Hello! I hope everyone is well this morning!
For the most part, yes, a staff is similar to a wand and is used much the same way.
They are made the same way. I think of it as indoor and outdoor - wands for indoor magick and staves for outdoor magick. A staff can be used for inscribing circles, sigils and runes on the ground, or directing energy, as per a wand.
I have also read that a staff was used to thump the ground to call spirits, as well as “knocking on wood” to summon the spirit of a tree. [Though to be honest, this last one seems rude. Just because you knock on my door doesn’t mean I’m going to help you or give you money. If you want the aid of a tree spirit, don’t act like the witch equivalent of Jehovah’s Witness.]
There is also the fact that in some times and places people weren’t allowed to carry ‘weapons,’ and staves and walking sticks sometimes were used for this purpose as well.
I have selected a piece of wood for a staff, but have not yet begun to carve it. I’m trying to hone my skills first, but yes eventually I will have and use one, primarily outdoors.