Great question! It varies, but this is how I define it.
How you edge can vary, some people can just get right to the edge of cumming but then have to fall back from it or they’d orgasm. With practise though you can usually learn to control your touching and breathing to be able to ‘ride the edge’ where you stay with that feeling of being JUST about to cum for 20 seconds, a minute or two, or even longer.
Others can get right to the edge and don’t quite ride it, but just constantly go back and forth like bouncing a ball against a wall.
For me, ALL of those count as one edge. So I’ll have someone come to me and say ‘I edged 20 times just now’, but I get them to explain that it was all part of one continuous experience then I’ll say ‘no, that was just one, off you go and do 19 more’.
So the way I define it, one edge is a single experience of masturbating close to orgasm whether you actually hit that edge once, ride it, or bounce against it repeatedly. Only when you come down from that sensation of being able to go right over has that edge finished.
For technical specifications (some people want that) I’d say you need a five minute ‘come down’ between edges – whether that’s stopping touching or just less stimulation so you’re not so totally aroused – before you can have another edge. So 12 an hour is feasible as a maximum, but you’ll be a complete wreck from that (trust me, I speak from experience).
Abyss on Flickr.