Sgian Dubh Presentation Box

**ehiker** · 2nd October 07, 07:11 AM

This is a commissioned piece I just finished last night. The buyer pretty much gave me free-range with my design - she just wanted a presentation box for the Rab Gordon sgian dubh she was giving her fiance as a wedding present and she left it up to me to come up with something creative.

The first sgian dubh presentation box I'd made had an interior lining fitted to the sgian dubh. Since the buyer was from Scotland and the sgian dubh was never going to be in my hands, I had to change the design. I decided to make a box that could be useful for MORE than the sgian dubh. Personally, I try to keep my sgian dubh with my kilt pins and my cuff links, the other smaller items I tend to wear with my kilt. I took that idea and came up with this:

The box is made from some of the nice quantity of reclaimed white oak lumber I got from a 100 year old house we dismantled on our family farm. I purposely did not fill the nail holes or worm holes, as I try to maintain that character in my finished pieces. (Otherwise I'd go out and buy newly milled lumber, then, wouldn't I?) The rectangle insert in the lid, the mitered keys, and the internal dividers are all Irish bog oak. The hinges are extruded brass.

Rab mentioned to me the buyer was getting a red jasper pommel cap put on the sgian dubh, so I thought I'd tie the box to the sgian dubh with the red jasper. A quick search on ebay (have I ever mentioned before how much I love ebay?) produced a fairly inexpensive cab that was just the right size. When I held the jasper up to my finish test piece, there was not enough contrast between the wood and the stone, which gave birth to the lid inlay idea. The Irish Bog Oak helped create the contrast I needed - and it gave me a chance to do some inlay work.

I usually fume my white oak with 26% anhydrous ammonia, but I ran into some construction/logistic problems, so instead I treated the wood with Watco's Danish oil, two coats of garnet shellac, and then a final rub down with Renaissance wax.

I'm pleased with the final result.

Oh, the sgian dubh in the second picture is mine, from our very own Rab Gordon - a wedding present to myself, really. The Xmarks kilt pin was a birthday present from best friend and fellow Xmarker, Mang1974. The cuff links are my own creation, made with 2000 year old bog oak from the Roman settlement of Londinium.

**Panache** · 2nd October 07, 07:17 AM

I am always delighted to see the exceptional and diverse work our craftsmen create here on XMTS. My compliments on your craftsmanship and good eye for choice of materials.

Cheers

Jamie

**James MacMillan** · 2nd October 07, 07:40 AM

Not to diminish the Sgian Dubh, because I haven't seen it, but that presentation box stands on its own!

That is gorgeous work. I have never seen its equal!

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**McMurdo** · 2nd October 07, 01:10 PM

That is just incredible work, I am sure that the lucky recipient will treasure the presentation box as much as the new sgian dubh.

**Arlen** · 2nd October 07, 01:21 PM

Niiiiiiiiice.

**ehiker** · 2nd October 07, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by Panache

... and good eye for choice of materials.

Design and material selection play just as big a part in my projects as the construction itself. I try to put a lot of thought into what woods I'm using and why I'm using them. In this case, the underlying theme is the use of recycled and reclaimed wood (the white oak from the house and the bog oak from the bog).

It's always nice to see people notice that extra attention to detail I give a piece.