Sgian Dubh in African Ebony and Hawthorn – sharpened, kilt knife, 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 knife or dagger for “Sgian” and black for “Dubh”.
I have made the primary outer handle of this Sgian Dubh from some African Ebony. This is perhaps the most well known dark Exotic hardwood and has been used throughout the ages in quality woodwork and musical instruments. The heartwood is predominately jet black but often with brown especially towards the sapwood. The wood is exceptionally hard and durable with very fine pores so can be polished to a high lustre.
I have combined the African Ebony with some local Scottish Hawthorn. I harvested this wood from a wind blown tree on the banks of Loch Ness. This lovely wood is a beautiful creamy brown with light brown streaks. It is the closest thing to a Scottish Ebony as the wood is extremely hard and works very similar to Ebony. Hawthorn, often just called “Thorn” is steeped in Folklore and Mythology and had so many uses. The leaves and flowers were eaten, the wood because of its high burning temperature was used to smelt pig iron and the tree itself was believed to be the home of fairies! It is one of my favourite Scottish Hardwoods and the contrast on this knife against the Ebony is stunning.
For a professional finish i have used African Blackwood as a centre to lock the knife 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 fitting the bill perfectly for a “Black Knife”. The wood is extremely hard and finishes to a high lustre.
To finish and protect the wood i first apply Shellac and Cellulose thinners to the wood. This brings out the colour and provides a staple base. I then hand brushed 3 coats of a tough polyurethane lacquer. From my experience this is the hardest wearing finish available for wood
The blade is Stainless Steel and measures under 3.5″ to comply with UK knife laws. I have ground and honed the edge of this Sgian Dubh, not super sharp by any means but so it is more of a functioning knife, the end user can easily add to the edge if required.
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 of just under 13mm
Blade Length 85mm 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.