Wandmaker

A wandmaker is a witch or wizard who studies the complex branch of magic known as wandlore and practices the craft of making wands. This is a rare and highly specialized profession that requires immense skill, knowledge, and magical ability. The craft involves pairing specific wand woods with powerful magical cores to create a unique magical instrument that will form a bond with its owner. The most renowned wandmakers in the series are Garrick Ollivander of Great Britain and his European competitor, Mykew Gregorovitch.

The history of wandmaking is ancient, with Ollivander noting that his family began the craft in Great Britain in 382 B.C., having arrived with the Romans. The core principle of the craft, at least as espoused by Ollivander, is that “the wand chooses the wizard”. This philosophy suggests that wands possess a degree of sentience and that a successful pairing between a wand and its owner is a matter of affinity, not simply of selection. The craft is described as a “mysterious and complex branch of magic”. It demands a deep understanding of the properties of countless magical substances and woods, and how they interact with each other and with the personality of a potential owner. A wandmaker's reputation is built on the quality of their instruments and their ability to match them to customers. While Ollivander is considered the finest in Britain, other wandmakers like Gregorovitch were also highly regarded, though their philosophies and techniques sometimes differed. Gregorovitch, for example, was more openly interested in researching and duplicating the properties of the legendary Elder Wand.

While there is no single archetype, the two prominent wandmakers in the novels share certain traits.

• Garrick Ollivander is an elderly wizard with a stooped posture and unsettling, pale silvery eyes. He possesses an unnervingly powerful memory, able to recall every single wand he has ever sold. His personality is intense, focused, and deeply passionate, treating wandlore with a near-religious reverence.
• Mykew Gregorovitch is also an old wizard, with thick white hair and a bushy beard. He appears more commercially-minded and somewhat boastful, proudly claiming Viktor Krum as a client. However, he shows profound fear when confronted by Lord Voldemort.

From these examples, it can be inferred that wandmakers are typically highly intelligent, possibly eccentric individuals who dedicate their lives to their singular, intricate craft.

A wandmaker's skills extend far beyond simple carpentry. Their primary abilities include:

• Expertise in Wandlore: This is their defining skill. It encompasses a vast knowledge of the magical properties of woods, cores, wand lengths, and flexibilities, and how these factors correspond to different types of magic and personality traits.
• Advanced Charms and Transfiguration: The ability to imbue inert materials with potent and lasting magic is a sign of exceptional magical talent. The creation of a wand is a sophisticated act of enchantment.
• Non-verbal Magic: Ollivander demonstrates the ability to use magic without an incantation, such as when he directs his magical tape measure to take Harry Potter's measurements.
• Exceptional Memory: Ollivander's eidetic memory for his own creations is a key asset in his business and a testament to his deep connection to his craft.

A wandmaker's most important possessions are the tools and raw materials of their trade.

• Tools: A magical tape measure is one known tool used by Ollivander to aid in the fitting process. Other, more specialized tools for carving wood and inserting cores are implied but not described.
• Wand Cores: Wandmakers use a variety of magical substances for wand cores. Ollivander primarily uses what he calls the “Supreme Cores”:
  • Unicorn hair
  • Dragon heartstring
  • Phoenix feather
• Other known cores include Veela hair (which Ollivander considers temperamental) and Thestral tail hair (the core of the Elder Wand).
• Wand Woods: A wide variety of magical woods are used, each with its own distinct properties. These include holly, yew, vine, mahogany, willow, oak, and many others.

Wandmakers hold a unique position in wizarding society, forming relationships with nearly every witch and wizard who purchases a wand.

• Garrick Ollivander: As the primary wandmaker for Britain, he has a professional relationship with most British wizards, including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. He also sold the wands that chose James Potter, Lily Potter, and Tom Riddle. His relationship with Lord Voldemort was antagonistic; he was kidnapped and tortured for information regarding the twin cores and the Elder Wand.
• Mykew Gregorovitch: A competitor of Ollivander, he was the maker of Viktor Krum's wand. His history is tragically tied to the Elder Wand; he once possessed it and boasted of this fact, which led both Gellert Grindelwald and later Lord Voldemort to him. Voldemort ultimately murdered him during his quest for the wand.
• Other Wandmakers: Other wandmakers exist globally, though they are not central to the main story. This includes the ancestors of Garrick Ollivander and foreign wandmakers from America and Europe. (Pottermore)

The term “wandmaker” is a straightforward English compound word, combining “wand” and “maker,” literally meaning “one who makes wands.”

• J.K. Rowling has vastly expanded the topic of wandlore on the Pottermore and Wizarding World websites, creating extensive writings on the properties of various wand woods and cores not mentioned in the original seven novels.
• These writings introduce several international wandmakers, including Isolt Sayre (an Ilvermorny founder), Violetta Beauvais, Thiago Quintana, and Johannes Jonker in America. (Pottermore)
• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Ollivander's shop is depicted as ancient, narrow, and crammed from floor to ceiling with thousands of wand boxes, a visual that powerfully captures the scale of his life's work. John Hurt's portrayal of Ollivander emphasized the character's mysterious and ethereal qualities.