Depends on what you mean by "trying out".

For example, I was asked at a recent party by a sub to try out a couple of rubber floggers on her... so she could determine if they were anything she wanted. (Yes, some subs/bottoms carry their own preferred toys.)

I tossed the falls at my own outstretched arms a couple of times... but I would hardly say I was trying it out beyond making a comparison to other floggers I've handled. I can pretty much judge from a light stroke, the likely effect of a heavy one. But nothing like what one would do to fully "understand" the results of a full session... not even an actual hard stroke.

And in reality, my pain thresholds, my skin, my tendancy to redden, welt, bruise, or even avulse, means nothing with regard to what will happen to any variety of subs or bottoms at the same levels. My skills include judging the response, seeing the results, and extrapolating how far to take the submissive.

I once knew a woman who was taken for a ride in a horse trailer so she could "know" what it was like for the horses before she did the driving. They tied her hands so she couldn't brace. Idiotic... because horses have 4 feet, not 2... and horses are far tougher skinned than humans. (Hmmm, I wonder if she was hinting at me. I think I missed an opportunity dammit!!) In any case, I have always been a far better "trailerer" having never experienced that than she ever became, having done so. I'd like to think I don't need to be beaten with my equipment to understand how best to use it on a submissive.

Subs have far more resiliance, in part because of the context of submission, than a dom "testing" out his equipment would. I'd merely "grin and bear it" and thereafter wouldn't take my own submissive nearly as far as she craves. I'd never get that endorphin high that she gets, the one that makes her giggle (she normally laughs out loud and never giggles except under duress,) when I start targeting her nipples.

Testing on myself would NOT make me a better flogger wielder.

I have felt violet wands... but I imagine the effect is nothing compared to that of submitting oneself to a dominant with delightfully evil intentions. Context means so much.

Obviously, this is all my own opinion... and mostly about what works specifically for me. Those in my acquaintance who claim old school instruction, having subbed first before domming, have other opinions... which are valid for them. But I still count myself, in many cases, the better dominant.

But tell us more. What exactly happened to you that raises the question.
z (asking purely purient reasons)