Highlander, Lowlander, or Border Reiver? Celtic roots? You may be familiar with what a sgain dubh is. Outlander? Maybe not. Therefore, this week, we are offering a little fun for those with Celtic roots and, well, anyone else who enjoys a cool knife or something new.
Available now in our Quick Gifts section, we have a real Scottish sgian dubh, the sock knife worn in traditional highlander dress, now also commonly used in Scottish traditional wedding dress. Ours has a stainless steel damascus blade and sterling silver accents with celtic design, plus a traditional leather sheath, all made in Scotland for Salter Fine Cutlery.
In Hawaii, Gregg Salter, owner and creator of all our products, blended Hawaiian wood with his English-Scots ancestry to create a beautiful traditional Sgian Dubh for use or display in any collection.
So what Is a Sgian Dubh? Here goes:
It is a single-edged knife with an edge and handle decoration on only one side, with the other side flat so as to be worn in a sock or as part of traditional Scottish highland dress: you know, the ones with kilts. Though now often seen in weddings or Scottish traditional gatherings and festivals in the USA, originally they were mainly used in the highlands for eating and preparing fruit, meat, or cutting bread and cheese! And, who knows, maybe if the occasion dictated, for a bit of protection as well.
Why use sterling silver decorative embellishments? It seems that if you were roaming around the highlands in dangerous times a few centuries ago, carrying money wasn't as safe as having either silver or jewels that could be used in an emergency. Some sgian-dubhs are decorated very elaborately. On this one, we chose only two sterling silver pieces because we figure you won't want to remove them to buy groceries any time soon.
The decoration carved into the Hawaiian koa wood near the bottom represents the Scottish thistle. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland. That significance goes back to the reign of King Alexander III in 1249.
There is lots of interesting information to be found, which makes for fun reading on the internet some cold winter evening. Have fun reading, and have even more fun as the owner of this beautiful specimen.
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