The Sgian Dubh

[manavark]

I know this is probably going to upset some long time Scots, but I have to ask, what is the reason for the knife in the sock. It looks rather odd for a grown man walking around with a wantabe knife in his sock. Now in my defense, I mean no harm or disrespect, I am looking at it from an outsider and also from a different culture. I would really like to know its meaning and its function, I have looked at this long and hard and don't see any connection to the outfit or that it adds anything to the looks. If I did step on any toes, then be as ruthless as you want, maybe I deserve it. Larry

[unixken]

I will let others speak to the history of the sgian dubh (or "black knife", black as in covert, not color). But for some such as myself, it can be a way to personalize and bring elements of individuality to our outfits, to express ourselves, or to materialize feelings such as the way in which one of my own sgians honors the emotional attachment I had to my favorite canine companion.

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...34#post1093834

"Ben" has been gone 10 years now, but each time I carry this sgian dubh, I feel like I carry a little bit of him with me.

[manavark]

Thank you unixken, that is good, I can relate, because of animals that I have had that have become part of me and my family. An animal love to me ranks in the highest esteem there is. BRAVO. Larry

[Father Bill]

Thread moved to "Weapons as Kilt Accessories" forum.

[Jock Scot]

Actually Larry it's a fair question. As to its history, well I am not really sure there is definitive answer. I think its fair to say that knives were carried in all sorts of places around one's person for all sorts of reasons, mainly utilitarian I would say, but of course it could be used as a weapon too if needs be. As part of the Scottish hospitality thing, that is still taken seriously here in Scotland, it was "expected" that a guest in the house should declare his weapons to the host, so any hidden potential weapon was put in plain sight by the guest. Apart from the fact that the guest would use his knife to cut off a chunk of meat or bread whilst dining. Anyway on to modern times.

I suppose the kilt thing as we know it today was refined into some sort of order in the Victorian times and the SD was taken in as part of the romantic idea of what kilted gentlemen should wear.These days, with modern thinking and laws(dont go there! There are pages on the law---and every country has its own version----- here!!!!!) some carry a plastic SD or one with a blunt edge, or with a bottle opener on the bottom instead and some don't carry one at all. I think many just think something sticking out of the hose top is almost expected, but in truth, it is not a hanging offence, in kilt attire terms, not to carry one at all, if one so chooses.

I carry one with a sharp blade most of the time and it is very handy for peeling apples and opening letters. Frankly, it is not a MacNinja fighting knife, nor it it a survival knife and as we all know there are far better knives for those purposes should they be required.

[OC Richard]

a wantabe knife

I don't know about the "wannabe" part. It's a knife, a real knife, with a steel blade that can take an edge if you want it to.

I always looked at the sgian (which by the way is merely the ordinary word for 'knife') as the equivalent of the Saxon pocketknife. Thing is, kilts don't have pockets, so the everyday utility knife would have to be put in the sporran or stuck in some other convenient place. The top of the sock is quite handy, actually.

My old Pipe Major used his sgian for cutting hemp (the yellow cord/string used on bagpipes) and also for shaving reeds. He kept the blade at just the right amount of sharpness for reed-shaving.

At some point, like the dirk, the sgian came to be regarded as part of the costume.

In the Army sginean (pl) were worn, and are still worn, by officers and pipers. So, to some extent they form a badge of rank or position.

Though a small part of the costume the sgian tends to make a big impact on people who don't see Highland Dress often. I know the first time I saw a piper in person one of the things I noticed was that knife in his sock, and when I go out on piping gigs it's one of the main things people ask about. Many pipers feel somewhat underdressed if they're not wearing one. Other pipers (civilian pipers, that is) never wear them because it's just one more thing to have to fuss with (many pipers paring down the costume to the bare minimum).

[nagod]

when did it turn from a utility knife stuck in a convenient place to a hidden knife for nefarious purposes?

[Jock Scot]

when did it turn from a utility knife stuck in a convenient place to a hidden knife for nefarious purposes?

21 April 1697.


Joking apart. I think that then they were multi-purpose, and of no particular design and carried in no particular place, unless, I suppose, skullduggery was afoot.