The unladen swallows showed up!

[Tim Little]

Congrats on the haul; looking forward to the pix!

The sgian is a beaut -- I was ogling it only a moment ago myself. The open knotwork hilt is quite unusual. If "Heatherstone" is anything like Heathergems, it should look particularly spectacular.

And while the Tay is quite reasonably priced, I really can't justify the purchase of a new sgian myself, so I live vicariously through you!

EDIT -- Aye, this looks to be the item:



Well done, indeed!

[TheKiltedCoder]

Okay, folks, here goes.

First, the Sgian Dubh. In the box -



with the box open -



from the top, showing the stone pattern, and the Heathergems card that came with the sgian dubh -



and finally showing the blade -



The blade arrived dull enough that it will cut warm butter only with persistence and elbow grease. I am strongly considering getting it sharpened, but Illinois law is so screwy about knives, I'm not quite sure whether I can wear it legally, or whether or not having it sharpened even makes a difference in whether it can be worn legally. Part of me really hates carrying a tool that can't be used for its intended purpose, but I also really don't want to get arrested either. I'll have to go consult a lawyer (or the local constabulary).

And now for the kilt. From the front (note: the following images are color corrected using a 50% grey card) -



From the back, showing the pleats



Oblique front showing the apron



and finally oblique rear showing the pleats



Let me know what you all think!

[TheKiltedCoder]

Congrats on the haul; looking forward to the pix!

The sgian is a beaut -- I was ogling it only a moment ago myself. The open knotwork hilt is quite unusual. If "Heatherstone" is anything like Heathergems, it should look particularly spectacular.

And while the Tay is quite reasonably priced, I really can't justify the purchase of a new sgian myself, so I live vicariously through you!

EDIT -- Aye, this looks to be the item:



Well done, indeed!

Yep, as you can see above, it was a Heathergems stone. In addition to going reasonably well with the MacRae, the stone matches my Thompson Grey almost like it was made for it.

The only reason I grabbed it was that I'd gotten a rather minor year end bonus at work, and figured I had to get SOMETHING kilt-related out of it, and that cheesy little plastic $20 sgian that I'd been using was just too tacky for words. I expect that the plastic sgian will be relegated to duty during renfaires and such like (so I don't have to worry about something bad happening), and I'll keep the Tay for dressier occasions.

Thanks much!

Brian

[Tim Little]

In addition to going reasonably well with the MacRae....

I was just looking at the pics and thinking as much; the whole ensemble looks wonderful... and quite an unusual color for the Heathergem -- I'm used to seeing mostly ivory, red, or green... certainly nothing quite that vivid or multi-toned!

[csbdr]

I'm just wondering, how much extra it sets you back to have Jerry order the custom length and pleating. He estimates 1-3 months for custom work on the site, but I've been curious about pricing.

[Tim Little]

I'm just wondering, how much extra it sets you back to have Jerry order the custom length and pleating. He estimates 1-3 months for custom work on the site, but I've been curious about pricing.

I looked into this a couple of months ago, and was told the surcharge is $18/order.

I'm hoping to follow up on this soon....

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I am glad you are enjoying your new sgian. I really like our heathergem capped models. The really neat thing about them is that each one we get in is unique, because of the process used to make the stones.

[TheKiltedCoder]

I looked into this a couple of months ago, and was told the surcharge is $18/order.

I'm hoping to follow up on this soon....

The invoiced amount was for $130, which is right at the quoted price for an off-the-rack model at Stillwater's website. I don't know if Jerry waived the custom fee because of the error or what. My suggestion would be to just shoot him an e-mail if you're curious.

[oxter]

Looks snappy! I saw that they had a MacRea Anc. Hunting kilt in my size on their clearance page, and had to snap it up. So I'm pretty sure that the kilt I'm wearing is the undersized kilt that was meant for you. Small-ish world, I guess.

[TheKiltedCoder]

Looks snappy! I saw that they had a MacRea Anc. Hunting kilt in my size on their clearance page, and had to snap it up. So I'm pretty sure that the kilt I'm wearing is the undersized kilt that was meant for you. Small-ish world, I guess.

If it's a 30" MacRae Ancient pleated to the white stripe, I'm pretty sure you are! Congrats! I'm glad Jerry found someone to buy it.