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08-23-2009, 05:05 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Grand Island, New York
Posts: 2,147
| | | Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Officer's Dirk and Sgian
Last night at the James Joyce, ohneplo was kind enough to show us a couple of his dirks. I missed most of the information on the second (as well as the opportunity to take a picture), but I think the Rabble will enjoy this: 
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Officer's Dirk and matching Sgian Dubh, circa 1880 (I hope I have that date right). With the exception of the fork tines, all original furnishings and finish. The empty slot in the upper left corner held the matching sgian dubh (being examined by Turpin while I was taking this picture  ).
I will leave the addition of further details to ohneplo - I don't want to get them wrong, and he is the expert.
(And if we ask him nicely, he might post some pictures of his other dirks. The detail work on the other officer's dirk that he showed us was apparent even in the dim light of the parking lot.)
__________________ I am easily moved for sympathy for dogs, far more so than for humans, because dogs do not understand. There is no way to explain that you will return, that the vet will make it all better, that they cannot go shooting today because that is not what today is about. They cannot work out that their misery is finite and will some time end, and so their misery is magnified.
Gerald Hammond
Mad Dogs and Scotsmen
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08-23-2009, 05:25 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Seattle
Posts: 354
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Wow. Thanks for the picture. Looks like quite an amazing set!
-Martin
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08-23-2009, 05:29 PM
|  | | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Far NW Corner of Washington State, USA (48° 45' 51.5808" N / -122° 30' 36.6228" W)
Posts: 5,656
| | Nice! I hope to see more of the dirk! The A&SH's are one of my favorite units. I once created a website devoted to the Argyll's of WWI....unfortunately when "free" geocities closes shop in October I'll probably lose it  
__________________
T. E. ("TERRY") HOLMES
proud descendant of the McReynolds / MacRanalds of Ulster & Keppoch.
"Ah, here comes the Bold Highlander. No arse in his breeks but too proud to tug his forelock..." Rob Roy (1995) |
08-23-2009, 06:32 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Aberdeen Proving Ground
Posts: 3,603
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That is some Dirk set
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08-23-2009, 06:40 PM
| | | | Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: A wee bit south of West Point
Posts: 1,557
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I consider myself fortunate to have the cheap copy of that dirk. The original is magnificent!!
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By Choice, not by Birth
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08-23-2009, 06:54 PM
|  | Retired Forum Moderator | | Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 12,178
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Thanks for showing the photo of that magnificent piece, for those interested here is another thread with a similar dirk.
__________________
"If the Party could thrust its hand into the past and say this or that even, it never happened—that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death."
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 3
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08-23-2009, 07:25 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Staunton, Va
Posts: 4,537
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by McMurdo  Thanks for showing the photo of that magnificent piece, for those interested here is another thread with a similar dirk. | A really handsome piece, and one that clearly illustrates the major difference between civilian and military dirks-- the mirror bright blade of a civilian dirk, as opposed to the etched blade of a military dirk.
Dirks (like Avon bottles and and first editions of Sax Rohmer novels) are extremely collectible, with the added benefit that you may find an appropriate occasion to actually wear one. Given that these are valuable (ie: costly), having a matching dirk and sgian dubh made by someone like Rab Gordon is a tempting thought, indeed. Although your wife might complain about the cost, imagine the delight of a grandchild who would inherit it in a hundred years time.
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08-24-2009, 05:12 PM
| | | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Grand Island, New York
Posts: 2,147
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown A really handsome piece, and one that clearly illustrates the major difference between civilian and military dirks-- the mirror bright blade of a civilian dirk, as opposed to the etched blade of a military dirk. | I wish that I had gotten pictures of the etching on either dirk. 
The second dirk had what, if it had been on leather, a simple zoomorphic design, but it had been etched so skillfully into the blade that it caught the tiniest glimmer of light beautifully.
And the fact that these were functioning (ie not just decorative) blades add to my appreciation of them.
__________________ I am easily moved for sympathy for dogs, far more so than for humans, because dogs do not understand. There is no way to explain that you will return, that the vet will make it all better, that they cannot go shooting today because that is not what today is about. They cannot work out that their misery is finite and will some time end, and so their misery is magnified.
Gerald Hammond
Mad Dogs and Scotsmen
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08-29-2009, 09:15 PM
|  | | | Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: By Stone Mountain, GA
Posts: 89
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It was a pleasure to finally meet Wompet while he was down in Georgia and the stalwarts of S.E.K.S. for a pleasant evening. I'd brought along a few dirks I thought this gathering might appreciate. "(And if we ask him nicely, he might post some pictures of his other dirks. The detail work on the other officer's dirk that he showed us was apparent even in the dim light of the parking lot." Wompet)
Ask and ye shall receive. Sorry it's taken a while to respond. First the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Dirk we shared that evening.     
I'll follow up with some details of the Highland Outfitter that supplied the Dirk and Skein Dubh set as time allows and then the second Gentleman's Dirk Wompet mentioned.
Fair winds,
CAPT Bruce
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08-29-2009, 09:18 PM
| | | | Join Date: May 2006 Location: Far NW Corner of Washington State, USA (48° 45' 51.5808" N / -122° 30' 36.6228" W)
Posts: 5,656
| | Beautiful! Thanks for sharing 
__________________
T. E. ("TERRY") HOLMES
proud descendant of the McReynolds / MacRanalds of Ulster & Keppoch.
"Ah, here comes the Bold Highlander. No arse in his breeks but too proud to tug his forelock..." Rob Roy (1995) | | |
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