I may be wading in over my head here (not uncommon), but now that I'm fitted with most of the stuff I need for a kilt, my thoughts are turning toward a sgian dubh. I've looked on eBay and there are certainly a lot of crappy, cheap ones available. But knowing what I know about knives and not wanting to ever own a mediocre piece of steel, even if it is decorative, I have started researching buying a blank and making my own. I looked at www.lochnessorigins.com and they certainly have the right steel (high carbon...the only way to fly, imho), but I'm no wood carver and I wanted to see if anyone knew about using antler. I saw the recommendation about Vince Evans' book and since I don't have a lathe or any carving skills, I'm thinking antler is where I should put my efforts. Horn/bone has its own issues, of course, but something about it appeals to me. At least for the first one.

Does anyone have any experience or words of wisdom for me? Or maybe the place to start looking for making a handle out of antler? Or even thoughts about why I should go in another direction. I have made knife handles in the past, but doing something decorative is more than I'm up for right now.