To dirk or not to dirk?

[Dale Seago]

One of the problems I think many of us confront is that just putting on and going out and about in a kilt is in-itself regarded by way too many as "dress up" or wearing a "costume." Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with wearing costumes; it can be a lot of fun at appropriate times and places. But, if every time someone sees someone else wearing a kilt and dressed-out in what is obviously (other than the kilt itself) an attempt to "portray" some kind of character, whether fictional or historic, it just adds to the notion that being kilted MEANS being in costume. An attitude many of us (well, at least I) wished were not so.

***!

The other thing to think about is quality. Some are exquisite works of art or are a rare historical artefact, but most look as they were made by a blind Tibetan yak herder who was trying to make a garlic press.

And plus yet another one!

[Dale Seago]

I often see dirks being worn by kilted men at gatherings/games in the US, the wearers almost invariably being very casually dressed: No jacket, no waistcoat, short-sleeved shirt of some sort with no tie. It looks "wrong" to me on two levels: One being that the contemporary tradition is that the dirk has come to be considered a formal-wear accessory; the other is that these are usually Victorian (and later) styled dirks -- big pieces of masculine bling with white metal fittings, bejeweled "baluster" handles, etc. These just don't "work" for me with ANY sort of casual attire.

My own dirks are 18th-century styled weapons that do NOT look like what I've described above, but would fit perfectly well with a feileadh mor in a reenactment setting. I would NOT wear one of those with contemporary Highland formal attire: Even though they're well crafted, the style looks too businesslike and utilitarian to "fit" with the rest of the "look".

On the other hand, now that I think of it, I have no problem with the idea of wearing one of them with something like my 5.11 Tactical Duty Kilt, perhaps because even though I like it I don't think of it as a "real kilt" and wouldn't see myself as trying to either adhere to, or violate, any sort of tradition or social/cultural convention. I think a Jacobite-era style of dirk might even look rather good in that context. Here's what I'm talking about (minus a dirk) -- the picture below was taken at the dojo last night, after teaching my martial art class wearing the 5.11 TDK:

[MizzouScotsman]

Thank you one and all. I knew I posted the question to the correct group. I bought my dirks to use as a part of our historical weapons display. I've never seen people who man the Clan tents actually wear one but there are a lot of folk who do. Some men I see have more things hanging off their kilt belts than I can name, flasks, dirks, multi-tools, etc. I'm not sure how their kilts aren't pulled down to their knees. Of course I've also seen the fairer sex wearing fairy wings at Highland games too..lol.

Thank you all for preventing me from making a major faux pas. As a side question, when did the dirk go out of style? Was it after Culloden?

[Dale Seago]

As a side question, when did the dirk go out of style? Was it after Culloden?

Yes, or at least not too long after that. At least it would be proper to say that they went out of style as weapons. A strong contributor was probably the growing popularity of the bayonet in military close-quarters confrontations.

There's a pretty good historic overview, with pics of dirk styles at different points in Scottish history, here:

http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_dirks.html

[Harold Cannon]

I have seen several people who look quite well with a dirk in the day.

Two of the more famous examples are Raymond and Stuart Morris of Balgonie.

They wear the dirk quite a lot with daywear and formal wear, not just with the estate uniform as they are pictured here.

[TheOfficialBren]

I'm a bit late with tjis thread but *** to the rabble's consensus. Don't wear your dirk. My personal preference is to never wear one. I don't wear a sgian dubh, either for the very same reasoning (kilts as part of functional dress rather than costume).

Also, *** regardinng dirks and bayonets. There seems to be a correlation between the rise of the bayonet and the decline of the dirk in Highland martial arts from that period.

[Tobus]

I'm a bit late with tjis thread but *** to the rabble's consensus. Don't wear your dirk. My personal preference is to never wear one. I don't wear a sgian dubh, either for the very same reasoning (kilts as part of functional dress rather than costume).

Ah, I knew it wouldn't be long before this subject came up in this forum. Ye olde debate on the sgian dubh being functional versus costume/ornamentation.

I'll just share this story (which happened at the aforementioned Highland Games last weekend). I brought a buddy of mine who is from Manchester. He's got no Scottish roots, but just thought it would be fun to go and see if there was anything interesting. Well, as it so happened, we got hungry and I of course went for a bit of haggis and a Scotch egg (plus a Belhaven Scottish Ale with which to wash it down). He, on the other hand, wanted to try their bangers & mash. When we got our food and found a picnic table, he looked at his food with disgust, then pushed it over to me. What they sold him was not bangers - it was bratwurst! The horror! So he didn't want it. I, being the good friend that I am, told him I'd eat it for him. But they didn't have any knives to cut the sausages with. Luckily, I had a handy little knife in my hose that I had sharpened to near razor-sharpness. It was quite handy for slicing up my bratwurst to go with my haggis and Scotch egg.

Costume? I think not!

[CMcG]

So, here we are on the new Weapons as Kilt Accessories sub-forum and most of the responses could have been in the regular Kilt Accessories sub-forum. I'm going to try to get into the spirit of the new sub-fourm, though perhaps it is just my desire to play Devil's Advocate

The OP's question was, "is it appropriate today to wear a dirk on your belt?" In the context of this sub-forum, perhaps we can interpret that as a request for specific advice about when to wear a dirk, rather than a question about the general appropriateness of a dirk in THCD...

A dirk is quite an accessory and one that generally requires a context outside the ordinary or garden variety kilt-wearing occasions. Modern, civil society generally frowns upon wearing giant knives for no reason. If, however, there is a reason, then it is entirely acceptable. Furthermore, there are different types of dirks, each with different types of connotations as an accessory.

The ornate, jeweled variety are great for addressing the Haggis at an event and as part of a piper's uniform. I could also imagine one being worn on the type of occasion where a lot pomp an ceremony is required, such as when military folk would be wearing swords. In these cases, a dirk is a ritual or ceremonial implement and often looks like this:



A more rustic, functional dirk could be worn on any occasion where people wearing pants might have need of a big knife. Where I come from, this happens when people are out camping, hunting, hiking, or otherwise practicing bushcraft. If all your buddies are wearing bowie or hunting knives and you want a big knife that matches your kilt, maybe something like a Cold Steel dirk would do the trick:



I'm not as familiar with historical dirks, but if one is reenacting, then they should probably find one that is period appropriate. Perhaps someone else can help out with this one? Or what about about people involved in the recent movement to reconstruct Scottish martial arts? One might not wear their practice dirk on the way to the training hall, but while they are there, it would probably be a required item.

[David Thorpe]

I don't wear a sgian dubh, either for the very same reasoning (kilts as part of functional dress rather than costume).

I can recall any number of instances where my sgian dubh came in very handy. (as in Tobus' example). It is not the least bit "costumy", but rather a common element of THCD. I can also think of many other parts of THCD which could hardly be considered "functional dress". No matter. Wear one or don't.

[TheOfficialBren]

Tobus and David Thorpe,
Perhaps I jumped the proverbial gun on that one. I PERSONALLY do not find myself kilted in situations where a sgian dubh is necessary but others do. I never carry a pocket knife, either, though, as my daily routine doesn't require one. If I need to cut sonething I either go into my kitchen or use my shears in my office.

Different strikes for different folks.