Sgian Dubhs are not weapons ... It's official!

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

With this I agree completely! My references were never meant to apply to the present day Sgain Dubh or it's use or purpose. My references were meant to apply to what it had evolved from, and in this case it seems to have been the Sgain Achlais(sp)

Actually, if you read Forman's monograph you'll see that the sgian dubh evolved from the gralloch.

[Dall_Piobaire]

Had a hard time reading it with the eyes and all! It seems to make sense though! It also seems, on further thought, if one were to have carried a Sgain achlais, one would continue to carry one, as a Sgain Dubh would be quite small to be practical as a weapon of any worth at all.

[Woodsheal]

Had a hard time reading it with the eyes and all! It seems to make sense though! It also seems, on further thought, if one were to have carried a Sgain achlais, one would continue to carry one, as a Sgain Dubh would be quite small to be practical as a weapon of any worth at all.

Exactly. The notion of the little sgian dubh as a weapon is rather ludicrous. A man swinging a bar-stool would have a distinct advantage...!

[JRB]

Exactly. The notion of the little sgian dubh as a weapon is rather ludicrous. A man swinging a bar-stool would have a distinct advantage...!

Exactly. I carry a sgian dubh often enough, but when the "fit hits the shan" I prefer to rely on the sharpness of my tongue rather than the sharpness of the dinky blade in my sock. And if things really got hairy I'll rely on the swiftness of my brogans. A sgian dubh is a handy utility knife in the best of circumstances and a dandy affectation in most other circumstances.

[Bugbear]

Exactly. The notion of the little sgian dubh as a weapon is rather ludicrous. A man swinging a bar-stool would have a distinct advantage...!

Not if you are an "Adept" in a Kurtz novel...

[Tiny]

If anybody wants to take my sgian off me, they are welcome to try - they will need a scalpel though, or I suppose, their very own, very sharp sgian....

Here I fixed your pic for you

[nagod]

so because military regulations say it isnt a weapon according to their definition why do people think this affects civil law?am i missing something or misreading?

[dfmacliam]

Basically there are examples of the sgian's past with it's gralloch ties, but none as a "hidden weapon". There are papers written on the historical evidence on the beginnings of the sgians ties to gralloch knives, as well as pictorial evidence in prints and paintings of the era..

I believed in the worn in the hose for "peaceful intentions" till I searched for proof... And the historical evidence points to the ghillies and middle
class use of the gralloch knives... Which, if I read correctly, usually were in pairs.. One was the smaller skinning knife(sgian dubh), the second was a butcher knife. My experience in butchering game was similar, a skinner and a heavy knife to butcher... Gut it onsite, then skin and butcher at camp or home...practical people would not waste money on a knife that only served one purpose...

[andyfg]

so because military regulations say it isnt a weapon according to their definition why do people think this affects civil law?am i missing something or misreading?

Nagod, I started the thread. Here's what prompted me. I can't speak for others. I had read a number of accounts of the sgian that told the story of the "black knife as a hidden weapon." That had always put me off wearing one (for a variety of reasons that I need not mention). When I read in the Scots regs that the British military do not consider it a weapon, I rather liked it. From what others have said in this thread—who have considered the history of the sgian—the Royal Regiment of Scotland has it about right.

Of course, civil law differs country to country and state to state. A little knife might well be considered a weapon by, say, local police officers in one place but not in another. What interested me was not so much current civil laws as the provenance of the sgian. My post was party tongue in cheek. To be honest I didn't expect it to produce such a lot of posts!:ootd:

[Rab Gordon]

What an interesting thread, it's been good to read the different points of view.
My own opinion is that the Sgian Dubh evolved from an everyday utility knife and the tradition of being worn in the sock has come to show that it is not being carried as a weapon, but carried in plain sight and without intent.

Rab