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”.
I have made the primary outer handle of this Sgian Dubh from some stunning African Blackwood. All the Blackwood is 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 fitting the bill perfectly for a “Black Knife”. The wood is also extremely hard and finishes to a high lustre.

For a professional finish i have used some local Scottish Yew as a centre to lock the knife tang and the outer scales together. This piece of Yew came from a very old tree that grew near Ullapool, West Coast of Scotland. Yew is a very traditional and sought after wood in woodcraft. This extremely slow growing, evergreen tree can live for many thousands of years and its use in folklore and legend has given it an almost mystical status. Colour is a gorgeous warm orange heartwood with a creamy sapwood which contrasts nicely with the African Blackwood. Out of my many combinations of wood Sgian Dubh i would class this combination as an absolute classic. In my opinion it just doesn’t get more traditional than this, a timeless piece.

To finish and protect the wood I first apply a sealer of Shellac and Cellulose Thinners. This brings out the colour and provides and stable base for the next finish. I then apply two types of industrial wax that leaves a hard wearing satin sheen. The blade is Stainless Steel and measures under 3.5″ to comply with UK knife 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 27mm x Depth 12.4mm
Blade Length 84mm 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.