Sgian Dubh blades and price point

[Howard Clark]

It comes up frequently enough to make me very curious about the market potential for nicer sgian dubh blades. There are several knife makers that participate here.

So what is your price point for a really nice sgian dubh blade ?

$10

$25

$50

$200 (nice damascus and file work)

Obviously one would expect different levels of finish/embellishments for these different prices. Please do tell what you think. And thanks for indulging my curiosity !

[H. Hastings]

Hey Howard,

The poll will only let me post one choice but if the blades were yours I'd gladly hand over $50 for a monosteel or $200 for a patternweld!

[Ryan Ross]

Hey Howard,

The poll will only let me post one choice but if the blades were yours I'd gladly hand over $50 for a monosteel or $200 for a patternweld!

I agree, on both points. There is so much variability in quality to be found in hand made blades (or hand made kilts or sporrans, or anything else, for that matter), so it's hard for me to say exactly what I would spend on any given blade. If the quality was second to none, as Howard's would be, plunking down $50 bucks for a mono steel blade or $200 bucks for some kind of layered steel blade would be a no-brainer.

What that I should have such an opportunity!

[O'Neille]

I'm kind of a tactile blade buyer. I need to hold them to determine if they'll even work for me. I've often held onto blades for years until the right piece of wood or antler presented itself.

[McFarkus]

I'm happy to have nice but relatively inexpensive sgians - eBay variety. But I really like the kind of quality knives that Rab Gordon makes http://www.rainnea.com/sgian-dubhs.htm so I guess I'm willing to pay a higher price for a really nice blade.

[EBlackall]

I'm kind of a knife collector, so it depends on the knife. If it looks good to me, I'll pay whatever I think fair.

The highest I've paid for a folder is $350 each for a Strider GB and an AR.

The highest for a fixed was about $300 for a Busse custom.

I have a Cold Steel Mini Culloden (plain edge) that is a great Sgian Dubh.

Still searching for a more traditional model...

[James MacMillan]

I too have accumulated several (many) sgian dubh knives, and knives that stand in for a sgian dubh.

The least money for the ones that I have kept, has been $22.50 (ebay) and the most has been $130.00. I think the mean price for a usable blade in my mind would be around $75.00.

However, I also have a few that I would not part with, so I consider them priceless. A few were acquired through trades, A couple were made for me as presents, and a few I made myself.

[beloitpiper]

I'd pay the most, but only once. One day, I will have a Rab Gordon sgian.

[osric the pale]

i don't mind paying for quality, but am on a very tight budget...which is ok cuz i don't mind doing most or all the cleanup and mounting work myself...i make my own blades as well and can heat treat up to a four inch blade, but send anything bigger to a professional heat treater. as for my personal knives, i couldn't care less about polish, just performance and the ability to soak abuse...a 25$ carbon blade fits that bill nicley
~oz

[Rab Gordon]

I'm working on a couple of Sgian Dubhs just now using some beautiful Damascus blades made by Howard Clark and these are really amongst the best made blades that I've seen.

Rab