Q: Sgian dubh tang

[McGurk]

I've been thinking about making a Sgian dubh for myself, or rather, buying a blade and constructing my own handle and sheath.

I;ve put a handle on a knife before, using a steel bolster and butt, with a wood handle with a hole drilled down the middle. It was fixed on by hammering the end of the tang flat over the but plate, as you would with a rivet.

I;'ve noticed that Sgian dubh blades have short tang, shorter then I expected the handle to be. Is this the case and if so, how is the handle usualy attached?

[TheSp8]

The quick answer is, it depends. Depending on handle material I will vary my attachment methods. Antler gets drilled out and epoxy is used followed with the pewter bolster. Bone usually gets a bit of epoxy then a couple of pins holding the handle to the tang. It can probably vary by how much imagination you want to put into it and how strong you want the construction to be. Now that makes it clear as mud, doesn't it?

YMOS,
Tony

[James MacMillan]

The tangs come in all lengths, depending on the source of the blade. Sgian dubh blades from ..here.. come with a long threaded tang which can be cut off or used as is.

[jmercier]

The truth of the matter is, the VAST majority of sgian dubh out there are made for show / decoration only and are NOT meant to be used as actual blades. They have tangs that are both too thin and too short.

A full length hidden tang, with some meat to it, makes the best sgian dubh if you actually want to be able to use it to cut stuff and not risk breaking the handle, or snapping the blade off at the stress risers caused by the sharp angles cut into the back of the blade where the tang meets the blade itself.

[O'Neille]

There are not right/wrong ways. A rat tail tang can be filed a little to provide purchase for epoxy to hold onto. You can drill and pin the scales onto a tang also. A lot of it depends on your handle material and your intended use. Even a short rat tail can be very strong with pitch resin like many older sgians. When pewter is involved I make sure there are holes or filed grooves for it to hold onto.

[SFCRick]

Thanks for all the information

[McGurk]

Thanks for the information guys, I dont like the idea of knives made mainly for show (even if I do own plenty like that) and when I was younger, I was taught to be weary of half tangs or rat-tail tangs.

I'll certainly look into it more deeply when I get around it making one!

[James MacMillan]

Like all knives and other cutting instruments, a sgian dubh's use should be fitted with it's construction and design. I don't think that you would ever attempt to dress out a deer with a sgian dubh. It is mainly (by design) a light cutting and stabbing tool. As such the small tang and haft work fine.