Pocket Knife with Kilt

[Rlail]

All of the above, really! Everything from Rabbits, Apples, to mistique. and I dropped the Dubh just for shorthands sake. A dirk, it would seem to me, is poorly suited to most outdoor work, The Sgain would clean animals better, I think. The Dirk seems long enough to be too awkward for most purposes

[Rlail]

Just trying to stay in line with the kilt, I guess. A good CRKT or fixed blade buck is my usual go to, and maybe I should just stick with it.

[Jock Scot]

All of the above, really! Everything from Rabbits, Apples, to mistique. and I dropped the Dubh just for shorthands sake. A dirk, it would seem to me, is poorly suited to most outdoor work, The Sgain would clean animals better, I think. The Dirk seems long enough to be too awkward for most purposes

Indeed yes! The traditional SD was actually designed as a tool first------mainly for eating with (before knives and forks became common place) and to hack off a chunk of meat or bread and then stab the proceeds to put it near the mouth------and if things got desperate enough to use as a weapon. A brick, cricket bat, a length of pipe or, even ones teeth would do equally well as a weapon in dire need. One only needs to look at the construction of a traditional SD to see that it is not designed as some sort of Ninja fighting knife and speaking from personal experience its not much use for dressing out rabbits or deer either, but, BUT it will do if needs be. The blade is the wrong shape and the handle fixing is not up to heavy work.

[Rlail]

Indeed yes! The traditional SD was actually designed as a tool first------mainly for eating with (before knives and forks became common place) and to hack off a chunk of meat or bread and then stab the proceeds to put it near the mouth------and if things got desperate enough to use as a weapon. A brick, cricket bat, a length of pipe or, even ones teeth would do equally well as a weapon in dire need. One only needs to look at the construction of a traditional SD to see that it is not designed as some sort of Ninja fighting knife and speaking from personal experience its not much use for dressing out rabbits or deer either, but, BUT it will do if needs be. The blade is the wrong shape and the handle fixing is not up to heavy work.

Hmmmm, thanks. Maybe a stag handle skinning knife would go with the asthetics, and be more suitable.

[Karl R]

Everything from Rabbits, Apples, to mistique. and I dropped the Dubh just for shorthands sake. A dirk, it would seem to me, is poorly suited to most outdoor work, The Sgain would clean animals better, I think. The Dirk seems long enough to be too awkward for most purposes

Most modern sgian dubhs aren't designed for solid, heavy-duty work. They're cheap, unsharpened blades with nice hilt. They can't slice an apple. I paid extra to get one that has a nice blade (and consequently, a very nice hilt). It was expensive enough that I'm not going to be carving up animals with it. (Not as a first choice, at least.)

If I want a nice-looking knife to dress a rabbit, I have a nice, highly functional, hunting knife with a beautiful hilt. That way, the blade is the correct shape and size.

Moreover, unless I'm wearing traditional kilt hose with some sort of garter, a sgian dubh is really inconvenient to carry. My pocket knife folds down to one third of the length, is less than half the width and thickness, and it has a convenient clip on it which will clip onto almost anything (a belt, the kilt apron, even kilt hose). It will also fit into very small pockets. My sgian dubh has an overall length in excess of 8". It doesn't fit into most pockets. It doesn't fit into my sporrans. The sheath isn't designed to attach to anything. It's designed to lie flat along the outside of my calf.

[Dr Bee]

Reading these exchanges reminds me of my days as a Scout in the late 60s-early 70s. The Scouts in Scotland encouraged the wearing of the kilt as part of the uniform and many of us wore a kilt for normal Scout activities - but never a sgian dubh. Rather it was normal to have a respectable sheath-knife on one's belt. I can remember the knife I had - it had a blade of 4.5 to 5 inches and a hilt of compressed leather rings - it was made in Sheffield by a company called Wm Rodgers and as far as I was concerned it was the real deal. In fact I could take you to the field near Shawhead in Dumfriesshire where I lost it - it's probably still there under the turf.

I doubt if there was ever any evidence of Boy Scouts being habitual menaces with their knives, but it seems the Law in the UK now frowns on such knives and such casual wearing of them - in public at least. But back in those days it was just the normal done thing and we thought we looked pretty cool with our knives on our belts with our kilts.

[Rlail]

Reading these exchanges reminds me of my days as a Scout in the late 60s-early 70s. The Scouts in Scotland encouraged the wearing of the kilt as part of the uniform and many of us wore a kilt for normal Scout activities - but never a sgian dubh. Rather it was normal to have a respectable sheath-knife on one's belt. I can remember the knife I had - it had a blade of 4.5 to 5 inches and a hilt of compressed leather rings - it was made in Sheffield by a company called Wm Rodgers and as far as I was concerned it was the real deal. In fact I could take you to the field near Shawhead in Dumfriesshire where I lost it - it's probably still there under the turf.

I doubt if there was ever any evidence of Boy Scouts being habitual menaces with their knives, but it seems the Law in the UK now frowns on such knives and such casual wearing of them - in public at least. But back in those days it was just the normal done thing and we thought we looked pretty cool with our knives on our belts with our kilts.

Sorry state the worlds in nowadays. What you posted is probably what I'll do, just use a good fixed blade on a belt sheath, thanks.

[ThistleDown]

Sorry state the worlds in nowadays. What you posted is probably what I'll do, just use a good fixed blade on a belt sheath, thanks.

You are on the right track, Rlail. These are three knives I, personally, use often.

The one on the left is a Russel made in Canada. This is a small version in their range, but I find it adequate for most things. The middle is a Buck with a 3.5-inch blade and therefore within most restrictions; it's convenient and unobtrusive in its sheath. On the right is the sgian dubh I usually have in my hose and,. I've not show the little Swiss I always have in my pocket or sporran -- for the corkscrew. I keep them all razor sharp and each has an obvious usefulness, including the sgian. In other words, don't overthink this thing: choose the tool that's right for the task.




Edit: I should add, I suppose, that my sgian (ban) of file steel, bone and brass, has often been used to skin a rabbit, fillet a fish, cut a twig and pare an apple. It has also been used to slice rope, cut plastic ties, stir a hare stew. It has never been used to gralloch a stag.

[McMurdo]

Reading these exchanges reminds me of my days as a Scout in the late 60s-early 70s. The Scouts in Scotland encouraged the wearing of the kilt as part of the uniform and many of us wore a kilt for normal Scout activities - but never a sgian dubh. Rather it was normal to have a respectable sheath-knife on one's belt. I can remember the knife I had - it had a blade of 4.5 to 5 inches and a hilt of compressed leather rings - it was made in Sheffield by a company called Wm Rodgers and as far as I was concerned it was the real deal. In fact I could take you to the field near Shawhead in Dumfriesshire where I lost it - it's probably still there under the turf.

I doubt if there was ever any evidence of Boy Scouts being habitual menaces with their knives, but it seems the Law in the UK now frowns on such knives and such casual wearing of them - in public at least. But back in those days it was just the normal done thing and we thought we looked pretty cool with our knives on our belts with our kilts.

This was my dad in 1950 in Blackburn north of Aberdeen in his Scout uniform. I'll have to ask him about the knife.

[Dr Bee]

This was my dad in 1950 in Blackburn north of Aberdeen in his Scout uniform. I'll have to ask him about the knife.

Your Dad certainly looks the part, as I expect my Dad did too - he'd have been 14 in 1950 and he was a Boy Scout, so roughly contemporary. In fact when I was younger the older Scouts looked exactly as your Dad does in the picture but in 1967 the uniform changed from the classic khaki shirt to a long-sleeved green shirt and the 'mounties hat' was replaced with a beret except in Scotland where we wore a grey Balmoral bonnet. I can still remember being taken to the Scout shop in Elmbank Street in Glasgow to buy the uniform - after all these years I believe the Scout shop is still there.