A bit of work to make Dirk!

**Panache** · 16th October 06, 04:47 PM

I really enjoyed making my sgain dubh

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=20820

I thought a matching dirk would be fun to make. I ordered the 12" dirk blade from Atlanta Cutlery

http://www.atlantacutlery.com/websto...tish_dirk.aspx

I then set to work cutting and polishing up another antler for the handle. When the blade showed up I went into my workshop to drill a hole into the handle for the tang and use two part epoxy to glue the whole thing together just like my sgian dubh. Easy right?

It didn't occur to me that the dirk tang was far longer and thicker than the one on the sgian dubh. Unless I wanted to cut the tang down to 2 inches there was no way to use the curved piece of horn for a handle. I stood there with the two pieces and thought to myself "Rab Gordon" doesn't have days like these"*.

I switched to Plan B. I cut a slim rectangle out of Austrailian Zebrawood and drilled a hole for the tang in it. Out of an extra piece of horn left over from my sgian dubh project I shaped a bolster. I dry fitted the two parts of the handle with the blade and using a belt sander shaped the handle. I then joined everything together with two part epoxy. Next using a dremel sander attachment and various sandpaper I smoothed the handle out. After staining the wood I glued the nickel acorns left over from the sgian dubh sheath and waxed the whole thing to a shine.

I didn't have the skill to make a traditional dirk handle so I didn't even try. I just worked with the wood and horn until I had something that felt good in my hands and looked attractive to me.

Completed Dirk

Closeup of the handle

The last steps will be to make a sheath and maybe have the thing sharpened. I had asked in another weapon related thread if it is tradition to use a dirk for cutting the Haggis at a Burns night supper. If so I will have it sharpened and wear it to our upcoming Northern California Burns Night. I certainly can't imagine carrying this thing around otherwise (it's just over 18 1/2 inches long!)

So what do you think?

Cheers

* I wound up using the finished antler for the handle of a walking stick that will be my Dad's Christmas present. I like the end result so much I made another walking stick for myself. So it wasn't such a bad thing after all

**Tattoo Bradley** · 16th October 06, 05:10 PM

I don't ever see myself wearing one. But, I bet it would be fun to make.

**Tartan Hiker** · 16th October 06, 08:35 PM

I really like the wood/antler combo. Nice job. I gotta finish that sgian I started...

**KiltedCodeWarrior** · 17th October 06, 08:07 AM

I can't imagine ever needing one, but I think it looks great. I love the wood and antler combo, and the acorns are a nice finishing touch.

**Blu (Ontario)** · 17th October 06, 02:40 PM

You chose an interesting piece of wood for the handle... lots of character. I've never worked with it before.... hard? soft? dense?.... looks expensive.

And sometimes simplicity is the best option.

.

**cloves** · 17th October 06, 05:41 PM

I like the acorns too. They add a nice "celtic-nordic-bog-oaky" kinda theme.
It comes across very highlander to me.

**Panache** · 17th October 06, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by Blu (Ontario)

You chose an interesting piece of wood for the handle... lots of character. I've never worked with it before.... hard? soft? dense?.... looks expensive.

And sometimes simplicity is the best option.

.

Blu,

Zebrawood is a hardwood but not terribly dense. Much easier to work with than say Oak ,which would have gone better with the nickel acorns, but I really like the zebrawood*. I believe it is very expensive. My sister and her husband had the trim in their bedroom made of this exotic wood. I saved the pieces from the kindling pile from their fireplace (the horror, the horror

).

Cheers

*Frankly though I love the results, I don't really like working with Oak. Cherry is a favorite of mine, which is why when I was making my "sgian don'ts" so many of them were cherry.