Sgian-dubh

The sgian-dubh is a small, singled-edged knife(Gaelic: sgian) worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress along with the kilt. It is worn tucked into the top of the kilt hose with only the upper portion of the hilt visible. The sgian-dubh is normally worn on the right leg, but can also be worn on the left, depending on whether the wearer is right or left-handed.

Originally, the sgian dubh is said to have been part of a set of knives used by servants or ghillie or gille(Gaelic: boy), as in serving boy to clean, skin and dress the meat after the Lord of the manor and his party had killed the game. One knife was long and heavy bladed(9 to 10 inches) for butchering the game. This larger knife is likely the ancestor of the modern dirk. The other of the set had a blade from 3 to 4 inches in length, this was for skinning the game. A skinning knife would have a straight single edged blade, or a clipped pointed blade (like a small bowie knife) with a handle of stag antler, or wood carved into interwoven bands of knotwork.

This brings us to the primary meaning of dubh (meaning black). Sometimes bog oak are used on the handle of these skinning knives—bog oak is dark brown to black in color. The secondary meaning, “hidden”, is at the root of sgian-dubh. It’s based on the stories and theories surrounding the knife’s origin, in particular those associated with the Highland custom of depositing weapons at the entrance to a house prior to entering as a guest. Despite this practice, a small twin edged-dagger, a mattucashlass (Gaelic: sgian-achlais /axLɪʃ/: oxter knife, [similar: anns an achlais, under the arms]) is concealed under the armpit—since in these far off days it was unsafe to be ever totally unarmed, not because he feared his host but rather because he feared intrusions from outside. Out of courtesy to his host, it’s removed from its place of concealment and placed where his host could see it, invariably in his stocking on the side of his hand.

The earliest known blades some of which are housed in the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh are made from German or Scandinavian steel which was highly prized by the Highlanders. The blades varied in construction, some having a “clipped” (famously found on the Bowie knife) or “drop” point. The “spear-point” tip has now become universal. Scalloped filework on the back of the blade is common on all Scottish knives.

Since the modern sgian-dubh is worn mainly as a ceremonial item of dress and is usually not employed for cutting food or self-defence, blades are often of a simple (but not unglamorous) construction.