Seattle, WA -- As you may have guessed, rigging gives me a hard-on. Whether used to reel them in, tie them down or string them up, I love rope. And my favorite type of rope is hemp. I've used many different types in the past but a few years ago I started using hemp and never went back.

There is a natural beauty and organic quality to hemp. The look of the twisted cord, the feel of the fibers, the taste of it when used as a gag, even the sound it makes as it hits the floor or is pulled tight against itself gives me focus and connects me to my nawa juujun as I use it to bind them. My rope flows like chi, a part of me, in a way that leather restraints or steel chains will never match. The rope runs through my hands, over their body and becomes part of the scene, as unique as each individual and situation.

Chances are if you see me out at the bar, you'll find a couple of coils attached to a carabineer on my belt. I use the rope to attract like-minded spirits like Fivestar, the videographer I met during the GayVN after-after party at Mr Pam's Playhouse who filmed and posted the video blog on the right, and to seduce boys like Brandon who I met at the San Francisco Eagle several weeks ago (pictured above).

And, if I could take only one thing to a play party, it would have to be my rope bag. I can take a novice player, new to the scene, like Steven (pictured below) and introduce him to bondage and submission while exploring his body and state of mind by connecting with him through the rope. Or, I can use the rope to structure more elaborate scenes that include all manner of nasty things.

All of this brings me to my Buff Enough, Recommendation of the Week: TwistedMonk.com. Twisted Monk is a local, Seattle artesian and nawashi who provides high quality, conditioned hemp at a reasonable price. As anyone who has conditioned his or her own hemp can attest, it is a long and labor-intensive process. Having a resource for superior, pre-conditioned hemp rope is a value to anyone with a busy schedule or lacking the facilities to condition their own.

For those of us that play with male subs, my recommendation is going to go a little future with suggestions for a couple of different, custom kits. In my experience I've discovered that the common lengths and diameters used in Shibari (generally 6 mm lengths of 30 and 10 feet) are often insufficient when applied to the larger, more muscular men with whom I play, so these suggested kits incorporate two important variants. First, I have found that 8 mm diameter lines provide better surface area coverage to compensate for the additional weight of these bottoms. Second, I utilize longer lines to ensure there is enough rope to complete basic ties when working with the girth of these men.

Most of the rigging you have seen here in these posts or in my play across the country can be completed using the following kit; we'll call it the Tony Buff Men's Kit:

• 1 - 50 foot length of TwistedMonk 8 mm Natural Hemp;
• 4 - 36 foot lengths of TwistedMonk 8 mm Natural Hemp;
• 6 - 18 foot lengths of TwistedMonk 8 mm Natural Hemp; and,
• 1 - Aircraft Aluminum Suspension Ring.

For those of you who are just curious about Shibari or are not quite ready for an investment of several hundred dollars, I suggest the Tony Buff Men's Starter Kit. This will put enough rope in your bag to structure scenes and build your enthusiasm.

• 2 - 36 foot lengths of TwistedMonk 8 mm Natural Hemp; and,
• 4 - 18 foot lengths of TwistedMonk 8 mm Natural Hemp.

Remember, these are custom kits, so you'll have to special order these lengths by following the link for custom orders on the products page of TwistedMonk.com.

Happy rigging.