New Sgians at STM

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 19th March 09, 08:21 AM

We have some new and unique sgians for sale now at the museum gift shop. These are made completely locally. The blades are made in a town just up the road from us, and the handles are crafted by one of our museum volunteers right here in Franklin. He has a variety of materials at his disposal, and is willing to take custom orders if you have a special wood/material you desire.
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/biodag.htm

**runewolf** · 19th March 09, 10:20 AM

Very nice blades, only problem for me is the length of the blade with it being double edged. It falls under the dagger category of our state laws and as such all it would take is for a bored police officer to decide that it was a "concealed" weapon (since most of it would be under the hose) to make a very interesting few days. May see if I can talk the wife into letting me add one to my collection of boot knives and daggers

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**The Barry** · 19th March 09, 10:43 AM

Ohhhh! Pretty-pretty!

I like pretty!

Ok, on a serious note, those are very nice looking blades. Are they still considered sgians dubh if they are double edged? Were the original sgians single or double edged? Or was there no such categorization?

**ShaunMaxwell** · 19th March 09, 11:09 AM

Matt:

Those are very nice. Can you give us the dimensions?

Also, can you address whether it's single edged or double edged?

Thanks,

SM

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 19th March 09, 11:42 AM

Glad people like them. They are so nice I had to get one myself. :-)

I should have put length information on the web site, I'll have to add that. The overall length of the knife is 8". The actual blade part is just under 4".

Yes, it is double edged. The typical sgian dubh is single edged, because it was originally a skinning knife. This is more of a dagger style, but it's a good size to wear as a sgian dubh. Looks great in the top of your hose!

**Highlander31** · 20th March 09, 12:06 AM

Looks nice Matt.

**Bugbear** · 20th March 09, 02:35 AM

Those are interesting. It says they are double edged blaids. Does that mean they are sharp on the top and the bottom, or am I misunderstanding the discription?

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 20th March 09, 03:12 AM

Originally Posted by Ted Crocker

Those are interesting. It says they are double edged blaids. Does that mean they are sharp on the top and the bottom, or am I misunderstanding the discription?

Ted,

The blade is kind of an oblong, narrow leaf shape that tapers to a point. The point is, of course, very sharp, and both sides of the blade itself have a sharp edge, as well.

**Kerr the Walker** · 20th March 09, 03:20 AM

Those are very nice. Do you know what the handle materials were on the ones you posted pics of?

Originally Posted by runewolf

Very nice blades, only problem for me is the length of the blade with it being double edged. It falls under the dagger category of our state laws and as such all it would take is for a bored police officer to decide that it was a "concealed" weapon (since most of it would be under the hose) to make a very interesting few days. May see if I can talk the wife into letting me add one to my collection of boot knives and daggers

.

I am by no means a legal scholar, and I'm sure laws vary from state to state, but most places I've lived if an officer of the law (or anyone else for that matter) was looking at you from your 12 o'clock or your 6 o'clock and could see the item, then it wasn't concealed. Your mileage may vary.

Regardless of legality, they would make a fine addition to my collection as well.

**M. A. C. Newsome** · 20th March 09, 03:25 AM

Yes, it identifies the ones pictured on the web site, but I should have mentioned it here, as well.

The one on the left is red bone. The one on the right is Kingwood.

I really was impressed with how the bone turned out. It's bovine, and it is available either natural, or dyed in various colors. The raw bone, when dyed, looks to be one solid shade (in this case, red), but once he carves the handle shape and polishes it, this really beautiful two-tone pattern emerges. This red one reminds me of strawberries and creame for some reason!

Of course, the wood options are all beautiful, as well. You'll notice a variety of woods listed on the site -- those are what we can offer at the standard price, but he can get just about any kind of wood as a special order. So if someone is interested in a particular wood, just let us know and we'll see how much it might be.