Daywear Sgian Dubh???

[creagdhubh]

I like to wear a sgian dubh with a genuine stag horn handle (lighter coloured stag horn from Perthshire) with a coronet hilt for day wear, but I also sometimes wear a ball-top sgian dubh made of sterling silver and ebony. I tend not to wear a sgian dubh with a stone of some sort (cairngorm) inserted into its hilt, I restrict the use of this style of sgian dubh for evening occassions when stones are more commonly worn.

Cheers,

[sailortats]

Boy, I don't know about this site. I am beginning to dread opening it up each day. For some time now I have been perfectly content with my one and only sgian dhu. Now I find that to be proper I should have one sgian dhu for daywear and one for evening wear. Will my wallet ever recover?
I am 4 weeks into jonesing for my next kilt and, of course, before it gets here I have to buy a new kilt hanger and kilt pin for it. It's an endless cycle. Oh well, what is money for if not to spend.

[Dale Seago]

For some time now I have been perfectly content with my one and only sgian dhu. Now I find that to be proper I should have one sgian dhu for daywear and one for evening wear. Will my wallet ever recover?

Relax, it can be more easily done and with less strain on your wallet than you might think. I had this stag sgian made to my specifications a year ago, by someone here at Xmarks:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...3&l=86ea3c07b3

[OC Richard]

Boy, I don't know about this site. I am beginning to dread opening it up each day. For some time now I have been perfectly content with my one and only sgian dhu. Now I find that to be proper I should have one sgian dhu for daywear and one for evening wear. Will my wallet ever recover?

LOL

Thing is, by the 1930s Highland Dress had become highly compartmentalised with three quite strict categories 1) "Outdoor Dress" (or "Daytime Dress"), 2) "Evening Dress", and 3) military style costume.

In looking carefully through several old Highland Dress catalogues from the 1920s and 1930s it becomes apparent that Day Dress and Evening Dress were utterly different at that time, each with its own dedicated shoes, hose, sporran, shirt, necktie, and jacket. Not only that, but different kilts as well! Because these catalogues mention heavyweight kilts for Day Dress and "fine" lightweight kilts for Evening Dress. So of course sgian dubhs would follow suit.

Wasn't the case in the mid 19th century when the lines between those three modes of Highland Dress were not strictly drawn, and it was common to wear long hair sporrans and buckled shoes and full tartan hose with plain grey and brown tweed jackets (such as we consider to be for "Day"), and common to wear plain brown or grey hose and ordinary shoes with black jackets (such as we consider to be for "Evening") and so on.

[HaggisMacJedi]

I just don't like how it feels having a sgian dubh in the hose. It just becomes uncomfortable for me. If I think I might be needing a knife for the day I simply take my 3 inch lock blade knife and either put it in my sporran or use its clip to attach it to the lower kilt strap on the right side. I know some folks really enjoy a good sgian dubh, dirk, etc, but I don't particularly care for the look or feel of one for myself personally. I don't strap on a dagger, knife, and sword when wearing my jeans, and I don't when wearing the kilt either.

[unixken]

I don't strap on a dagger, knife, and sword when wearing my jeans, and I don't when wearing the kilt either.

I never leave the house without a good folder and a SureFire flashlight. Whether it's cutting my own or someone else's seat belt following a car accident, navigating an unfamiliar building interior when a fuse blows, or whatever, it's always good to be prepared with at least a basic tool or two, ready at hand. No reason a sgian couldn't also fill the role of a working knife.

[David Thorpe]

No reason a sgian couldn't also fill the role of a working knife.

I'm waiting for someone to come up with a Swiss Army "MacGuyver" mulit-tool knife disguised as a sgian dubh.

[Dale Seago]

I'm waiting for someone to come up with a Swiss Army "MacGuyver" mulit-tool knife disguised as a sgian dubh.

Something like this?

http://www.gaelicthemes.net/?officer-sgian-dubh,56

[David Thorpe]

Something like this?

http://www.gaelicthemes.net/?officer-sgian-dubh,56

Well, not exactly, but somewhat the same general idea. Not being a drinking man anymore, the blade screwdriver might still be useful, the corkscrew and bottle opener not so much. Scissors, Phillips-head, small pliers and/or tweezers, an awl, a serrated blade -- those would be far more useful, to me anyway. I have several Victorinox multi-folders stashed around the house and shop. The Super Tinker is one of my favorites.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

http://www.gaelicthemes.net/?officer-sgian-dubh,56

When I designed this knife I had to overcome several problems -- the biggest being weight and thickness. This limited both the number of tools, and the kinds of tools, that could be accommodated in the handle. A call to the Victorinox distributor in the UK told me which Swiss Army Knives were the most popular and, based on the tools that were common across the range of the top ten SAKs, the decision was taken (by me) to include only the two most popular tools-- the turn screw/bottle opener and the corkscrew.

For everything else, there's always the tool box in the back of your truck...