Sgian Brew “Black Burr”, Sgian Dubh, Scottish knife, kilt knife, Scottish gift, wedding gift, groom 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 knife or dagger for “Sgian” and black for “Dubh”. Sgian Brews have become a popular alternative, used in perhaps a non-knife friendly event or just as a talking point.
I have made the primary outer handle of this Sgian Brew from some beautiful, highly figured Scottish Burr Wych Elm. One of my favourite local woods, mid browns, tones of cream, yellow and green with a golden iridescence and an incredible burr grain pattern. I harvested the burr that i used for this particular knife from a tree in Balmacara, West Coast of Scotland beside the Isle of Skye and have been waiting for it to dry for a few years now. I have used perhaps over a hundred burrs in my time and this one stood out due to the very clearly defined lighter sapwood to darker heartwood, quite a rare thing indeed. I have used mostly the lighter sapwood on this Brew, just a little too light by itself for the main handle so i have used some industrial black colour fast wood dye. Most people are familiar with wood stain, perfect for many wood applications but it does tend to hide the grain. Burr Wych Elm is renowned for having a beautiful and intricate grain, something i try to show off in every piece i do. This particular wood dye allows this stunning grain and some other colours to still be clearly visible yet make the overall colour a rich black. The dye is also colour fast so won’t fade with time. I have intentionally hand brushed the dye on instead of dipping the whole handle as i wanted the inside of the burr ‘eyes” not to be dyed. This shows up as brown colour making a nice contrast and giving further depth to the overall piece.
For a professional finish i have used some local Scottish Olive Ash for a centre to lock the Brew tang and outer scales together. Olive Ash is actually the heartwood of a Ash tree and gets its name from its darker streaks running throughout its grain similar to that of European Olive. It has a vibrant golden iridescence and always goes so well with Burr Wych Elm.
To finish and protect the wood have applied 3 coats of a tough polyurethane lacquer, this is one of the most protective finishes that can be applied to wood. The blade is Stainless Steel and measures under 3.5″ to comply with UK knife laws. The blade of a Sgian Brew has a far more substantial thickness to a Sgian Dubh blade, just under 3mm so adds a weighty quality feel to the piece. It comes complete with an attractive embossed black leather sheath and a black presentation box.
The Sgian Brew measures:
Overall Length 168mm x Width 27mm x Depth 13.1mm
Blade Length 80mm x Width 25mm
As with all my pieces i have applied my company logo “UBC” with pyrography, in this case on the bottom rear of the handle.