Where is Mjollnir Advanced Violet Wand Systems, you may wonder?  I have wondered as well, and I have asked.

I was told the patent for their system is still pending.  That's exciting at the same time its disappointing.  Any new violet wand product that has a potential patent is exciting indeed.  Any delay in such product, is disappointing to the extreme.  I am sure I will want one.  Or two.

A pox on red tape!

I have been begged more than a few times to disclose what can be done to an industrial spark coil or a violet ray to make it into a 'violet wand'. 

I make no claim as to the safety or efficacy of this material. 

A lot of the engineering you'd want to do depends on the device that you're starting with, so these are only very broad, and very generalized suggestions based upon what others have done to work with some devices that you can get cheaper.  And now hear this: if you want to mess with a high voltage device, then that is solely your responsibility. 

Here is what often has been done to change certain violet wand cousins into a violet wand:

Take care of that pesky 'Danger' Do not come into contact with the spark' problem.

Take care of that 'Do not use for more than 10 minutes' problem.

1) Replace the capacitor with a self-healing type(s) rated for the particular wattage.  A self-healing capacitor extends the run-time.  Now you've taken care of any 'Do not use for more than 10 minutes' problems.

 2) Build a safety gap into it.  How to do it really is dependent upon what you are starting with.  One way is to cover the output outlet with a thin, non-conductive film.  Another is to engineer an air gap between the last coil and the electrode collet.  Or, change metal contacts at the business end for pvc ones.  In certain models of violet ray, inserting a sliver of mica between the two often takes care of the problem nicely.  Fatal line current can not jump these types of gaps and you won't have to worry about accidentally killing someone in case of a draw on line current or grounding out.   Now you've taken care of the pesky 'Do not come into contact with the spark' problem. 

Voila!

In the depths of the Violet Wand Guild are older articles written by some of the top 'old school' masters who no longer have a presence in the Guild.*  With their activity ended during the siege, so goes their knowledge on building and repair.  But as they, through their old posts, speak their mysteries in building and repairing violet wands and violet rays, more than one of these archived articles briefly touches tantalizingly on a certain subject. 

If you are skimming for other information, you might miss the mention altogether.  You may not realize what it portends. But buried in some of those articles,  are almost-missed words as tantalizing as if they were faded ink on old and dusty pages.  They hint at the existence of a violet wand Grand Master.

Before the Guild's 'annus horribilis', the upper level Masters taught repair of violet rays and wands.  The Masters wrote long technical articles on repairing coils, building coils and capacitors, drew up charts and made lists for Journeymen aspiring to the title of 'Master'.  Now, to get to be a Master to begin with, one had to build a new, or repair and restore an antique, violet ray to certain specifications and standards.  Once they were made a Master, then they were able to begin a specialty field of study in the broad topic of violet rays or violet wands. 

Much later, after a Master had produced a significant body of work or research in their chosen specialty field, they became 'vetted' by their peers, and earned the title 'Rated Master'.  I imagine the process could take years.

But, from among the Masters and Rated Masters, they awarded one such Master the high honor and title of  'Grand Master.' 

Was the Grand Master real?  At least one article in the Guild's old website Master forums (which as an Expert I have not been able to access, but have heard tell about, as I myself was about to begin my repair lessons) calls him a phantom and suggests he may not be 'real'.  But other articles refer to him as a real person.. and there are even articles that paste items purported to be written from the Grand Master himself.

Being on the inside of the 'scene' and having the confidence of concerned parties, I propose that there is indeed a person that could possibly hold the title, and that, while its not exactly well-publicized, its really no secret that he is the Grand Master.

The owner of this substantial collection of rare kits 'featured' on this page has the most extensive intact and quality collection in North America.  Or the world, for that matter.  Small wonder that he is featured on Behary's site, as Behary collects cast-offs which are often in horrible disrepair, and while he can build a Tesla coil like most college geeks, knows less about violet rays (and far less about violet wands) than appears at first glance of his photo 'museum'.  The incredible collection shown by Behary belongs to one 'Darkerwaters'.

Darkerwaters, as he is known to both violet wand and violet ray people, is not just a collector.  In fact, he is capable of blowing electrodes himself, including silvered glass and insulated electrodes, having re-inventing the art of electrode blowing from its long dead and gone glass-blowing ancestors.  He has located and corresponded with every big name in the violet wand/ violet ray world, though they may not realize who they are corresponding with.   Sometimes he uses his real name, sometimes his scene name.  But I kid you not, every big name in the wand/ray worlds has been contacted by Darkerwaters.

Posted in the top of this page, a tribute from collector Behary to the violet Wand Guild's phantom 'Grand Master', David.  Could this be the Grand Master's first name?  A call to a friend and wand diva, who would only affirm that yes, that's his first name, and alright...he resides in Canada.  West Coast.  She won't tell me a last name, but she says 'It begins with G.  You do the rest.'

And, so I do.  After following the clues, we find a publicly-posted connection.

They lead us to an old email address with his 'Scene' name Darkerwaters and his real name posted together.  A quick email to a violet wand contact in the UK, and yes, he says, he corresponded in the past with someone by that same real name, in the days when he had a violet ray newsgroup.  Another email to a big instructor in the West Coast.  Yes, he tells me, he once wrote back and forth to the same gent to 'talk turkey.'  Confirmation.  People searches indeed show his name with a Canadian address. 

With such a substantial rare collection as his, and his skills and talents for lost-art glass-blowing, restoration, building and incredible reverse engineering that he, David G., of Canada has and has done, he has well and truly earned his International Violet Wand Guild title of Grand Master.  Huzzah!

     Its no secret that I strongly discourage 'alternatives' to using an actual violet wand.  Items that are not violet wands don't act exactly like violet wands.  Yes, we all have found items, pervertables and homemades in our toybags, but not to the extent that some violet wand fetishists seem to be prone to.  Probably no other fetish niche, experiences the 'I-want-it-cheap, who-cares-about-quality' mindset as this niche of electro-players.

You know the people to whom quality matters.  Are you one of them? 

When the toybags come out, some toys are withdrawn with extreme pride of ownership.  Single tail artists proudly get out and show off their handmade kangaroo whips.  Colleagues finger them enviously and ask to work them to see how they feel, how they fit the hand and respond to the Master's art.  Flagellists whisper what they paid for their fine double elk-skin floggers for sinuous florentine,  with a knowing smile, and heads go nodding all around.  They know quality comes at a premium; envy ensues, then comes the curiousity for where it was obtained so they can get a set too.  Cuffs and collars are admired for their hand-tooling, excellent handiwork and fittings.  You are taken aside and asked Where did you get them?   Subs and bottoms sigh to try the hand-oiled spanking paddles of exotic woods.  These folks, the majority of Scene people, wouldn't be caught dead with the embarrassment of sub (pun intended) - standard goods, and they know quality costs more, and that quality also sets the bar.  Your 'good' flogger, your 'best' singletail, your beautifully-worked cuffs...these you take pride in and set your tone as an accomplished top or dominant--that you know quality from homemade and that you know what to do with a real tool.

But when it comes to violet wands,  it sometimes seems that proportionately more users look for the least expensive alternative, rather than quality.  This will come as a surprise to you if you are someone who is accustomed to being proud of your own toys.  But with some of these electroplayers, (and moreso than with other fetishes) there seems to be more exclaiming over the cheapness of the price paid, rather than the quality of the item.  Rather than admiring the workmanship of someone's electrical toy, they find themselves admiring the frugal factors.

(old violet ray, circa 1944, in the camo war-era pattern. NOT a violet wand.)

I have a few theories over why that is.

My first theory is that by their nature, violet wands are already exclaimed over.  Oooohs and Aaaaaahs are already present in the room as soon as you get it out and turn it on.  So a violet wand user doesn't need to stand out from the many other paddles or singletails or floggers or bondage gear that other people have, by being better made, or an exotic wood or leather, or of an exceptional quality.  A violet wand already commands attention by its mere presence and use.  Thus, their owners already stand out from the general herd, and as such, don't have to do anything else.

My second theory is, that since the quality of a violet wand and its accessories are not readily apparent to the eye, people care about it less.   Out of sight, out of mind, as it were.  A good single-tail artist knows a bad singletail from a good one instantly, often by sight alone.  But since quality of violet wands and accessories can only be known from using them, a violet wand user, has no visible quality-quotient that can be 'shown off' to others.  And people ooo-ing and aaah-ing over a wand don't know what kind of quality it has.  Thus quality is placed at less of a premium.  Add to that, that far fewer people use wands, and there are fewer people to impress with attention to detail as a top or dominant and so these tops/dominants let their attention to quality slip to the wayside, simply because it can't be seen with the naked eye.

Thirdly, violet wands 'can be' expensive toys.  And being expensive, people naturally want to find ways to cut corners to spare their wallets.  Actually, I say 'can be' because they are not as bad as one thinks....a quality violet wand base unit costs about $100 less than the best kangaroo 16-plait singletail.  But where the violet wand can get expensive, is in all the accessories.  Then again, a violet wand does so MUCH more than a singletail, that your price paid is very small in comparison to the expansion of techniques that the different electrodes and accessories allow you. 

Let us take a visual side-trip.

Perhaps when you were just starting out in your journeys, you bought small dog collars to use as cuffs on your bottom partner.  Readily available at a pet-store the same weekend you wanted them, they were inexpensive, and they served the purpose of cuffing someone to your bedframe, even though they are made by pet suppliers for dogs.  But later, at some point in your journeys, you entered the 'Scene' --and at your first event saw a pair of real cuffs, made by Scene people for Scene people.  The difference in quality between your dog collars and the bondagecuffs you had in your hand was a huge gap.  Immediately you were amazed, you coveted, you admired, then you purchased.  And the difference in their use over the dog collars was obvious.  Not only did they feel better for your bottom partner, with more cushioning, more weight distribution, and obvious quality, but they felt better for you.  They were real bondage gear, made by another person in the Scene.  In buying and using them, you became a part of and a participant in, your lifestyle community by purchasing lifestyle gear from a community member.  They had made the cuffs for you, you contributed to the community by buying them, keeping the community alive.  You were now, taking 'it' seriously.  You were no longer an 'amateur' working with dog collars.  And that felt good.  You were no longer JUST one, of the 1-in-4 people who try bondage at some point in their sex life.  You were -in-.  Welcome to the lifestyle.

I would like to suggest that some violet wand players have gotten away from taking 'it' seriously.  Those who would promote buying cheaper alternatives to violet wands (which may work, but are not of the same quality, and are not even made for our purposes) these people are the 'dog-collar' contingent.  They are as much fringe to the lifestyle as they are on the fringe of fetishes as electroplayers.  'Get dog collars, they work the same as cuffs but are cheaper', is not a Scene philosophy.  It is a fringe concept.  And yet the mentality seems to surface more with electroplayers than in other fetishes, and you will definitely hear the suggestion to get a violet wand alternative since its 'cheaper'. 

They should be embarrassed to have some of the sub-standard gear they promote.

Dude, stop using the dog collars.

Quality does matter.  It matters to your bottom partner.  Your bottom partner is worth it.  It matters to you.  You are worth it.  It marks you, and defines you, and an artist is only as good as their tools.

Get yourself a real violet wand.  You'll be just as glad that you did, as you were when you got your real set of cuffs. 

Now that the Violet Wand Guild website is operational again, it got me thinking back along its history.  I think there may be few who remember how it got its start when a commercial violet wand company (who shall remain nameless this time) was training and certifying demonstrators and their company repairmen.  I got a nice little certificate too.  That was about 2003. 

Within three years after that, the Guild had taken on a life of its own.  Then another three years passed and it suffered a setback.  Now I hope, as many do, to see it thrive again.

With anything that lasts very long, whether its a person, or an organization or business or even a building, it will cycle through phases of forward movement and setbacks.  The Guild may not ever be exactly like it was, but then again, nothing stays the same.

And so I am recalling the very first time that I saw a violet wand.  It was a tiny house-party in a middle-class suburb---a 'munch' that had been arranged through a USENET group.  'Munch' was a term that originated from some lesbian slang for a meeting and like many other things gay-lesbian or otherwise alternative, it transferred into the new!  exciting!  world of B DSM.  (That's a whole another set of stories, where many of the parameters we use to refer to, or engage in B-DSM, and what to call BDS-M, came from on USENET.)

It was one of the earliest blood-red Erotec wands, without an on-board on-off button, without that thick wide rubber band that held the button down, and with a thinner plastic casing than we find on them today.  Someone had machined a Wartenberg pinwheel to fit inside it.  In the dark, a spray of purple rays came from this wheel in a glowing halo.  This wasn't a serious play party, by no means, but a foray from the virtual socialization into a real setting, so other than stroke it down some arms,  nothing else was done.  I was still fascinated by it, and set to sniffiing it down even more hungrily than men go after bacon, or beef jerky or fried chicken skin.

When you are bitten, you know it.