Scottish Sgian Dubh (Sgian Dhu) Knives

The sgian dubh is a Scottish knife that is worn on the calf of the leg (tucked into your sock) in highland wear; "sgian dubh" is Gaelic for "black knife" and is pronounced "skin doo." The commonest spelling is sgian dubh, but sgian dhu and other spelling variations are also allowable. Although worn largely by the Scots, it's also worn by the Irish with their kilt outfits.

Some people distinguish between "horn" and "antler" and some do not. We use the two terms interchangeably.
 

Some Notes About Our Sgian Dubh Blades

Our sgians dubh have a high-quality, stainless steel sharpened blade. Exception: the bottle-opener SD2C blade is not sharpened. The current style in Britain is sale of sgians dubh with dull blades, apparently for "safety" reasons (!). One of our suppliers claims that all the other sellers are happy with the dull blades, and so we know that there are dull blades being sold out there somewhere. We suggest that you always check about the blade when buying a sgian dubh if sharpness matters to you.

We sell these sgians dubh solely as a traditional Scottish costume item to be worn in your sock. We offer no warranty on what they will cut, and we do not sell these as self-defense weapons.

Note to knife collectors: In Scottish circles, the edges of the handle and blade will often, but not always, match in  a straight line, as many collectors of other knives expect. Horn-handled sgians dubh especially do not necessarily have this match. We do not exchange knives that do not have a handle/blade straight-line match.

The blades on these knives are just under 3 3/4" long. Our SD all come with a leather sheath.

Dress Scottish Sgian Dubh with Thistle Motif

SD1A. Dress sgian dubh has handle made of high-density polymer in an old traditional design, polished pewter thistle-design mountings, molded hard sheath with thistle tip, sharpened stainless blade. Boxed, with maker's tag. Made in Scotland.  $43

We also have a kilt pin KP24 (kilt pins page) that matches this thistle design.

The SD1A comes in a box like the one shown at left, with the tag shown.

Horn-Handled Scottish Sgian Dubh Knife with Thistle Motif and Ebony Wood Trim

SD2A. Real horn handle, pewter thistle on ebony wood mount on end of handle (the thistle is shown at left below), black leather sheath with raised interlace Celtic design. There is also piece of ebony backing of the horn (that would be worn next to the leg, as shown in the side view below). Sharpened stainless blade. Made in Scotland. Boxed, with maker's tag. This knife now has a plain blade with no engraving. $59

The horn color varies and can be quite dark or light. Please tell us if you have a preference in horn color. Also, some horn has a rougher surface and some is smoother.

The SD2A comes in a box like the one shown at left, with the tag shown.

At left we show another of these SD to show a somewhat different pattern that the horn can have.

Horn-handled Scottish Sgian Dubh Knife with Leather Trim

SD2B. Real horn handle, brown leather sheath with raised interlace Celtic design.  There is a brown wood piece above and below the horn, as shown, and also a wood piece along the back (see side view in the photo below). Sharpened stainless blade. Made in Scotland. This is the identical sgian dubh that is being sold by a national catalog for $99.  This knife now has a plain blade with no engraving. Boxed, with tag. $57.

We show a typical horn handle; however it varies, and some comes in quite light as shown at left, and some is darker as in the SD3A above. Please tell us if you have a preference in horn color. Also, some horn has a rougher surface and some is smoother.

The SD2B comes in a box like the one shown at left, with the tag shown.

Sgian Dubh with Bottle Opener in Blade

SD2C. The sgian dubh with a surprise! This is the same sgian dubh as the SD2A above except for two things: a bottle opener in the blade and a staghorn motif on the end of the handle (see closeup of this below). Brown sheath included. Note: For safety reasons, the blade on this SD is not sharpened. Comes in the black box shown for the SD above. $59

Sale! Resin Thistle Sgian Dubh

SD4. Resin thistle SD (looks like carved horn) at an affordable price. Comes with Celtic-design brown leather sheath. Sharpened stainless steel blade. Knife is 6" long overall. Made in Scotland. Was $33, now $25.

Leather Sgian Dubh Knife Sheath

SD9 (shown at left). Celtic embossed leather sgian dubh sheath available separately. Black only.  Size: 4 1/2" long overall; however, because of the stitching around the edge, it will only take a blade that is maximum 4 1/4". $8. Note: if this item is ordered alone, with no other goods, there will be a handling fee of $2 in addition to a postage fee of $5.

Scottish Horn-Tip Sgian Dubh Knives
For horn and knife collectors

SD13. This horn-tip sgian dubh is called the "quirky" style by the maker. And quirky they are. Every one is distinctly different, as you can see by the two photos. Most are quite speckled. They also vary in size, color, and number of tips. At left, we show some with three tips, and below are the ones with two. Length of horn handle (excluding the stainless steel blade) varies from about 6" to 8 1/2" long. Tell us whether you want this SD  longer or shorter, and we'll pick you out a nice one. These are a real addition to any knife collection! Black Celtic embossed leather sheath included. Sharp stainless steel blade. $53 Note: this sgian dubh does not always work well for actual wear, because the hem of your kilt can get caught in the horn tips, if the horn handle is too long for the length of your kilt.

The handle on this sgian dubh is made of real roe horn, collected in Scotland, and is horn that is naturally shed by the deer.

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