Pocket Knife with Kilt

[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.