Finished the Yantworth sgian dubh

[Brasilikilt]

Hey all

For the longest time I have been wanting a sgian dubh (black knife) with a comfortable handle made from PC materials and a carbon steel blade which actually takes and holds a good edge.
You wouldn't think it would be difficult to find, but yes it is!!
For those of you unfamiliar with the sgian dubh, it is a small knife which was originally worn in your armpit, but, if you were invited into one's home as a guest it was considered very impolite to enter with concealed weapons. so it became a common practice to take your knife from it's hiding spot and stick it in the handiest unconcealed place, your sock.
Tradition has dictated that those of us who wear a kilt, also wear a sgian dubh in our sock.

The sgian dubh nowadays has lost it's purpose as a general use knife and back up weapon. You see a lot of them around which are very beautiful finely crafted works of art, but when you hold one in your hand, it's obvious that they're not intended as "users" And for the price that some people are charging, I wouldn't use them either!!!.

I knew I had to make my own......After a few e-mails to our very own Joe Yanta showing him a few pics of the style blade I wanted, he hammered one out in a day and had it in my mailbox in about a week!!!!!!!
He sent it with a good usable edge, but me being the knife nut I am, I had to do a little work to spruce the edge up. With minimal effort I was able to put a shaving edge on it which stayed sharp even after testing it on some white oak scraps. :thumbsup:

This last weekend I put a handle on it, and I think it's the nicest knife I have ever made
I used deer antler and trimmed it with ebony to make the world's first Yanta/Heyworth collaboration The Yantworth sgian dubh

 

[2172]

I share your affection for the sgian dubh...as a scoutmaster in the 60's, I carried one in my high stocking...I understand that the Canadian Boy Scouts made one their standard knife at one point, but know no details. I picked up a dress knife in Edinburgh, but a working one in a small sporting goods shop in Blair...good blade, dark wood handle, pewter thistle inlaid...but I think yours is better looking. Congratulations on a great knife...Hank

 

[Goldhunter]

Very nice. I like how you shaped the handle to fill your palm. :thumbsup:

 

[Joe Yanta]

Very nice job Iain, your knife turned out very well. I like the ebony treatment. What kind of sheath are you going to make?

Joe

 

[Brasilikilt]

Thanks everyone!

I have to admit that having a high-end blade to work with motivated me to make this knife better than any other I made before. :thumbsup:

The shape of the handle is to fit comfortably against your leg, but in this case also allows for a comfortable grip as well, which is not always the case with sgian dubhs.

For a sheath I will make a simple leather sleeve for the blade as it won't be worn on my belt....something like this perhaps

 

[shmrck1]

Great looking work!
snake-eyes :bow: :hatsoff:

 

[Riley/MN]

Very nice!

Now do you just use the sock to hold the knife, or does the sheath have some sort of belt (garter?) attached to it?

 

[pondoro]

Looks great! Are the notches in the blade for some purpose or merely decorative?

 

[fatboy]

Hey Brasilikilt, nice knife you did good !

 

[Brasilikilt]

Thanks for the kind words!

I hope I'm not too late in answering your questions

I always just stick my sgian dubh in my sock, and it seems to stay there at least for a while. A lot of the kilt wearers use flashes which are basically garters to hold up your kilt socks made from fabric to match your kilt

As far as I know, the notches in the blade at this point in time are merely decorative, but I wouldn't doubt that they mimic a practice which at one point actually did have a function

hope this answers your questions