Sgian Dubh How To

[Panache]

Cloves,

Thanks for enlightening me!

efer,

I hadn't even thought of that! It is a perfect match with the Freelander's deer horn buttons


Wompet,

I can remember looking at your two horn sgian dubhs. Nice work. I was a little tempted to try and use my grinder, dremel, and hand files to put an edge on the knife. But everything had gone so smoothly and the sgian dubh turned out better than expected. I didn't want to blow it at the very end.
It was amusing going into my local knife shop this morning in my SWK hunting Mcleod. The owner regarded my get up and smiled when I brought out my new creation he said something to the effect of "well that's the appropriate knife".


Switchblade5984,

My friend's Dad is an avid hunter. At a big BBQ in Soquel I happened to be over at his little ranch and was shown to his work room which had rafters full of antlers.

Tim,

The Devil's Canyon Brewery is one place I will not need a bottle openner! I'll be happy to bring it. I'd better get working on that sheath.

And to everybody,

Thanks for your kind words.

Cheers

[setboy]

i like it. i need to get off my back side i do that

[Pour1Malt]

very nice!

guid oan ya

slainte mhath!

[Panache]

I had the blade sharpend at the local knife shop to a razor edge for $10. I then picked up a small supple leather piece from Michaels for $3 or so and sewed a simple sheath with a bit of vinyl tucked inside for stiffness. The leather was too supple and kept catching on the blade point. I needed something stiffer and thicker. The lightbulb went on over my head (or at least a candle) and I went down to my local second hand shop. I found a neat western leather belt (sans buckle) for $2. It had an oak leaf motif with small metal acorns attached. I took the end off and cut another section to match. Used my soldering iron to uniformly burn all the edges smooth and make them a uniform color. I used two part epoxy to glue the edges together and attach one of the metal acorns for decoration. I used sinew to sew the edges as well. After polishing it up I was done.

Here's the end result:





My thanks to ozmeath again for his thread and advice.

I am very pleased with the result. Completing this project and admiring my modest results certainly gives me far greater appreciation for Rab Gordon's
wonderful work.

Cheers

[Caradoc]

After polishing it up I was done.

It looks beautiful.

The only quibble I'd have is that the antler curves "backward" from how I'd usually be holding the knife, but if you're cutting fruit or cheese with the blade facing your thumb it should be just about perfect.

(Yes, I'm one of those "functional knife!" proponents.)

The sheath shows good work - how does the knife sit against your leg? Since I carry with the jimping (filework on the back of the blade) facing "forward" so that it goes right under my thumb on the draw, yours looks like it might "dig" a bit into the leg. Unless, of course, you're a lefty?

[Robin]

Awesome!

What's next? some Xmarker already buiding a 1:1 replica of Stirling Castle?

[Panache]

It looks beautiful.

The only quibble I'd have is that the antler curves "backward" from how I'd usually be holding the knife, but if you're cutting fruit or cheese with the blade facing your thumb it should be just about perfect.

(Yes, I'm one of those "functional knife!" proponents.)

The sheath shows good work - how does the knife sit against your leg? Since I carry with the jimping (filework on the back of the blade) facing "forward" so that it goes right under my thumb on the draw, yours looks like it might "dig" a bit into the leg. Unless, of course, you're a lefty?

I fiddled about for awhile trying to decide which way the blade should go into the handle.

The jimping faces forward and the blade's edge to the back. The curve of the antler handle sticks away from my leg to make it extremely easy to grasp and draw. I didn't want it to dig into my leg. Oddly enough I did think about how one would slice an apple with it.

One last consideration (on the fanciful side) was that when I get to work on my dirk the handle will face the other way to fit snug into the palm of my right hand. So this sgian dubh is set up to used with my off hand. This will prove invaluable when I'm in all those imaginary knife fights against cattle thieves at close quarters

Cheers

[walkerk]

Panache,

Too crafty by half. Good job all around.

What's next? some Xmarker already buiding a 1:1 replica of Stirling Castle?

Oh great! Like he needs any more projects.

[Caradoc]

One last consideration (on the fanciful side) was that when I get to work on my dirk the handle will face the other way to fit snug into the palm of my right hand. So this sgian dubh is set up to used with my off hand. This will prove invaluable when I'm in all those imaginary knife fights against cattle thieves at close quarters

Ah, I see.

My sgians dubh are "utility" knives, not fighting knives. Ropework, camp stuff, et cetera.

Were I ever forced into fighting "in kit," I'd most likely have my belt axe in my right hand, dirk in my left, in an "icepick" grip.

If you've seen Mel's "The Patriot," you've seen that style.

Most of the dirks I've examined have been set up for ambidextrous or left-handed use, either blade-up or blade-down, since your "strong" hand would have been holding a sword...