Natural Sgian Dubh, Scottish knife, skene dubh, Scottish gift, wedding gift,
groom gift, best man gift, mens gift

The Sgian Dubh is a ceremonial dagger that is traditionally worn (tucked into
the sock) as part of Scottish Highland dress along with a kilt. The translation
in Gaelic is knife or dagger for "Sgian" and black for "Dubh".
The antler i used in this handle came from a stag that roamed the hills above
Lairg, Sutherland. This is an extremely rugged part of Scotland and I'm sure it
makes the Stags and their antlers extra tough! Antler is one of these materials
that is a joy to work, approximately the working hardness of Oak, it responds
well to careful working with both machine and hand tools. My wood Sgian Dubhs
tend to be very exacting in their shape where as antler, due to its flowing
curves can offer a more natural handle which is exactly what has been achieved
in this knife. I have been getting more and more requests for a more natural
finish on my Antler Sgian Dubhs so have done as little finishing on the antler
handle as possible to keep the natural look but, enough sanding to remove any
harsh edges or lines and make the knife ergonomic to hold and comfortable being
worn. Colour-wise, Antler tends to be predominately creamy white, sometimes
with tones of pinkish brown and even some green.
I have capped this antler handle at both ends with some beautiful, highly
figured Scottish Burr Wych Elm sapwood. I harvested this burr from a tree in
Balmacara, West Coast of Scotland beside the Isle of Skye and have been waiting
for it to dry for a few years now. I have used perhaps over a hundred burrs in
my time and this one stood out due to the very clearly defined lighter sapwood
to darker heartwood, quite a rare thing indeed. The sapwood is a creamy light
brown with darker burr "eyes" and has lovely tones of golden iridescence. I
sculpt the wood until in joins perfectly and seamlessly with the antler and
again smooth off any sharp edges.
For a professional finish i have used some local Scottish Wych Elm as a centre
to lock the knife tang and the outer scales together. This particular piece
came from a tree that grew near Forres, East Coast of Scotland. Wych Elm is the
highland cousin of European Elm, ranging from light to mid and dark browns,
often with streaks of green and a golden iridescence. This colour of this piece
goes perfectly with the Antler and Burr Wych Elm sapwood.
To finish and protect the handle I could not use polyurethane varnish as this
would turn the antler yellow. So in this case i first apply a sealer of Shellac
and Cellulose Thinners only to the wood centre, this brings out the colour.
Then i apply two types of industrial wax, the same as used on my antler kilt
pins. This gives a hard wearing finish and an attractive sheen not dissimilar
to a polyurethane finish.
The blade is Stainless Steel and measures under 3.5" to comply with UK knife
laws. I have sharpened the blade of this Sgian Dubh.
It comes complete with an attractive embossed black leather sheath and a black
presentation box.
The Sgian Dubh measures:
Overall Length 175mm x Width 28mm x a max Depth of 21mm
Blade Length 86mm x Width 25mm
As with all my pieces i have applied my company logo "UBC" with pyrography, in
this case on the bottom rear of the handle.