A Question about Tawses - Help me with my story!

I hadn't heard of warming the tawse, but I have heard of wetting it - the idea apparently is that damp leather will stick slightly to the target's skin, thus transmitting more of the force of the blow that would otherwise be lost in rebounding from the surface. As for the two versus three, the idea behind splitting the strap into fingers is that the greatest pain occurs at the point where the skin is most sharply deformed on impact - the edge of the strap. Splitting the strap means more edges, so greater effect. A three-tailed tawse would have greater impact than a two-tailed model, provided each finger was the same weight, and the total surface area the same. The same idea applies to drilled versus plain paddles. That's the theory, but of course we need volunteers subjects to test it!

I've got several tawses, but one of the most effective is a three-fingered model with double stitching along all the fingers. And what's interesting is that one side is relatively mild, while the other produces very satisfying yelps and squirmings from any young lady receiving the benefit of it. It seems to be entirely the result of the stitching: on one side the stitches lie flat, while on the other (the yelp-and-squirm side) they're slightly raised. I have fun turning the tawse over mid-stroke, so that the change comes as an unexpected surprise....

That goes along with my explanation of wide vs. narrow. The raised narrow stitches hit first so all the energy is imparted into a narrow area. The stitches actually sink deeper into the flesh hurting more.

Wetting the tawse is probably a similar effect as wetting the bottom before a spanking.