Quote Originally Posted by David Thornton
What was a traditional sgian made from? Were highlanders working with damascus? What is meant by a left handed or right handed sgian?

We are just starting to think about the sheath. What was the traditional sheath? Just a leather cover for the blade? Or is the sheath formed from another material and then covered with thinner leather? What is the genesis of the ornimentation?
A "traditional" sgian dubh was probably a sgian ochles, or "armpit knife," made from bog oak that darkened to black.

"Damascus" steel wasn't made in Damascus. It describes pattern-welded metal that was distributed from Damascus. A sgian dubh or sgian ochles might have been made from cable damascus, as that technique of welding many small rods together into a single billet for a sword or knife was used amongst the Vikings in pre-Norman times.

A right-handed sgian dubh should have the "flat" side of the handle against the right leg on the right side, with the edge facing the wearer's back and the jimping or filework facing the front of the leg. This is so that when the knife is drawn, the jimping is under the thumb of the hand holding the handle.

I've heard people say that the jimping on a dirk or a sgian dubh is for scaling fish. It's a ridiculous claim. The jimping on a sgian dubh makes a nice place to put your thumb and get control of the edge and point. This is why I'm not fond of jimping on a dirk, or very aggressive (sharp!) jimping on a sgian dubh - I'm very much a fan of functional tools, not pretty but useless toys.

I'm also not much for highly-decorated sheaths for the sgian dubh - what's the point, since the sheath shouldn't be seen except when the knife is in a display case? Well-constructed, yes. Highly decorated, no.

Hope this helps.