I just received my custom sgian dubh from Rab Gordon of Loch Ness Origins yesterday. It sure is beautiful! Here's the sgian dubh in its presentation box:
Rab created the original Midgard artwork on the leather sheath after I showed him a photo of a 7th century stone brooch depicting the Midgard serpent. In Norse mythology, Thor battled the Midgard serpent at sea, believing he killed it with a blow from his hammer. The serpent is thought to still live under the sea, encircling the earth as it bites its tail.
Midgard serpents are also engraved on the silver ferrule, each serpent biting the tail of the next. The blade is bird's eye Damascus steel about 3¼" long. The overall length is 7". The knife is light with the balance point right over the ferrule. The ebony handle is comfortable with my first three fingers wrapped around it. The polished cutting edge is at the bottom of the picture opposite the jimping on the top edge.
Here is a close-up showing the blade and ferrule in greater detail. For those of you wishing your sgian dubh was sharp, Rab supplied this one sharp. The only modification I made to the cutting edge was to polish the primary angle through a few grades up to 2000 grit. I followed up by dressing the secondary cutting angle with one of my very fine diamond stones. Apart from allowing the knife to cut very easily, the narrow polished band along the cutting edge looks pretty sharp.
Finally, here's a close-up of the ebony handle. The wood is very dense and the carving seems flawless. A silver stud tops the handle.
Thanks for a great job Rab! Your work is magnificent and I'll be wearing it with pride.
Abax
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