Sharpen a Sgian Dubh?

[BBNC]

You are buying this blade from Rab Gordon, a fine and reputable dealer. I think he offers three or four levels of Damascus blades and that at least one of them is Swedish steel. I suggest you call him and ask, if you are worried -- and then definitely have him sharpen it for you.

Thistle Down, I'm not the least bit concerned about sharpening the blade properly, I'm a former knifemaker as I pointed out in my original post. My query was about whether or not it should be sharpened for carrying at public events, or left dull, as a decorator piece.

I believe the consensus is to go ahead and sharpen it, and leave it in the car if by chance sharp sgian dubhs are banned. Besides, my ever-present swiss army knife will be in the sporran.

[ThistleDown]

Thistle Down, I'm not the least bit concerned about sharpening the blade properly, I'm a former knifemaker as I pointed out in my original post. My query was about whether or not it should be sharpened for carrying at public events, or left dull, as a decorator piece.

I believe the consensus is to go ahead and sharpen it, and leave it in the car if by chance sharp sgian dubhs are banned. Besides, my ever-present swiss army knife will be in the sporran.

Sorry Bruce, I suppose I was responding to the responders as much as to you. You will know if Rab's blade can carry an edge or not. As I said, though, a sgian dubh is not some sort of of requirement with Highland dress, so you can just not ever wear it, if you don't want to, and just continue carrying its equivalent in your sporran. As for the venue, the issue really is not the edge of the knife but the point, surely. If you will already have a Swiss knife in your sporran, then there's not much 'point' in having a sgian in your hose, rounded like a butter knife. To combine the best features of both, however, you might take Downunderkilt's advice: sharp, multi-use (and pointy, too)

[BBNC]

Sorry if I came across a bit strong in that last post, no offense intended to anyone. Anyway, while digging into Rab's website a little deeper, the damascus I ordered was apparently made in Mumbai, which is a major damascus producing area. I'll find out the quality of steel when I sharpen and test it, but that will be the final step, of course.

There is an old method of testing the edge-holding ability of a blade...cutting cardboard. The longer it cuts before dulling, the better.

[Cranky]

Heck, just tuck the Swiss Army Knife in your socks and be done with it!