Hello gang,

I wanted to give you all a heads up on a custom wand maker who crafts some VERY beautiful, well balanced, and precise wands. He's actually a friend of mine, with a lot of machining and lathing experience, who I have had make me some other custom wood+metal products. On a whim, I asked him if he'd undertake to make me some wands - and when he did, they simply blew me away.

He's made me:
- 13" African blackwood + white delrin tips
- 13" Cocobolo + brass tips with accent ring
- 13" African blackwood + polished aluminum tips (currently making)

I've tried several magic wands over the years - the breakaway wand (groan), a large black and silver plastic affair, then Magic Makers wands (not bad, but too heavily weighted on ends, wood is coated and will chip readily, also the wood is cheap and after not much use one of mine is already splitting along the grain), and even some custom wands. The latter was my favorite for a while - it was cherry wood with brass cap tips. However, even with these, the lathing work wasn't super great, in that the wand was a bit oblong, not quite straight, etc. I thought that this was the upper limit of working with wood this thin.

However, these wands are perfectly round, and are seamless where the wood meets the tips. The workmanship is truly amazing.

He's currently making me several more (for gifts and spares), and would be willing to work with other exotic hardwoods (minus ebony, which he found to be too soft) and different sizes. I've found the 13" long and .4" thick config to be best for my hands.

These wands are so beautiful it's really amazing. The cocobolo+brass one especially, when I hold it in my hand, it feels like it just oozes magic =) He hollows out the brass tips (but has a method of keeping it still solid and sturdy) so that it is not too heavily weighted, and I find the balance great for wand spins (Mora, etc.).

I have one pic I can attach here, and I plan to take more and upload them to an external site for people to look at.

By the way, I am not making commission on these or anything =) But wanted to share these wands with my magical brethren. Pricing is $35 for the blackwood + delrin tips, and $50 for the cocobolo + brass tips (w/ accent ring); plus $5 shipping. Phil is a great guy to work with and a true gentleman. So, if you are interested, pm me and I will send you his email address (he's very prompt with replies).

Take care, gang!

By the way, folks, Phil asked me to pass on that, as these wands are completely custom made from beginning to end, they may take 10-14 days to complete from time of order =)

Click here to view attached image.

Phil's wands look great. I've also seen some REALY nice wands made by High Caliber Magic. If anyone is interested, check them out too. I did not see a price on HCM's wands though

I would like to thank everyone who has expressed an interest in these wands. The wands I made for MCMC are truly unique, not like any others available. Once again, thank you.

Hi gang,

Just letting you know that after some further testing, Phil's implemented an additional strength feature to the blackwood/delrin wands - so for those of you who ordered that type, you'll be getting the new 'upgrade' =)

Anyone else who's interested, please pm me!

I just received the wand I ordered and it is absolutely beautiful! Additionally, the level of communication and service I received throughout the process was exceptional. I will definitely do business here again, and I highly recommend Phil's craftsmanship.

These are lovely wands, Phil!

For those who are seeking more of a Potter-esque baton-style wand, I would also recommend the work of Brian Humphrey at FortressWands.com -- he's crafted the prize wands for the Chicago Magic Competition for the last several years running.

Best,
Neil

Those are beautiful

Neil: cool wands! =)

Nice to see you again. Hope things are going well back in Chicago? Are you still at the Excalibur?

Howdy! It's good to be back (I've been busy managing SAMtalking.com for the S.A.M. among lots of other projects). Things are great here, and yes, my Supernatural Chicago show at Excalibur is (incredibly) in its fifth straight year of performances. If you want to see an amazing amount of press coverage regarding same, drop by my Wikipedia listing.

Best,
Neil

P.S. I own two wands from http://FortressWands.com -- including a wand in the Himeji style (you'll have to visit the shop to see what I mean) in cocobola wood with sterling silver bands above and below the hilt (that's a custom touch Brian's happy to add for just a little bit more; just ask him).

That Himeji wand looks nice. I think for someone with a crafted image and storyline like your show, those 'real' magic style wands are very nicely suited =) For me, as a 'regulary' coattails (er, rather, suit and tie) magician, I find the classic straight wand better suited.

I will definitely be checking our your Wikipedia entry - nice!

I have sent out all the wands at this time. These are all custom made and I can do variations to the styles. I also welcome suggestions. My hope is to provide a wand that you will be proud to use.

I don't usually post positive reviews/feedback on products but I have to say, Phil's wands are absolutely beautiful and very reasonably priced. I have wands that are more expensive and they are not nearly as beautifully crafted. I highly recommend anyone that's looking to purchase a wand to look into these.

I second VBall's post. Good price. Great service. And most importantly, beautiful wands.

Thanks for the kind words.

Nice, guys =) I knew you would like them! Phil's work is amazing.

I use a Telic Stage wand, which I love, but those look great!

The wands do indeed look nice, however here we go again though.

In 2003 RNT II designed and implemented the first delrin set of wand tips and wand. At very least we would appreciate credit from Phil for using our idea. RNT II was also the first, then came Auke to make Delrin cups. Delrin products have been an earmark for our company since the beginning.

The reason they are having to make a deluxe version of wand is that Delrin will not bond with other materials other than itself. That is a specific property of Delrin and the chemical epoxy needed is proprietary to Delrin. To make the tips mount correctly a threaded "Tit" must be turned on the tip and the shaft needs to be threaded. However there is a still a problem with the thinner wands that use this method as the wood will crack over time. We've spent the last 5 years refining the wand process.

It does not take much to crack any ebony famaily of woods due to the desinty of ebony, it cracks like glass. If Phil wants some hints and tricks to make these work with wood, please feel free to email me, I'll be happy to share. But at the same time RNT II would appreciate the recognition that these were originally designed and marketed by us.

Sincerely,
Jake

Jake
I was not aware that RNT II introduced the delrin tip in 2003. MCMC and I had discussions as to types of materials to use. Delrin is a fairly common plastic, not too hard and not too soft and seemed to be a good compromise for a tip. I do not use ebony, I tried and the result was not was I had hoped for. I tried different methods of attaching the tips to the shafts, first with a post on the shaft, then with a post on the delrin, neither worked and separated quickly. The method I use has a long sheet metal screw attaching the tip and the shaft. I have modified the screw in several ways to give it holding power in the delrin and holding strength in the wood without causing undo stress.

I can break them by using vise grips and pliers to attempt to unscrew them. I can also break them by using them as a pry bar. Under normal use they are fine.

These wands are not designed to be taken apart, they are finished in such a way that the the different materials have no seams and the wand is completely smooth.

Beautiful.
Kudos to the originators and makers.

Not complaining at all about the delrin tip wands, but just wanted people to know RNT II had developed these back in 2003 and were test marketing them with a few magicians before the final release. Believe me no harm no foul or hard feelings, I just want to see the company remembered for the innovations offered over the years.

Phil's wands are gorgeous. If you could, pass a message onto him that RNT II needs about 3 dozen wands for an upcoming project Tabman made some wands for us years back but I'm not sure if he's back up and running yet and if Phil would be interested we'd be happy to advertise a banner for him at no cost on the front page of our site. We like promoting new talent that is an asset to the magic community.

Best,
Jake

Now Tap Dem dar cups!