do those realistic animal ones go from molds or like an anatomy drawing or what?

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/04/07/210205

"We know that people are going to use the printer to try to make weapons [and] sex toys and drug paraphernalia," he says. "This is obviously not what we're hoping they are going to build. We are hoping they are going to build more and better RepRaps."

>>12

Yep, it's possible - I've done a few test casts, and it's workable (for males at least), if a bit of a pain. It's something I plan on doing more of later on when I have additional time and money to invest in getting the process just right. Females is going to take some artistic license (it's really hard to get a uniform shape that doesn't look like a turd), but I'll figure it out eventually. I have a few ideas.

Those 'realistic' ones are normally done from drawings: if you actually look for pictures online, you'll notice that (for example) Thor isn't actually all that anatomically correct. I know a little company that's actually done a pretty good job of the really hard task of getting an accurate horse casting, by the name of BB5K. I own the Percheron; it is excellent. Watch out for the gnome, he bites!


>>13

We've got one (well, not strictly a 3d printer - a 4-axis mill, so we can 'print' metals and other materials too). It takes a bit of getting used to, but the possibilites when you're using 3D are endless. Live casts might be easier by using a laser scanning device and a 3d printer - and more detailed. But yeah - you can make anything with one. It's going to make doing complex things such as prehensile cocks (Yes, this is being worked on) a whole ton easier.


>>15
*blushes* Thanks for the praise ^^ It's seeing people happy and enjoying the toys at the end of the day that makes it worthwhile :P

I've done a whole bunch of different designs - and more are on the way... Counting toys on my design shelf, I have 9 designs (not counting ridgeback/tailcock) at various stages of development. If you're curious, I tend to post up work-in-progress pictures on my Picasa gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/varka3/ - if you camp out there you'll see all the new developments. Alternatively, ask in the forums, I'll be happy to share!

regarding zeta's: I'm not saying that zeta-quality toys (or indeed Zeta toys specifically) explicitly /aren't fit/ for direct human genital contact, I'm saying that we /do not know/ if they are or not: no MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) has ever been posted or provided despite repeated inquiries, and working on the basis of what's commonly available in the 'gel' and 'PVC' material world, there are a large number of either dubious or known harmful chemicals involved in their ingredients which /may/ be present in their ingredients.Phthalates are the substance most regularly brought up as potentially hazardous, and the kind most regularly used in 'gel' sex toys - indeed, this wikipedia page can give you quite a bit of background information into the topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalate

There has already been a large amount of to-ing and fro-ing in the regular adult industry about the relative safety of these materials, and retailers/manufacturers - as a result of consumer pressure regarding the safety of those materials - are beginning to move away from them due to the unknown factors and /potential/ for harm (not the /proof/ of harm!). Don't get me wrong, there is no evil conspiracy here: it's simply differing efforts taken in terms of duty of care to address the health concerns of the public. In many cases, the prohibitive cost of moving to 'safer' materials is what keeps those cheaper, less 'known safe' materials in use and in production. Zetacreations have done a fantastic job in keeping us in supply of animal cocks for many years now - without them, none of us would have /any/ toys that reflect our innermost desires and fantasies. We all have to give them credit where credit's due: they've done something nobody else has, and all I can do is thank them for doing it at a price point even us furries can afford! :D

Thanks for your questions - I hope I'm not overwhelming you all with information, I just tend to get a bit carried away. :P Also, I'm not dissing on Zeta, no way: They've been nothing but fantastic, considering the marketplace!

Anyway... Get involved on the forums - it's a lot of fun, and it's really great when people get in-depth about what kind of thing they'd like to see. Interesting and excited people make interesting and exciting designs, which in turn means they're interesting and exciting to make :P

See 'yall tomorrow,

Varka

>>17

Nah, that's my fault. not added proper images yet (the version 2.0 no longer has spines - which tickle - but has proper ridges instead).

Sit tight - I'll get the images up once I've finished taking photos!

It feels really, really good - the 'curled finger' shape of the head makes it rub directly up against the prostate, which feels really great. The ridges make it interesting, and are less distracting than the spines which it used to have.

Stay tuned for better pics!

Varka