DIY Sgian Dubh

[Recon1342]

Beautiful job!
Oil tempering is good. So is using a file as your blank. They are very hard (and hard to work, I'll bet). I'm particularly impressed with the high polish finish on your blade It looks like it's been chromed. Did you polish it with Jeweller's Rouge?

"Purple Heart"? Are you one of those or is there another meaning?

I’m a fabricator by trade, so I have access to some neat toys. Blade was ground to size, then I used a 120 grit flap disc on the grinder; then a “red wheel”, (basically a red Scotchbrite flap disc), and then a gray polishing wheel. No rouge necessary.


Purple Heart the wood, not the medal. I thankfully avoided that specific award during my time in Iraq. It’s an extremely dense hardwood that finishes to a brownish purple. If you gently heat it, it brings out the purple more, which is how I got my finish so dark.

ETA: Files are indeed very hard steel, which is why I included instructions for annealing. It makes a big difference in how the metal behaves.