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The sgian-dubh ( ; ) – also anglicized as skene-dhu – is a small, single-edged knife () worn as part of traditional Scottish Highland dress. It is now 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 same side as the dominant hand.
Draconian Scots laws introduced by the Scots Privy Council under the Stewart King in the late 1500's; intended to reduce honour interclan feuds and duelling included the outlawing of hidden weapons. {Basilikon Doron 1599}. This writ by the Scots King was impossible to enforce North of the Highland Line and so the carrying of weapons continued in the Highlands until the suppression period post Culloden in 1746. Never the less, the transition from the carrying of the last resort weapon (Sgian) may have begun to transition from armpit pocket to top of hose on the leg at this time. However, codes of Highland 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 blade, and a skinner with a blade of about . These knives usually had antler handles, as do many early sgian-dubhs. The larger knife is likely the ancestor of the modern dirk.
The sgian-dubh can be seen in portraits of kilted men of the mid-19th century. A portrait by Sir Henry Raeburn of Colonel Alasdair Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland; it shows hanging from his belt on his right hand side a Highland Scottish dirk, and visible at the top of his right stocking what appears to be a nested set of two sgian-dubhs. A similar sgian-dubh is in the collection of The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland.
Traditionally the scabbard is made of leather reinforced with wood and fitted with mounts of silver or some other metal which may be cast or engraved with designs ranging from Scottish thistles, Celtic knotwork, or heraldic elements such as a crest. While this makes for more popular and expensive knives, the sheath is hidden from view in the stocking while the sgian-dubh is worn. The sheaths of many modern sgian-dubhs are made of plastic mounted with less expensive metal fittings.
Since the modern sgian-dubh is worn mainly as a ceremonial item of dress and is usually not employed for cutting food or self-defense, blades are often of a simple construction. These are typically made from stainless steel. The hilts used on many modern sgian-dubhs are made of plastic that has been molded to resemble carved wood and fitted with cast metal mounts and synthetic decorative stones. Some are not even knives at all, but a plastic handle and sheath cast as one piece. Other examples are luxurious and expensive art pieces, with hand-carved ebony or bog wood hilts, sterling silver fittings and may have pommels set with genuine Smoky quartz stones and blades of Damascus steel or etched with Celtic designs or heraldic motifs.
However, the wearing of the sgian-dubh is sometimes banned in areas with zero tolerance weapons policies or heightened security concerns. For example, they were banned from a school dance in Scotland, and initially banned for the June 2014 celebration of the Battle of Bannockburn..
Air travellers are now globally required by airport security to put sgian-dubh in their checked baggage.
A Montreal Bagpipe received a ticket from police for wearing his sgian-dubh in public. Police gave Jeff McCarthy a $221 ticket for sporting it in his kilt hose while performing at the McGill University convocation ceremony on 2 November 2016. McCarthy immediately contested the fine and after some delay the ticket was cancelled by The City of Montreal in May 2018, and his knife was returned.
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