Some of the more common questions I get asked! If your question is not here, feel free to contact me instead.
How do I buy a wand?
Look through my designs and pick a wood you would like it made in! And if you want to go into more detail, read the section on finishes below. Then send me a message through the contact form. I'll get it made for you, send you a picture, and if you give it a thumbs up then I will send you a paypal invoice for payment.
Cost per wand is between £40 to £85 inc postage, depending on the wood, amount of wood used and the complexity of the design. However, if you are tight for money then I do have a box of 2nd quality wands - that is, wands that had a problem during the carving process, perhaps they came out bent, or there was a crack in the wood, that sort of thing. I could finish one of these up for you and post it up for £30, though quality would be lower. Get in touch for what I have available.
What woods do can you use?
My current list is:
Gabon ebony, brown ebony, African blackwood, beech, bubinga, box, bocote, cherry, East Indian rosewood, hawthorne, Honduran rosewood, hornbeam, padauk, katalox, jatoba, lacewood, lignum vitae, padauk, purpleheart, oak, olive, utile, walnut, wenge, wild plum, yew, and zebrano
However, many of these come with caveats, like tendency to bend when being carved, or not thick enough for certain designs, etc. I can source other woods if necessary.
How do you make these wands with such detail?!
All wands are carved on my home made CNC machine! That is, a computer controlled machine that carves them for me. Everything about this process was incredibly challenging to figure out, wands have to be the most difficult thing it is possible to make in wood, but the end result is that I can make designs that you cannot practically be made by hand. They all start life as a 3d model, which I create using a variety of programs from engineering CAD (Computer Aided Design) software, to sculpting in VR (like working with digital clay). I then have to figure out the carving process with the aid of CAM (Computer Aided Design) tools, each full carving program is itself a collection of 30+ smaller programs stringed together, and can be millions of lines long - with each line representing a specific location that the cutting head moves through. Finalising the carving program often involves multiple iterations and test runs until I am happy with the process, and is typically an ongoing process over months if not years to optimise and fix any problems that may come up. Every wand is different in how it has to be carved, and sometimes problems will only reveal themselves with particular woods, since they all have their own carving characteristics. The machine itself is itself is also an ongoing project - some parts are on perhaps their 10th design iteration, and things still sometimes break!! I'm current making a second machine that is redesigned from the ground up, a truly huge project. All wands also need to be sanded and finished by hand to give the level of finish they deserve.
Can you make custom wands?
Unfortunately, if you mean whether I can take a design or concept you have, and turn it into a wand for you, the answer is mostly no. I can easily take one of my existing designs and carve it in your choice of wood, but entirely new designs are much more challenging. This is because my processes are great at reproducing the same design, once I have it complete, but there is a massive amount of work up front in creating a new design. For some, such as Professor Snapes wand, it took literally weeks of work, plus countless small production tweaks as I figured out the best methods to carve the peculiarities of the design. Obviously, even if I had time spare this would be way too costly to make as a one off design. That said, if you have a simple design, and I have spare time (unlikely!), I might be able to help, but chances are honestly still low. And by simple, I mean circularly symmetric, such as turned on a lathe, or with only small and easily 3d modelled details. There is also the problem that it is risky for me - I have had people walk away and refuse to pay, it is rare but happens. All that said, I may be able to do a simple design for something around £150 upwards, but at that point it might be better to contact someone who makes wands entirely by hand, such a Sam for Jonkers Wands, or Danny from Nebulus Wands if you can talk him into it!
What finish do you use on wands?
I current use a hardwax oil, these are modern wood finishes that use micronized carnauba wax along with natural and synthetic resins. Recipes differ wildly between manufacturers, so I tested a number of different options for hand feel and moisture resistance, before setting on the brand I currently use. Wands are soaked completely in the finish for at least a few hours, before being wiped clean and burnished by hand.
I used to use a Danish oil and wax, but found it really didn't have the staying power. Even high end wood waxes are still relatively soft in the long run, and will rub off with time. So while I understand the allure of using "traditional" finishes, or even beeswax (a very soft wax indeed!), I must say that a lot of chemistry and development work has gone into creating modern finishes, giving them far superior performance. That said, there is always something of a trade off with wood finishes. From the most natural possible finish, that would be a simple mineral or even olive oil rubbed into the wood, to the finish with the highest possible protection, which would probably be the one they use for wooden yachts - a layer of epoxy with two part yacht varnish over the top for UV protection. The further you go from the former to the latter, the more move away from the natural hand feel of the wood, until you fully encapsulate it in an artificial finish. Choosing a wood finish, is then at least to an extent, deciding where to place yourself on this spectrum. For me, hardwax oils are the best compromise. They are a rubbing oil, so they go into the wood and are then wiped off, without leaving a thick layer on the surface, but they also give excellent moisture protection and longevity - indeed they were originally designed for wooden floors. Soaking the wands in finish then helps drive the finish into the wood as much as possible. This is, in my opinion, the best option available! But of course, if you want me to make a wand with the most natural finish, I can do that too, just get in touch.
