Quote Originally Posted by Guinness>water View Post

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasnt the Sgian Achlais the predesessor to the Sgain Dubh? After the 1715 rising wasnt it against the law to carry a concealed large blade? So the Scots started carrying smaller blades and put them in the top of their hose to be seen?

I've also heard the story about being polite to display all weapons when in someones house.
The sgian achlais would be considered a weapon due to its concealment. The little sgian dubh was never a weapon, but rather a skinning knife - stuck into the hose top for convenience. Later it became the decorative item it remains today (right around the same time that the dirk degenerated into a silly be-jeweled gimcrack). There were no knife bans after any of the Jacobite risings, and I don't buy the "courtesy display of weapons" myth, either....