Scottish Red Deer Antler and Bog Oak Damascus Sgian Dubh

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 primary outer handle of this Sgian Dubh from some Scottish Red Deer Stag Antler. The antler came from a stag that roamed the hills above Lairg, Sutherland, an extremely rugged and untouched part of Scotland. Antler is one of these materials that is a joy to work, approximately the working hardness of Oak, it responds well to careful working with both machine and hand tools. My wood Sgian Dubhs tend to be very exacting in their shape where as antler, due to its flowing curves can offer a more natural handle which is exactly what has been achieved in this knife. I have left the antler just how the deer made it, only sanding where necessary. When working this particular piece of antler, there was a gorgeous smell of pine resin, this lad had been thrashing about in Scots Pine, this is often where the dark colour on antler comes from.
I have capped this antler handle with some Scottish Bog Oak. I have been very aware of this materials existence for some time now but have been waiting to secure the right piece. This particular piece came from Muir of Clunes, 12 miles South West of Inverness. This is quite a rural, verdant and quite thickly wooded part of Scotland. My contact for this wood excavated quite a few pieces and had a very small section scientifically aged, it came back at approximately 5000 years old! To put this into context, this is when, slightly further down the road, Stonehenge was starting to be assembled. Bog Oak is created when the tree is buried in a peat bog and the wood is preserved by the acidic conditions. The wood is stained dark brown to black by the tannins in the acidic water. There is a fair amount of wastage of the wood until you get deeper into the piece. In its raw state it smells like a mix of rubber and organic material, not in any way rotten or decomposed. Working the wood is somewhat challenging, quite splintery very much like Snakewood or Ebony and is number 80 in my list of worked Hardwoods. Finished, the wood is at least as hard as fresh Oak and finishes to a fine lustre. Colour is predominately black with dark brown that has a deep iridescence and looks almost identical to Indian Ebony. As far as the ultimate Scottish Sgian Dubh wood (black wood), this is pretty much it although it does have the monopoly on colour as no other Scottish wood is quite so dark. I sculpt the wood until in joins perfectly and seamlessly with the antler and again smooth off any sharp edges.
For a professional finish i have used some Scottish Oak as a centre to lock the tang and the outer scales together. Being a self-confessed wood snob, i don’t often use Oak on my knives as i feel it is sometimes just a little plain. I was up in Ullapool the other day visiting my wood guru, Robert the Spruce when he produced this lump of Oak. He informed me that it was from a 800 year old tree that grew in a Highland Estate just North of Inverness. It was toppled in a huge storm some 5-6 years ago and had been slowly drying in his store. It blows my mind to think that this tree was established in the late Middle Ages when both William Wallace and Robert the Bruce were doing their thing. It has been sawn on the quarter axis revealing its beautiful and interesting grain. Mid golden browns with streaks of darker brown go perfectly with the antler.
To finish and protect the handle I could not use polyurethane varnish as this would turn the antler yellow. So in this case i first apply a sealer of Shellac and Cellulose Thinners only to the wood centre, 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 on this Sgian Dubh is made from stunning Damascus steel. Damascus steel was first made over 2000 years ago and has a legendary status, it is referred to as the steel of the Ancients. It is thought to have originated in or near Damascus, Syria. During the Crusades, the Crusaders were in awe of this steel that they witnessed slicing through their own lesser quality swords. The exact process of making Damascus steel was lost around 1750 AD but it became very popular again in the 1970s with various craftsmen claiming to have rediscovered the process. The process involves taking multiple layers of metal and folding them together and bonding them by forge welding. If done correctly the metalsmith will end up with a blade that is both hard and flexible and of course have the swirling Damascus steel pattern that is so sought after. Each blade has its own unique pattern, just like a finger print. I have sourced top quality 15N20 Damascus steel blanks, they have a higher Nickel content for extra hardness and are simply stunning to look at, an absolute must have for any collection. The blade has a factory edge as standard, perfectly adequate for skinning an apple, if a sharper blade is required, please contact me. There is one draw back with Damascus steel, due to the high carbon content it will rust and rust quickly. If the blade gets wet it must be dried quickly and if stored for a period of time, especially in an environment that could get damp, simply rub a little clear oil onto the blade to protect it.
This Sgian Dubh comes complete with an attractive embossed black leather sheath and a black presentation box.
The Sgian Dubh measures:
Overall Length 176mm x Width 30mm x Depth 17mm
Blade Length 86mm x Width 24mm, this complies with UK laws.
As with all my pieces i have applied my company logo “UBC” with pyrography, in this case on the bottom rear of the handle.