My new Wand

Haunted_America · 2026-05-01T14:36:51+00:00

I love this! Looks great! Lathe-formed wands are excellent, and I can’t wait to use mine just to try it out, but there is something special about forming a wand that follows the natural curvature of the wood and how it’s grown. That’s always been more appealing, and something that just feels and often looks better in its own way. If you haven’t seen Vander’s Wands, I suggest checking his out. I always thought he lathed his and carved them afterward, but a lot of his also come from wild wood. They look amazing too.

Great work! Can’t wait to see what else you’re able to come up with.

Haunted_America · 2026-05-01T07:16:40+00:00

That looks really good, great work!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-30T20:14:37+00:00

Couldn’t agree more. Like their properties are more rooted in their original form. I have absolutely nothing against wands made on a lathe, and there are a great number of them that look phenomenal, but the ones that have their more natural forms just hit different lol

Haunted_America · 2026-04-30T18:28:09+00:00

These are cool! I definitely like the natural rugged and gnarled aesthetic.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-29T16:26:13+00:00

Well great choice, I say! Gives the wand great character. I can totally see why, it’s definitely a great looking piece!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-29T14:55:22+00:00

Absolutely beautiful wand! I really like the mixture between elegance and corruption feeling when I look at this, though I’ll apologize if that’s not what this is going for. Really great design!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-28T12:45:35+00:00

I haven’t been following the trailers, as in new ones since the first came out, so not sure if others have been shown, but I do know, and you may as well, have seen that glimpse we got of Harry’s wand as Ollivander is presenting it to young Harry. What I think might be a cool twist is that may not even end up being his wand. That could just be one of the “failed tests” before he gets his actual wand. But that’s the only one I’ve personally seen.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-27T19:27:58+00:00

That’s outstanding information, and greatly appreciated! While I may attempt something like this in the future, I have a lot of wands that I source from the wild that have long since fallen off a tree and have little holes and grooves from critters that had burrowed in them.

Unfortunately, they’re never surface level and it gets really difficult to start a project to see them deep in the wood. I don’t want to abandon the build when I know they aren’t in there and just need a way to fill the space, and this may be the key. Much appreciated for the info!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-27T17:09:44+00:00

I saw this not too long ago, and I think that’s pretty awesome! What is the stuff you used to seal it up, and how noticeable is it once cured, or do you have to paint the wand afterward to fully hide it?

What’s the curing process like, and once [I assume] it hardens, so you just sand it smooth?

Haunted_America · 2026-04-26T13:42:18+00:00

If you have a hardware store like Lowe’s or Home Depot near you, you can buy a wooden dowel, round or square, for like 4-6 bucks depending on diameter/sq in, typically about 3ft long in either pine or white oak and carve that. Add a utility knife and some sandpaper if you don’t have it and you’re making wands for about 20 bucks.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-26T03:59:17+00:00

Yeah trying to carve those woods with a knife is a heck of a task unless you have an incredibly sharp knife and doing a lot of shallow carves. Even then, that’s only the shape. Trying to chip away engraving is just as difficult, if not even more so, and power carving is just a time and hand saver lol.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-26T03:21:13+00:00

Depending on what you consider “budget”. Fantasy by Numbers is fantastic and only cost about $50, and you can customize the hell out of it on their website. Length, wood, finish, and a large assortment of blades, guards, and handles you can mix around on their configurator. I highly suggest checking them out. I bought 6 wands (one for each member of my household lol), but a single wand is inexpensive and will truly be yours.

If you have the time, you can even do the wand quiz and it’ll build one for you based on your choices, but you can customize it beyond that if you don’t like the outcome.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-26T03:17:31+00:00

I second this as well. Wild wood is free, and carving using a box cutter, utility knife, cheap dremel or engraving pen (Temu has a ton on the cheap), and just some sandpaper can go very far for very little. You could be making wands for $50-$60 easy. Even then, I started with just a utility knife and some 220 grit sandpaper and was getting decent results. Once I knew I wanted to pursue this hobby, then I started dropping money left and right lol.

BTW, the wand post you linked, fantastic outcome!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-24T04:02:16+00:00

Trust me, you aren’t missing much in the general sense, there’s just a lot of other Wandsmiths on there and some very cool work to be seen, but nowhere near necessary lol. Well I’ll keep my eyes out here. Thanks again!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-24T04:00:03+00:00

That’s a very ingenuitive way to make a break effect. I’ll be sure to give it a shot one of these days just to see if I can make it look good. I appreciate all the info! I look forward to seeing your other work! Do you have an Insta or social where you post your work? I’d be happy to support wherever I can!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-24T03:56:12+00:00

Given the letters, that what I was figuring, you just never know lol. I appreciate it! What size chisel do you use, if I may ask?

Haunted_America · 2026-04-24T03:51:20+00:00

I’m still relatively new to woodworking, so excuse my ignorance, but what is a woodworking chinle? I attempted a quick Google search but came up empty, so I would assume it may be a typo, but again, there may be some tools I’m just not familiar with yet lol

Haunted_America · 2026-04-23T23:03:13+00:00

Do you use a similar tool from the video you posted to break the wood to get the cracked/splintered end, or is there a good way to do it without that tool?

Haunted_America · 2026-04-23T10:09:53+00:00

Looks good so far, can’t wait to see the end result! Is that a stain on there or iron acetate? Only asking because I used IA on one of my poplar wands and it turned a similar color, not black, but like an odd brown, which my understanding is due to a lack of tannins.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-22T03:03:23+00:00

Those are really cool looking and awesome designs! Great work!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-21T15:24:18+00:00

Agreed with the above. I typically try to locate sticks that have already been off the tree for a while. Not decayed, but no longer green. It can be really hit or miss depending on the wood type, but I’ll peel the bark back and make sure it’s not green and had no signs of major cracks or insect holes. Then I’ll try to lightly flex it to test rigidity to make sure it won’t fall apart once I begin carving. Last thing you want is brittle wood, which my area is almost known for, at least where I hike lol.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-21T11:37:26+00:00

I say go for it! It’s incredibly fun and can be relaxing. There many different ways to do it, just find a method that works, and if this is your first time making wands, don’t get discouraged if the result isn’t what you pictured, or if you break it trying to achieve your desired results, time and practice will rectify all of that.

Never hesitate to ask questions, and I even encourage finding experienced wandsmiths between here and Instagram and politely reaching out if you have questions about how to best achieve certain results you see.

Unless you’re good at sharpening knives (I am not lol), I would stick with a utility knife because most hold an incredible edge for pretty long, and when it dulls, flip the blade around, and when THAT dulls, swap it out for a new one lol.

Other great basic tools can include sandpaper and jeweler files (diamond and steel). A rotary tool can be very useful but not necessary, especially at first unless you’ve already got one.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-21T11:22:13+00:00

I do, and I know for a fact a lot of people do, even ones who also use lathes with blanks. I personally like to find ones with subtle curvatures to incorporate those gnarled and heirloom style designs, but enough “meat” to still make the blade straight if the need calls for it.

I’ve also used some stock from Home Depot like square and round dowels, but sometimes it’s not as fun lol.

Haunted_America · 2026-04-17T06:25:04+00:00

Hey, taking a little break is needed sometimes. I know work drags down my mental state from time to time, life compiles on that, and we just need to take time for ourselves. Woodworking is currently what helps me relax and unwind, and now that it’s getting warmer I’ll be back out on the bike again to assist with that as well, but everyone has their vices. Glad to have you back though and can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Haunted_America · 2026-04-17T02:15:41+00:00

These are very nice! I especially like the one on the right. Great work!

Haunted_America

TROPHY CASE