I have an athame mostly because I don't find the traditional hand carved wands attractive - I love my athame
it's in the style of a scottish dirk and is black with a load of blue crystals on it, matching sheath [I think that's what you call it] too
If I got a wand it would have very clean lines and the only thing I would do myself is the choosing of the materials and the blessing
I dream of owning one of these - i even have the materials in mind but they're proper expensive - about £175 I think
http://acmewandsupply.com/gall3.html *sighs dreamily*
Some people say that you shouldn't use your athame to cut but I only apply this in a way where I don't use it for anything other than spellwork instead. the main thing I end up using my athame for is to focus power, kind of in the way wands are wielded. Also something I do but I don't reccomend is I use it to sort of draw energy, for example from a flame - the reason I don't reccomend is because the blade has turned black - lol
xx