Curious About a Paddle with Holes.

Here is an excerpt from a story (not by me):

"The Franks' family paddle - which was used quite often on the families' three teen-aged daughters - was a sturdy piece of heavily varnished hickory measuring three-eights of an inch thick, with a total length of twelve inches, in which the business end was an eight inch long oval having a maximum width of four inches. And most dangerous, were the twelve wickedly painful quarter-inch holes, which were spaced in three rows of four along the length of the oval."

I suspect that the holes will only make a difference if the paddle is applied to the bare.

I am sure that there is an optimum diameter for the holes (from the top's POV) If it's too large there's insufficient edge, and also it weakens the structure (I made one with too much hole and it broke). If too small then the bottom-skin won't be able to move far enough into the hole to create painful stretching.

The shape of the holes would, presumably, also make a difference - bevelled edges (seen on some paddles as a safety feature to avoid breaking the skin) would ameliorate the stretching effect, while holes with a long perimeter in relation to their size (star-shaped, for example) would exacerbate it.

Given a supply of paddles, woodworking tools, and, of course, shapely female test subjects, I would be prepared to research the subject in much more detail...!