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Sgian Dubh
The Sgian Dubh (pronounced Skeen doo) is a ceremonial dagger (or in Scots, a dirk) worn with as part of the modern Scottish kilt. It is kept in stocking with the pommel visible.
Etymology
The name comes from the Gaelic meaning Black Knife, wherein black could refer to the usual colour of the handle of the knife. It is also suggested that black means secret, or hidden, as in the word blackmail. This is based on the stories and theories surrounding the knife's origin.
Origins
The sgian dubh may have evolved from the sgian achlais, a dagger that could be concealed in the armpit.
Used by the Scots of the 17th and 18th centuries, this ancestor knife was slightly larger than the average modern sgian dubh and was carried in the upper sleeve or lining of the body of the jacket.
Courtesy and etiquette would demand that when entering the home of a friend, any concealed weapons would be revealed. It follows that the sgian achlais would be removed from its hiding place and displayed in the stocking top held securely by the garters.
The sgian dubh also resembles the small skinning knife that is part of the typical set of hunting knives.
These sets contain a butchering knife with a 9-10 inch blade, and a skinner with a blade of about 4 inches. These knives usually had antler handles, as do many early sgian dubhs. The larger knife is likely the ancestor of the modern dirk.
In the portraits of kilted men of the mid 1800s, the sgian dubh can be seen.
A portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn of Colonel Alasdair Ranaldson Macdonell, the notable 15th Chief of Glengarry, hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland showing what appears to be a sheath that holds two nested knives. A similar sgian dubh is in the collection of The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland.
Construction
The early blades varied in construction, some having a clipped or drop point often found on the Bowie knife.
The spear point tip has now become universal. Scalloped filework on the back of the blade is common on all Scottish knives. A short blade of 3 to 3 1/2 inches is typical.
Since the modern wearer of the sgian dubh does not intend the blade for cutting food or Self-defense, blades are now of a simple (if not unglamorous) construction.
These are typically stamped from brass and nickel-plated. The basic handles are plastic fitted with plated castings with synthetic decorative stones. Some are not even knives at all, but a plastic handle and sheath cast as one piece.
Some blades however, are luxurious and expensive art pieces, made from solid silver or Damascus steel. Blades can be etched with family crests, Masonic or regimental symbols.
The scabbards are reinforced with wood and fitted with decorative ends and can also have crests and symbols. While this makes for more popular and expensive knives, the sheath is hidden from view in the stocking while the sgian dubh is worn.
Alternative Spellings
While pronounced skein or skeen doo many alternative spellings are found in the literature surrounding the kilt and Highland dress.
Various spellings include:
- skein dubh
- sgian dhub
- skene du
- skean dhu
- skhian dubh
Article is provided courtesy of Wikipedia.org and distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
 
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