Not exactly a standard sgian dubh

[thescot]

That is a very nice blade. You have added a few little bits--like the red layer in the handle--that really make it unique. very tight joints. thanks for the photos.

[MacBean]

I found the red spacers interesting. When I lived in the Amazon, the custom there was for folk to make their own machetes out of truck leaf springs. They liked to use PVC pipe to make handles. They favored the softness in the handle, and also that PVC came in different colors so they could do what the red spacers to here. The most common ones were white handles with blue spacers. In general, folk seemed to favor shorter handmade machetes than you see in films, some little longer than carving knives. Not sure why, I liked mine with a 22" blade.

For many folk, a machete and an axe were all they had of civilized material goods, so they were pretty important.

[Bugbear]

I found the red spacers interesting. When I lived in the Amazon, the custom there was for folk to make their own machetes out of truck leaf springs. They liked to use PVC pipe to make handles. They favored the softness in the handle, and also that PVC came in different colors so they could do what the red spacers to here. The most common ones were white handles with blue spacers. In general, folk seemed to favor shorter handmade machetes than you see in films, some little longer than carving knives. Not sure why, I liked mine with a 22" blade.

For many folk, a machete and an axe were all they had of civilized material goods, so they were pretty important.

I was reading an anthropology type book the other day, MacBean, pointing out that in some places in South America, don't remember if it was specifically the Amazon, even the very young children commonly used or at least played with large knives or machetes. This would be opposed to North America, where parents would probably not let a two-year-old play with the butcher knife of the kitchen, and of course not saying one was right or wrong for each situation.
Just something that popped back into my mind when I read your post.
I, personally, have been using one of those long, serrated turkey carving knives to hack through the jungle in my back yard for the last few years.