Sgian Dubh
 

My Daughter and her Beau have planned their wedding. Due to their sharing an obsession in their Celtic heritage, it will be Scottish / Scot-Irish themed.

My soon to be son in law has his wedding Kilt on order, and has been wanting a nice Sgian Dubh "Black Knife" to carry , but wasn't able to find a traditional design he could justify spending the money on . He eventually decided to settle for one of the inexpensive variations as sold on ebay , etc.

I decided that a true red blooded Scotsman can't be seen in public with a cheesey Chinese made Sgian Dubh, so I ordered a blade with a sheath, and commenced studying original Sgian Dubhs (Skeen Doo). Then set to work creating one using Ebony, White Ebony, Water Buaffalo horn and German Silver.

The Sgian Dubh or "Black Knife" according to legend was a small utility / defense knife carried concealed.

When visiting a friend's home , or among friends, it was placed in the top of the hose or Kilt stocking as a courtesy to show that you were armed , but had no malicious intent.

I gave it to him as a surprise gift. I wish I had taken a picture of the expression on his face. It made it all worth while.

I thought some of you would enjoy seeing it. It turned out much better than I ever expected, when I began.

Ron

Ron,

Absolutely manly and gorgeous! Any true Celt would be life-honored to posses such a knife.

Tell us about the blade, please. Is it a form of Damascus or just the reflections of its surroundings?

(Gosh, I can't stop looking at it.)

"Kahe Wilthoue" (SP. Gaelic doesn't transliterate very well.)

John

(Whose direct roots are Taum, County Galway, Eire.)

Hi Ron, Congratulations on your daughter's wedding. As a father of four I always had mixed feelings when I turned one of them over to some other guy on their wedding day. Fortunately they all seem to be very happy.
Your Sgian Dubh turned out beautifully, you're a talented guy,Ron.
In case any non Celts are wondering what's worn under the kilt, this photo may shed some light.
Best regards, Norm

A really beautiful job Ron! If you ever got cut with that knife, you would probably bleed plaid. Well done!

John,

Thanks, I'm Scot-Irish on one side and Scot-Welsh on the other. I've never been successful in tracing our origin further due to a lack of traceable genealogy. My Daughter's future husband is from a long line of Scots on both sides , Brown - Cowden.

The blade is polished steel. I wanted to use Damascus , but the blades were a bit too spendy for a first attempt.



Norm,

She couldn't have picked a better man. If we had a son, I think he would have been the one I would have wanted.

And, old Dad has been informed that he will be wearing a Kilt, if he wants to give the bride away. I think it will be fun, but I will be wearing some "non-traditional" skivvies under it.

Ron,

I think if Jordan got a paper cut, he would bleed plaid. ;) He's fiercely proud of his Scottish heritage. Thanks!

Ron

And will there be pipes to pipe her down the aisle proper?

("Is this a dagger which I see before me? Handle towards my hand. Come, let me clutch it!"
Sorry, couldn't pass it up.)

In addition to my English, German and Dutch heritage, I am proud to claim a wee bit of Scot-Irish blood in me veins...not enough to put a tilt in me kilt, but at 73 not many things would. :)

By the way, regarding the statement "The blade is polished steel. I wanted to use Damascus , but the blades were a bit too spendy for a first attempt", if that is your first attempt, you need to recognize that you are a fine craftsman...so you need to "go big" if you ever do it again.

For a first attempt, I think that you did an outstanding job. I would be surprised if that very knife does not become a family heirloom in the "new family".

great job congrats

Excellent job Ron, looks great!

We went to Scotland while based in europe for 10 days, one of the best vacations ever!

Very cool, how long did it take to make (or am I being dense and didn't read close enough :))

Ron,

I'm planning making more of them. Stag was also used in the original construction, so I'm going to try some Stag on the next one. I found some very nice blades at a good price, although not Damascus. Thanks for the compliments.

Ed,

It took me about 2 to 4 hours per day average for a week and a half to complete. I only work until I start to get bored, or begin to lose my concentration. Once I reach that point I force myself to quit. Otherwise I start getting careless and make mistakes. Some days I may only work for 30 min., others I may work for 6 or 7 hours. Once I get the techniques down , it will be faster.

rhuff and padredan,

Thanks.. I appreciate it.

Ron

+1

Ronh,
I don't know what you consider too expensive, but I found this site that sells Sgian Dubh Damascus blades for around $27.00. http://www.lochnessorigins.com/acata...omponents.html
The downside is that they come from Scotland, so it might take forever to get them.

Ron,

Thanks...I found that one in my intitial search. The damascus pattern isn't really what I wanted. And yes, the shipping time, as well as shipping cost was a deterent.

The damascus blades I really wanted averaged $55 to $75 just for the blades. The blade with a nice sheath that I used was $15 with shipping, and it arrived in 4 days. I didn't want to spend $55 + on a blade for my first attempt, in case it didn't come out.

Ron

Ron, Impressive craftsmanship! Really well done. I hear ebony can be touchy to work with. A wonderful gift. Now for a few photo's of the bride and groom?

Jerry

Ron, great job!

We'll have a toast on you and your family here at the holy ground (we are in Oberndorf am Neckar at the moment, deep in Mauser territory)!

Hi Jerry,

Yes, Ebony is very oily and hard. It also splits and chips when you least expect it to. The wedding isn't for a few months yet, but I'll post photos when I have them. Thanks!



Thanks Gerben, have fun!! Wish I could be there...

Beautiful job Ron.

Neil

Beautyful workmanship Ron wish [I] had that skill.

Just finished my wedding Sgian Dubh.

Not as fancy as the one I made for Jordan. The detail in the pommel carving isn't as clear in the photo, but gives the idea. It still needs to be polished a bit.

Made from Elk antler, Water Buffalo horn and German Silver.

Ron, Stunning! Very nicely crafted!Bet you have a few hard hours in that..I really like the horn handle.

Ron,

Congratulations on your daughter's engagement, upcoming wedding and what sounds like a fine future son-in-law!

Your craftsmanship is beautiful.

Here in North Carolina, there is a tradition of knife making. We see examples of this work regularly here at some of the shows I attend.

One of our community colleges (Montgomery community college in Troy NC) has a knife making program that is well regarded. You're probably beyond much of what they teach.

I believe that you can get damascas steel blanks from a number of foundry suppliers in India and other middle eastern locations. That would allow you practice on less expensive supplies.

Marc

Jerry,

I started carving the Tree Spirit at 5:30 Am yesterday morning. When I decided to take a break for some coffee it was 1:33 PM. I thought I was looking at the clock wrong. I would have sworn I'd only been working for a couple of hours.

Here's a photo of how the pommel cap started out. This is the other half of the piece of horn I split to make the pommel cap.

Years ago,when I was trying to learn how to shape rifle stocks. I asked an old stock maker what his secret was, and what his techniques were to shaping a stock? He said, "You start out by getting rid of the wood you don't want. When you get to the part you need, stop."

Thanks...

Marc,

I recently met a knife maker who gave me a lead on some relatively reasonable Damascus blades from a maker in Spain. He doesn't do computers, so I sent him a letter.

I really wish I had the equipment to make my own blades, but that isn't going to happen for a while.

Thanks...

Ron