Toxic metals?

You can't be sure, and if you can't examine it before you buy it there's no way to know beforehand.

I bought one Chinese device that was advertised as surgical stainless steel.
It turned out to be a poor iron alloy that when it started rusting caused the badly applied chrome plate to flake off in sharp pieces which is how I found out, but unfortunately too late to prevent it giving me blood poisoning.
I was sure of one thing... it wasn't surgical stainless steel.

If you have the device and can examine it, then...
- Good stainless steel is only very weakly attracted to a magnet, so if you have a magnet and it clamps on hard, it's not stainless steel (but could also be another non ferrous non-megnetic metal like aluminium).
- Chrome plate is much more reflective than stainless, even when it's polished. If it's absolutely mirror like, it may not be steel - especially at cheaper prices.
- wrinkles or ripples in the application of chrome plate also give away that a device is plated, the surface texture of poor chrome plate is more like a painted look than a machined look.
- any colour tinge in the metal may indicate it's not stainless, most metals have a colour, stainless is quite white, other metals and alloys have brown, green, red, yellow, grey or other faint hue of colour.
- tiny rust spots are also a definite negative for surgical stainless steel.
- good quality steel will also transmit sound well and vibrate when struck (like a bell - but not as musical), poor quality alloys won't resonate to sound as well, they sound 'dead'.
- good quality steel is a good conductor of heat so picks up and loses heat very quickly - if you hold a non-steel device half in hot water and you don't feel the heat coming through the metal quickly, it's probably not stainless steel.
- the metal should be quite resistant to scratching/shaving with a blade.
- there are chemical ways of checking, but most won't have access to the chemicals needed.

 

I bought a Lori cage. Never looked back
You can do lead tests for cheap on the Chinese devices. But at the end of the day,if your serious about all this just pony up and buy a custom cage from a reputable builder.

 

What's the difference between 304 and 316 stainless steel? The simple answer is 304 contains 18% chromium and 8% nickel while 316 contains 16% chromium, 10% nickel and 2% molybdenum...Chrome plating is not cheap...Just the weight of Aluminum is a dead give away...Cast iron would have some weight but subject to plating pealing off.. (I checked everything I got with a magnet..)..

 

Except Ms. Lori takes her elevated title seriously and believes that 'hype' over good customer service. We had multiple rounds of emails discussing what I wanted to have when ordering my current (2nd device of hers) device and then again a year later on its modifications. Each time she was late and under-delivered what was promised (and this has been her MO for 15 years dealing with her). When I bought one of her first versions still with a padlock and then had it converted to her barrel lock, it was the same, the second go around (1st Gen current device) I was less accommodating but still fairly gentle when I called her out on her flakiness and timemanagemwnt verses time commitments made, even when she huffed and puffed. On that one she did ultimately produce what she said she would, only 4 weeks after she promised. On my round two modification, she completely did the opposite of what I asked and then claimed that I never asked it. When I produced for her multiple emails where she replied and sent them back, she got incredibly hot with me and pulled the 'Mistress' card. Despite being in a committed long-term FLR and in so, knowing my place and how I should act towards all women, after she pulled that card, I lit her up and told her just what I thought. She of course did not like that one bit and was incredibly condescending and hostile; but my Wife backed me up and lit her up further. Customer service is key in any business at the end of the day. Despite whatever title you hold in your kinky life, customer services is properly servicing your customer base. I may be submissive to my wife (not to anyone claiming to be a 'Mistress'), but I am also a business professional (as is my Wife) and Lori is a retail provider. And as that, in my experience, she is a joke.
If you want to a reputable custom chastity dealer I would say talk to Mature Metal if you're not looking for a PA device, or SteelWerks Extreme if you're looking for something really custom in a PA type device. I own a Jailbird from Mature Metal that a they happily customized to my specs and in an accurately timely manner; and I own a Schandmaske from SteelWerks Extreme, with several customizations in titanium. Mature Metal devices are far less expensive than the SteelWerks devices or most Lori devices, but Steelwerks devices are completely custom and the only way to go if you need a PA attachment. Both Steelwerks Extreme and Mature Metal are easy to deal with very quick and answering questions and live by what they promise.

 

Yes, I’ve purchased piercing jewelry in 316 stainless steel from the premium body jewelry manufacturers, and from the second string. Even then you can tell the difference. It’s hard to photograph. It’s easy to make something look shiny. Though I think I can tell chrome with a careful look.

Someone like Mark at MaleChastityNow (Seattle) or Dietmar at Steelwerks (Germany) use high quality jewelry grade stainless steel. You can see it immediately when you have it in hand.

We have inadvertently tested the magnetism in the MCN Contender when my wife’s new fitness tracker had a strong neodymium magnet. It grabbed a non-stainless screw, but not to a stainless screw. And it reacted not at all to any of the cage steel.

304 and 316 just look different. I ran across 302 stainless and it’s different as well.

I can’t tell you how to tell ahead of time. I don’t think you can from the Chinese based websites. It’s a crap shoot.

 

Thanks for that, when I'm ready to spend some $$ I know where to go

 

I had the opposite experience ording my Lori 2A cage. Also her pullout security ring is revolutionary. It allows us non pierced men to experience a cage that can't be cheated.

As for communication and requests for work, my cage was made to the specs I requested and within the allotted time quoted. I have read others reviews that Lori customer service has improved to today's standards

 

I'm sorry, I would much rather pay my money to the people who do the original design and use good materials.

The search for "cheaper" doesn't make sense when it's something that is in intimate contact with your body 24 hours a day.

 

No problem, just trying to save people headaches.

 

The BON4M knockoff I have is barely magnetic, as opposed to the Master Lock I have on it..... it’s fairly light and, to say it’s a cheap knockoff they really went to some trouble, even to replicating the BON4M embossed on the side and the size on the ring. It’s light and looks like 316m, I used to be a body piercer way back when, and it feels “right”. I may be wrong, I so often am.....

 

304 is the standard for food and beverage industries and is resistant to most products. 316 is called marine grade as it's resistant to salt water corrosion and saliferous environments

 

I am not trying to belittle your experience with Ms Lori Lancer and her products and your dealings with her and I am aware that others have had similar challenges in the past and that there have been many more customers with no complaints at all which seems to be the more typical experience.

However...

May I ask when the difficulties you speak of occurred?

I only ask because not everyone is aware that;

I think it is important to inform other to CM members of what I have learned recently

There have been some changes in the manufacturing process of Ms Lori's products not least paulie has I think retired and most if not all work is now carried out by Mike Lancer

Mike is a member of CM and posts on here too.
He is on Fetlife
and
Instagram.

I think he has put himself out there making himself open to both communication and potentially criticism which I am sure he would not do were he not confident in both his products.. old and new ... and the service he provides.

We will be ordering a Lori device soon and after some communication between us and Mike we are confident once we have determined all the details that we will get a quality product in the time frame Mike will quote.

BTW in case you were wondering
No. I have no affiliation with Mike Lancer or Miss Lori, her devices or her ranch.