Sgian Dubh in Scottish Whisky Cask Oak and Wild Cherry, Scottish gift, wedding gift, groom gift, best man gift, mens gift

The Sgian Dubh is a ceremonial dagger that is traditionally worn (tucked into the sock) as part of Scottish Highland dress along with a kilt. The translation in Gaelic is dagger for “Sgian” and black for “Dubh”.
I have made the main handle of this Sgian Dubh from some Scottish Whisky Cask Oak. I have worked a fair bit of Oak but this piece is particularly pretty, not sure if the soaking in the “wreck the hoose juice” had anything to do with it, but possibly. It is a vibrant golden brown with Oaks characteristic Medullary Rays showing as unique lighter and sometimes darker coloured dashes across the wood. Very eye-catching especially when viewed under sunlight. I did give the wood an extra fine polishing as i wanted to show it at its best and to be honest, i couldn’t be happier with the result. As with all my wood Sgian Dubhs i have cut a traditional Sgian Dubh design and carved the curves a little further for maximum comfort.
For a professional finish i have used some local Wild Cherry (Gean) as a centre to lock the tang and the outer scales together. This piece came from a tree that grew on the Black Isle, just North of Inverness. Like most Cherrys, Wild Cherry is a lovely wood. It has a complex grain pattern, is orangy brown with streaks of green and a golden iridescence. I used this wood in some of my early work and loved it so have been waiting very patiently for this piece to dry for the last couple of years. These two Scottish Hardwoods go perfectly together.
To finish and protect the handle i first apply a sealer of Shellac and Cellulose Thinners to the wood, this brings out the colour. Then i apply two types of industrial wax, the same as used on my antler kilt pins. This gives a hard wearing finish and an attractive sheen not dissimilar to a polyurethane finish. The blade is Stainless Steel and measures under 3.5″ to comply with UK laws. I have left the blade unsharpened as Sgian Dubhs are mostly ornamental. It comes complete with an attractive embossed black leather sheath and a black presentation box.
The Sgian Dubh measures:
Overall Length 174mm x Width 28mm x Depth 12.5mm
Blade Length 85mm x Width 25mm

Please note: This is my only shop listing that covers multiple items. If you buy one knife you will receive the one in the photos. If you buy more than one, you will receive the knife in the photos and additional similar knives.

As with all my pieces i have applied my company logo “UBC” with pyrography, in this case on the bottom rear of the handle.