David,

I put quite a bit of thought into the purchase of my first sgian dubh. I wanted something that looked conservative, simple, yet elegant - something for daywear, yet something that could also be worn for dress occasions. I finally decided on the Torridon Sgian Dubh from the Scottish Tartans Museum. I am well satisfied with my purchase, and would indeed wear it for dress as well as daywear. The following is a description from the Scottish Tartans Museum followed by the URL:

"The Torridon is a quality daywear sgian dubh that is also suitable for dress occasions. It has a real blackwood handle, the same wood used to make the finer bagpipes. It has highly polished pewter mounts and a quality leather hide sheath. It represents excellent value for money for a knife of this quality."

http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/blackknife.html

The sheath is plain black with a Celtic knot type embossment. Cost is $53, and sales help support the museum.

Darrell