The tools we use in our craft are very sacred and are a necessity. Many people buy these things in occult shops while other create them themselves. I will go over on how to create some of these tools.
The Athame:
This is a double-edge blade knife made from steel or iron.
1.Go out an purchase a piece of steel from a local metal working shop. It does not matter how big it is just as long as you are comfortable with the length.
2.Take a torch and heat the steel until it is a dull red. This will soften the steel for easily workings later.
3.Once the steel is red let it cool off naturally. Do not rapid cool it with water, this makes the steel brittle.
4.Take a piece of soapstone or pencil and draw out the design you want for your blade. Making sure you leave a long tang/shaft at the base of the blade to be inserted into a wooden handle.
5.Next take the torch, bandsaw, or grinding wheel and cut out your design.
6.Once again let the steel cool off naturally.
7.Now take the steel you have cut out and use a file or grinding wheel to shape the edges of the blade. This does not have to be razor shape, it will be sharpened latter on after creation.
8.Now your blade needs to be tempered.
9.Heat it up again until it is red hot and plunge it into oil, machining oil works best.
10.Let it cool off and then wipe it off and sand it down with sandpaper to clean it up.
11.Heat it up again and repeat the last steps.
12.Now heat it up one last time and watch carefully the colors of the steel. When it becomes a blueish color immediately plunge it into the oil.
13.Now your steel has been tempered.
14.You can now craft the handle for your knife.
Creating the handle:
1.Take a piece of wood (board) and place the tang of the athame on it.
2.With your pencil trace out the design.
3.Take another piece and do the same. This is the other half of the handle.
4.Take a chisel and chisel out the tang area on both pieces until you have made enough room for the steel to be inserted between the two pieces of wood and they are able to fully touch together.
5.When you have accomplished that take the wood and roughly sand the inside where they will meat together.
6.Now apply a epoxy glue to the wood and insert the tang of the athame between them in the chiseled spot.
7.Using clamps tighten the wood together and let sit to cure.
8.Once the glue has dried/cure you can remove the clamps and begin carving your handle into what you want it to be.
Later you can etch or engrave your covens name onto the blade using a ingraver tool, sulphuric acid, or iodine. If using acid or iodine you need to protect the rest of the blade with melted beeswax and using a sharp nail write the name you want into the wax leaving exposed steel for the acid or iodine to etch.
I will cover wands next
-Shadow Craft-
High Priest Draco
Re: Creating Tools By: Draco
Post # 2 Sep 15, 2007
Wands
I have had many people ask me what type of wood to use for the creation of their wands. And How to create a wand.
Well here it goes.
First I want to stress that a wand can be made from any wood. But using specific types of wood from what is know as magical trees or enchanted trees work best.
All wands are to be crafted from a living tree, unless you are creating a wand for destructive magic and you use wood from a dieing tree. Never a dead tree, there is no energy in this wood to be harnessed.
Types of wood that are recommended.
Willow: Creativity, fertility, and healing
Ash: Sterngth, and wisdom
Maple: Enchantment
Apple: Healing, and Love magic
Bocote: Divination, wisdom, and clearing
Canarywood: Strenght, and affinity
Cocobolo: Strength, and endurance
Lignum Vitae: Protection, and healing
Oak: Endurance, triumh, and destruction
Rosewood: Love, and charms
Tulipwood: Love, and passion
Walnut: Intuition
These are not by any means the only wood you can use but they are the strongest consintration of magical energy in them that I have found.
Now once you have found the tree of your choice to take you wand from, you need to take a peice atleast 21 inches, or the distance from the end of your middle finger to your elbow. And should be atleast 3/4 of an inch thick.
Next you need to wrap it in a black or dark blue cloth and place it where it will not be disturb for 3 days. Do not begin de-barking it before wraping it.
Now that the wait is over you can begin de-barking it using an athame specificaly enchanted for this task. Take caution in not taking to much of the meat of the wood out of the wand while doing this.
Once you have taken the bark off the wood begin shaving the wand from the end to its tip. Use the image of a pool cue as a example as how to shave it. You want a thick base to hold and the farther you shave to the end the thiner you want to make it. You do not have to make it into a point and the wand does not have to be as straight as a pool cue. It can have twist and turns in it.
Now using a fine grade peice of sandpaper begin sanding the wand removing the squared shaving cuts.
Onve you have finished sanding you can stain, paint, or leave it bare. You can also elaboratly decorate your wand with jewels (real not fake), stones, or wood burn your covens name into it using runes. If decorating with metal never use gold, most use silver or copper but never use gold it interupts the flow of magic in this tool. You may aslo place your magical name on the wand if you like. I place mine on all my tools.
Now I will quickly go over staves with you.
Using the same directions as before for the wand you only need a peice of wood that is as tall as its user. And you want your staff to be as stright as possible.
