Most people think of a violet wand as a handle and some glowing glass. But sets old and new often come with extra bits, and in mixed lots you'll find all sorts of things that may or may not belong. This guide helps you work out what you've got.

Vintage accessories#

Metal electrodes#

Some vintage sets include metal rods, discs or caps that fit the handle like a glass electrode. They don't glow. Instead they conduct the output directly, or spark from their tips. They're easy to mistake for unrelated hardware, so check whether one fits the handle's socket before dismissing it.

Saturators#

A saturator was a metal electrode, often a bar or tube with an insulated handle and its own short lead, used in the old "indirect" method shown in some leaflets. It's the distant ancestor of the modern body contact cable (see About the Body Contact Cable). Saturators are interesting historically and worth recording carefully if you find one.

Spare parts#

Some outfits came with spare interrupter contacts, fuses or small tools. These are rare survivors and well worth keeping with the set, even if they're never used.

Paperwork and boxes#

Leaflets, guarantee cards, price lists and outer boxes all count as part of the set. They're often more fragile than the glass.

Modern accessories#

Modern wands are often sold with a wider range of add-ons:

These are designed for modern wands. They may or may not fit a vintage handle, and fitting them to one is a change to the object worth thinking about first.

A word on adaptors#

Adaptors that let one handle take a different electrode size are a common modern accessory. On a modern wand they can be handy. On a vintage wand, an adaptor adds another joint, and every joint is a place for a poor connection, sparking and heat. Only use one recommended by whoever overhauled the wand.

Homemade accessories#

You'll sometimes find homemade pieces in old sets: bent wire, foil, odd metal fittings. Record and photograph them as part of the set's history, but don't use them. They were made without any thought for insulation or safety.

Recording accessories#

For each accessory, note:

  • what it is, or your best guess, marked as a guess
  • what it's made of
  • measurements, especially of any part that fits the handle
  • any markings
  • whether it seems original to the set
  • condition

What this site doesn't cover#

Many modern accessories are designed for using a wand on people. That's outside what this site covers. The articles here describe them so collectors know what they're looking at, not as instructions for use.