The sgian as a weapon for fighting

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Sooooooooo....Does it beg the question;

If the average sgian dubh is about useless,...and became its present useless self at the hands of Sheffield cuttlers wanting to stamp as many as poss. from a piece of steel, Then Why if someone has a custom sgian made,..do we appear to often go for the same "useless" style?

The answer to you question is simply this: Because that is the shape of blade people have come to expect on a sgian dubh. Back in the 1990s Wilkinson Sword market tested a range of sgians dubh with retailers in Scotland and the USA. Virtually all of them wanted the ubiquitious "triangular" blade, and they wanted it provided with no edge. (They also wanted something that would retail for a tenner...)

[The Monk]

Found this while I was searching for some other information entirely.

http://unknownscottishhistory.com/articlenineteen.php

I make no warranties one way or the other, but it is interesting.

[Taygrd]

"But for peeling spuds thier dandy..............." -A popular song sung by Scottish soldiers. Some of the earliest examples I have seen were clip points and were basically utilitarian in use. As a defence weapon I think the sgian is ofen romaticized but quite frankly you can dispatch a foe with a pairing knife so why not a sgian. Over all I am not all that impressed with modern mass produced sgians, I prefer customs. But then again I am a little biased

[Riverkilt]

Ten pages and nary a mention of the scene in Rob Roy where the Rob Roy MacGregor character whips out his sgian and holds it to the neck of the Archibald Cunningham character before the later can use his sword to effect.

Screenplay of course, and I think the sgian was drawn from the armpit - but still a good example of what the OP question was.

[Ryan Ross]

Ten pages and nary a mention of the scene in Rob Roy where the Rob Roy MacGregor character whips out his sgian and holds it to the neck of the Archibald Cunningham character before the later can use his sword to effect.

Screenplay of course, and I think the sgian was drawn from the armpit - but still a good example of what the OP question was.

That's a good scene!

...I think he took the sgian from inside his bonnet, though.

[artificer]

So I guess we could sum up 10 pages of posts in the phrase "If they're not expecting it, you could hold hostage/kill someone with a pen/butter knife/sgian, without much problem.

[Ryan Ross]

So I guess we could sum up 10 pages of posts in the phrase "If they're not expecting it, you could hold hostage/kill someone with a pen/butter knife/sgian, without much problem.

...that's better than Cliff Notes!

[Dale Seago]

That's a good scene!

...I think he took the sgian from inside his bonnet, though.

Aye, he did -- you can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpN93TT8nT4

[Riverkilt]

Ahhhh, the bonnet was in his hand, not on his head. Now that makes sense.

[Taygrd]

So I guess we could sum up 10 pages of posts in the phrase "If they're not expecting it, you could hold hostage/kill someone with a pen/butter knife/sgian, without much problem.

Best summary I have read