Quote Originally Posted by Andy Proffitt View Post
I'm not trying to start trouble or discord but you say that "dirks and swords are made and designed for one purpose, killing people."

Exactly what would the "tradition" of a small knife tucked away in a sock be, but to jam it in someone if the need arose? I know some talk about it's use as a skinning/utilitarian knife, but then why carry it to gatherings, dinners, etc, where there was very little skinning of animals? I think it splits hairs a little much to claim their purposes were dissimilar.
The flaw in this line of argument is that by 1782 (the year the proscription on Highland attire was repealed), Scotland was "pacified", and had been for about half a century. It is not until about 1800 that the sgian dubh first makes it presence known, and the first datable reference is probably Raeburn's portrait of "The Macnab", painted c.1806, a time when the only "clan feuds" to be found were between the covers of novels penned by Sir Walter Scott.

The bald truth of it-- no hair splitting here-- is that the sgian dubh dates from around 1800, and was a small utility knife, conveniently carried in the top of the stocking by those whose mode of dress lacked pockets. As Highland attire became more elaborate, so, too, did the sgian dubh, but without loosing it's intended utilitarian purpose.