What's up with the sgian dubh nowadays!?!?!

[Brasilikilt]

Hey all

I've always enjoyed surfing the web looking at kilt accessories, especially sgian dubh and Scottish dirks. One thing I noticed is the ENORMOUS price and quality difference which is noticed especially on E-bay.
One one hand you have a very nice sgian dubh priced around $30-$50 and up, handmade with excellent workmanship with a nice wood or horn handle usually with ornamentation such as carving, inlayed with a stone and silver etc......something you can easily regard as a well made piece of artwork

........on the other hand you have these HIDEOUS pieces of JUNK sold on E-bay for as little as 99 cents made out of plastic and metal of incredibly poor quality in a factory probably in Taiwan or China by people who know little to nothing about what a sgian dubh is or what it should look like.

I understand that a sgian dubh is an accessory worn more for tradition than anything else, most of them are never sharpened or used for anything utilitarian.

I know there are more than a few members on this forum who are like me and regard the sgian dubh in much the same way the highlanders did in the old days: A useful tool which is handy whenever you need it.

My question is: What is with the huge gap in the sgian dubh quality out there? I can't seem to find any sgian dubh which can be classified as more plain and utilitarian than ornamental without making it myself, which of course I am going to do just that with the blades I buy from Atlanta cutlery :-)

Has anyone noticed the absence of this kind of sgian dubh? If so can anybody shed some light on why there doesn't seem to be a market for them?

Iain

[Archangel]

I'm going to suggest that, as long as the market is driven by fashion, the knives are going to be more decorative than functional. I think we're starting to see a small movement here on this forum that suggests that may be changing. We want an economical functional knife enough that we're willing to make it ourselves. Cold Steel got closest, maybe it's time they tried again.

I'd also suggest that it's not likely that there is much significant difference in quality on any of the ebay knives under $50. The real difference is presentation, either by manufacturer or the seller. Really, Windlass knives from India are more realistic, traditional and cost less than the ones from Scotland. It shouldn't be that way but that's the truth of it.

I have six here and I'm about to sell four of them. Two are from Scotland, so they say. One from India, best guess, and one from China. The latter two are the better, although none is what I would call a good knife. I am such a lousy salesman.

(I'm not going to follow the trail of the Highland tool idea, that's been covered in other threads and I don't think it's where you want to go here.)

[Dreadbelly]

You know what I really want in a Black Knife?

I want it small, wickedly sharp, and perfectly balanced for throwing. Yet nice enough looking to actually keep tucked in a sock.

Hey... If I have to actually pull it out for a serious reason, we all know the rules... Somebody has got to bleed.

[clancelt]

Highland Blades

Got one of his knives this year. Very nice work, and they are real knives! Not sock dressings. Of course they cost more than 50 bucks. I really like mine.

[Graham]

Heck, they would want to be good knives at $250!!

[clancelt]

Heck, they would want to be good knives at $250!!

Yep, you make sure it doesn't fall out of your sock ;) You do cross a line when you go from mass produced blades to a custom knifemaker. His is the nicest I own, but it also cost 3X more than I paid for my next nicest

[Dreadbelly]

The knife is a little hard to see.

It is an Imperial Knife. Made in Ireland. I am sure somebody round here has to know the brand. It's made from 440 carbon steel. It holds a razor's edge, and holds it quite well I might add. I have skinned stuff with this inky dinky little knife. It's always been a little to small in my giant mitts. It has a rubberised no slip sure grip handle. The blade is about 2 inches long. It's thick. Nearly 1/16 of an inch thick along it's back edge. It's very very strong and has held up to endless abuse. This knife has done everything. Stripped wire, skinned animals, cut leather, cut rope, it can cut a seat belt, self defense, camping and everything that comes with that, cleaning fish, survival in general, and once I even used it like a hammer to break a car window by ramming it tip first in to the side safety glass. (Not for stealing, I assure you) As you can see, the tip is still straight and uncrimped, the blade is mostly knick free, and it has survived all the abuse rather well. It's one of my sharpest knives... I could cut somebody or something with this thing, and they wouldn't even know they had been cut, until a few moments later when the blood begins to fountain from the heart pumping. I once cut my own thumb, didn't even know I did it. Hospital had to cauterise it to make the bleeding stop. This one is named The Drinker.

I would love to see a blade much like this one, with this kind of strength and quality, and the ability to hold an edge... Small, but made in such a way that it is an effective tool for anything. The handle on this is way to large to be effectly stuffed in to a sock. However, the handle is not nearly large enough to be comfortable in my hands. I suspect though that any Black Knife I would own would be that way.

Why doesn't anybody make a blade like this in to a Black Knife? I mean, correct me if I was wrong, but wouldn't they sell like hotcakes?

Edit. Typo. Did I miss anything else?

Second Edit.

I really should mention that Imperial is no longer is business, at least last I heard. Their small time outfit of craftsmen in Ireland could not keep up with the flood of cheap machine pressed P.O.S. imports from Southeast Asia. I know when I bought The Drinker all those years ago, the price tag was, hmm, I don't recall exactly, but it was close to the $350 mark. At the time, the handle was a brand new technology to civilians, fresh out of military tech. It also came with a life time promise of enduring perfection. The company is gone, but many of their blades will live on for generations to come, becoming more and more precious to those that treasure them. This particular blade is not for sale. :razz: Seriously though. I'd never sell it. Not now, with the company gone.

Something to think about when you buy a cheap P.O.S. knife.

[MacSimoin]

That knife looks just like one of the 'Apex Wilderness' knives, which used to be made under the 'Imperial' name in Ireland for Schrade.

[Dreadbelly]

Very good eye sir.

That style of blade would gain an extra inch or so and would eventually become that particular modle. The knife in the picture only has a 2 inch blade. The handle, at the time, was pretty impressive stuff. The wetter it gets, the "stickier" it feels. Covered in grease, water, sweat, whatever, makes the grip feel tacky and sticky in your hand. It's rubbery and spongy. My knife was a first generation of a new style.

The second generation the blades were thinned out just a little bit, extended to 3 inches and 3 3/4th inches depending on the model. The back edge of the knife became straighter. They also slowly phased out the "squared" tip going for something a bit more pointed. Prices dropped considerably with the next few production models. Sort of like when the Leatherman was first introduced, the prices were astronomical, insane, and quickly dropped down to a much more reasonable price. Also, the grips went from being somewhat spongy to being hard as a brick. I am not sure why, I actually liked the soft squeezeable grip. Less stress on the hands during certain jobs. Also, I personally didn't like the change to a more pointed blade. I am not sure why, but I like the squared off tip on the one I have.

They also made a folder, which I wasn't impressed with at all. I really hate to say it, but it felt... Chintzy. The metal frame that housed the blade, it would press in to your fingers uncomfortably when you sqeezed the rubberised grip. Which was just rubbery. None of the sticky feeling of the earlier generations. The metal frame was also thin, and bent easily if you squeezed to hard.

I wonder if Mora makes a wee knife.

[Sciuropterus]

I think any of the slim lockblades with with the pocket clip are well-siuted for sock wear.
For all but the most formal events, I usually have a Jaguar M4 Balisong knife peeking out of my sock. I plan to get one of the Cold Steel's fiberglass skean dhu knives also.

I would never throw a knife unless I didn't care if I got it back.

I don't like to carry expensive knives, the lawmen here tend to confiscate them, or even worse, I lose them.