Wooden Wizard Wand

A tutorial on how to make a wizard wand out of actual wood.

Before:

After:

What you will need:

1. A tree branch 1/2" wide and 15" long
2. Tree trimmers
3. Belt sander (normal sandpaper will work)
4. A knife
5. Fine grit sandpaper
6. Wood colored permanent markers
7. A nail and hammer (optional)
8. Wand core (optional)
9. Clear spray-on varnish

(Make sure you know what type of wood color, length and core you want before starting.)

1.

Cut down a tree branch and trim off all excess branches.

Sand down the knobs and knots.

2.

(Please be careful using the knife on this step!)

Using a knife, whittle down the top layer of bark. If you're having trouble with this step, it might be because the wood is too wet. Let it sit for an hour or so and then continue.

3.

If the wand is too long, leave about 3/4" more than you want and cut off the rest. (3/4" will allow for sanding).

Sand down the branch so that there aren't any bumps, and start shaping the wand tip. 

4.

(Please be careful using the knife on this step!)

Now you can carve the details into the wand. Hold the wand comfortably in your hand and make a mark 1/2" from the bottom and two marks 1/2" apart right where your thumb hits.

Start carving notches on the marks,

 and gradually carve them deeper.

Now you can sand the notches and taper the wand into the point.

5.

Sand the wand with a fine grit sandpaper so it's nice and smooth. Then take a permanent marker in the color of your choice and color the whole wand with it. 

(Note: you can use paint, but I prefer markers because it shows the grain of wood through the color.)

6. (optional)

You can skip this step if you want, but I like to do this to add a little extra magic.

Using a small nail, pound a little hole in the base of the wand

Now you can add your wand core. I'm using some Pheonix feather I got from a book.

Stuff the core as deep into the hole as you can.

7.

To finish, give it two to three light coats of clear spray-on varnish (you can get the varnish here, or at any hardware store).

(Note: it might turn green when you first spray the varnish on, but will turn back to normal when dry.)

Yay! You're done!

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below ;)

Credit goes to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers for inspiration.