Ampallang and Apadravya barbell (4·5mm bar·8mm balls)

A barbell for the Apadravya site, which runs vertically through the glans, and the Ampallang site, which runs horizontally. It is what you choose when the piercing is long established, the hole has widened, and you want to move to heavier jewelry. Being a heavy gauge item, it covers sizes that are hard to find.

Start with the measurements

The bar comes in two gauges, 4mm and 5mm. Bar lengths are chosen to match the size of the glans, in steps such as 21mm, 23mm, and 25mm. The balls on each end are 8mm in diameter. The length has to match the diameter of the glans when erect. Too short and the balls press into the flesh and hurt, too long and they catch on underwear.

What going up in gauge means

A piercing widens little by little as it is worn over the years. Leaving a thin bar in a widened hole lets it sit loose and move around, so the gauge is stepped up to match. Gauges of 4mm and 5mm are not sizes for someone newly pierced. They are sizes for someone who has come up through several steps.

What the 8mm balls do

The balls on each end are large at 8mm in diameter. Larger balls hold the bar more firmly against slipping out of the hole, and they also give a more distinct point of contact during penetration. In exchange the added weight can pull the hole downward, so do not wear it for long on the first day you switch.

Before you use it

This product is jewelry, not a piercing tool. Piercing and stretching must be done at a professional piercing studio, and the glans is where the urethra and blood vessels run, so working on it yourself causes serious injury. Skipping several steps at once from the gauge you wear now tears the hole, and that kind of injury heals badly. Measure the gauge and length of the jewelry you currently wear before ordering, and do not put new jewelry into a hole that has not healed. The original description gives only measurements and no material listing. With jewelry that stays in a piercing for a long time, the material is the safety, so please check before ordering whether it is surgical stainless steel or titanium.