Bought 3 paddles on eBay

The postman delivered a package today containing 3 paddles that were for sale as a lot on eBay. I wanted a Fli-Back paddle of the vintage kind. I bought a modern one some 15 years ago, but had read that the vintage ones, like my second grade teacher and my sixth grade teacher had, were more substantial. This lot contained a Fli-Back paddle, made in High Point.North Carolina. There is a notice on the paddle that says "recommended for children 3 yrs & older." I can't imagine a child 3 years old having the coordination to hit the ball that used to be attached to the paddle. Makes you wonder if the Fli-Back company knew that a lot of these would be used for spanking. The respective balls once attached to the 3 paddles I bought have long since been detached.
There is also a Mighty Mouse paddle, with a picture on Mighty Mouse using a paddle to hit a ball on it. It is slightly damaged, but looks like it could sill be used to deliver a spanking. It is made by the Laraml Corp, in Philadelphia, Pa. This is probably the newest on the 3 paddles, as it has a zip code after the city and state.
Last is a Bo-Lo junior, made by the Bo-Lo company in Atlanta, GA. The Bo-lo ad Mighty Mouse paddles are almost identical in length, width, 'nd thickness, roughly 9 3/4' by 4 1/4" by 3/16". The Fli-Back paddle is only sligtly bigger, roughly 10" by 4 3/8" by 1/4'. The Mighty Mouse and Fli-Back paddles weigh about 2 ounces each, while the Bo-Lo Jr weights about 2 1/2 ounces. I'm far from being an expert about wood, but the Fli-Back and Mighty Mouse paddles appear to be made of pressed wood, while the Bo-Lo paddle does not. All 3 are considerably thicker and heavier that the modern one.

I made my own paddle, which cost me nothing and was thrilling to do as I felt the scary anticipation of the painful paddlings to come whilst making it.

I actually think there is an ideal paddle size which is a 3" x 13" blade which is 3/8" thick. The handle should be long and have a flat backstop of a good size at the end to support the wrist on impact.
I think 3" is a good width because that covers the sit spots well, and a 13" blade sit nicely on both cheeks without falling short or having unnecessary length.

There should be 1/2" holes drilled down the blade and a wrist cord on the end backstop for grip and for hanging up in the closet.

Ideally it should be solid wood of good quality and anything over 3/8" thick becomes too thumpy and less too slappy. 3/8" give a good sounding and very painful whack like a pistol shot.

Brosse6
Some interesting comments, never thought of France as a place where there'd be interest in paddles, the martinet first thing comes to mind when topic of French cp comes up.
You'll surely get some intense feedback with your comment about how much better spanking scenes with the paddle are as opposed to the cane! Many cane aficionados here. Personally, being American, tend to agree with you. Will read English cp stories but can not say they are on the top of my list of favorites.
Anyhow, with all the nude beaches and near-nothing swimwear in France, should be fertlle ground for paddling scenarios!

Redskinluver

I am not actually French but just live here. You can occasionally still see martinets for sale in France at markets, but for me it is not a weapon of choice.

Interestingly Les Fessées are very popular in France as the internet attests.

Update: No more Mighty Mouse! I tried out all 3 paddles, using self spanking. the Mighty Mouse one, just a few minutes ago. It broke on my butt on the third lick. Oh well, it was described on eBay as damaged. Those three licks did leave a nice sting. Of the other two, the thicker Fli-Back paddle had more sting, and the heavier Bo-LO paddle had a longer lasting pain.

I have seen the classic Jokari paddles in some toy shops. These have the same shape as the fly back but are a bit larger and thicker. One can also visit the hardwood section of a Home Depot or Lowes and find some nice potential paddle material here. Actually pieces of perfect dimensions already cut, just need to sand and finish the sides which are a little rough. They would be straight sided, no handle but don't need a handle. The pieces are somewhere between 2 - 3 inches wide. For our European friends that's 50.8 - 76.2 mm wide.

I bought three Jokari paddles for £10 on eBay a while back - used, but in very good condition. They do make wonderful spanking implements.

I have made quite a few implements, one of which was a paddle which looked a bit like a small Canadian canoe paddle, I think it was in Iroko which looked very nice and worked well in self-administered - that's why it needed to be a bit longer than usual.
However, when I decided to spoil it by drilling holes as described by Brosse6 it was killed in action. I think that Iroko, whilst being nice and dense has too coarse a grain structure to support large holes. Boxwood might be a better choice, but I suspect that a suitably sized piece od box would be rather dear.
I also used a piuece of 'Multipanel' this is 9mm marine ply faced on both sides with melamine for use on the walls of shower enclosures. Suitably dense and strong, but a bit fierce for my liking and the material doesn't have the natural sense of plain wood. If anyone wants it...

I bought another paddle off eBay. It came in the mail today. It has the logo "For the cute little deer with the bear behind. It's bigger than the first paddle I bought with the same logo, and also in much better condition. The paddle is about 18 inches long, about 3 1/2 inches wide, and 3/8 of an inch thick. I've wanted a paddle of this thickness ever since reading Try's story, "Preparing the Paddle." As Brosse6 said above, this is probably the ideal thickness of a paddle for a good sting. The seller still has 3 paddles like this left if anyone would like to check them out on eBay. The cost is $12.00 each plus $5 and some odd cents for postage. You could save on postage per paddle if you bought more than one, and I'm not sure if the seller ships out side the United States. If so, I'm sure she would have to charge more for postage. These paddles have been stored away for something like 40-50 years, and are in excellent condition.

Quite a few years ago, I found a substantial Fli-Back paddle, (which was painted a dark red), at the store. Quite effective.
Later on, I found a Jokari paddle at a thrift shop. Inexpensive.
I've also made several types out of either both wood or leather.