Bog Oak and Desert Ironwood Burr Damascus Steel Sgian Brew, Scottish gift, bottle opener, groom gift, best man 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 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/Brew 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 have combined the Bog Oak with Arizona Desert Ironwood burr (Olneya Tesota). The tree is extremely long lived and the wood is no.8 heaviest wood in the world just behind Snakewood. This wood is number 75 of hardwoods used to date, and works unlike any wood i have ever come across. It carves like a piece of plastic, the hardest plastic that you could ever encounter, i can’t stress enough how HARD this wood really is!! The colour is mid to dark orangy brown with black and an intense gold iridescence that has a beautiful sparkle in sunlight. The burr is the tightest i have ever seen with an extremely intricate grain. This is easily the most expensive piece of wood i have ever bought and now i see it finished, it was worth every penny.
For a professional finish i have used some stunning African Blackwood for a centre to lock the tang and scales together. All the Blackwood i use is FSC 100% and comes from community-managed forests in Tanzania, 100% of the revenue from wood sales goes back to the local people involved. This true Rosewood has a beautiful grain, jet black streaks intertwined with dark iridescent brown. It also has a high natural oil content that makes it very resistant to moisture. African Blackwood is a very traditional wood to be used in the making of Sgian Dubhs/Brews fitting the bill perfectly for a “Black Dagger”. The wood is extremely hard and finishes to a high lustre and goes perfectly with the Bog Oak and Desert Ironwood.
The blade on this Sgian Brew 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. 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 Brew comes complete with an attractive embossed black leather sheath and a black presentation box.
The Sgian Brew measures:
Overall Length 167mm x Width 28mm x Depth 11.9mm
Blade Length 78mm x Width 24mm
As with all my pieces i have applied my company logo “UBC” with pyrography, in this case on the bottom rear of the handle.