Quote Originally Posted by Tobus View Post
I'm having a hard time picturing how that would work. Since the handle of the knife sticks out several inches past the end of the sheath (where the clip is), how could it hang from the arm hole of a waistcoat? I'd think the handle would be too long and be sticking up into your armpit, preventing you from being able to put your arm down.
This perhaps the most perplexing question asked about the so-called "arm pit" dagger. Most serious students of Scottish arms are now coming round to the opinion that the knife propbably wasn't worn concealed in the armpit, but rather worn close to the body, possibly below the armpit. There is also a growing school of thought (to which I subscribe) that the sgian achles was more of a utensil than a weapon; in other words, while it could serve as a weapon, it was probably used primarily as a knife for cutting and eating food, or applied to other chores that would be unsuited to the much larger dirk commonly worn at that time.