I'm in the middle of constructing a Sgian dubh for a good friend that has a very deep connection to myself, to a casual viewer the finished knife will be of top quality, with nice detail work, the story behind it is what is makes the blade...

Lightning struck wood is held amongst many beliefs as being very powerful and of possessing traits and qualities different than normal wood.

The handle is being carved from a tree that was struck by a bolt of forked lightning, the greater bolt struck the tree, the lesser bolt hit yours truely, throwing him 15-20 feet and earning him a trip to the emergency room. A bolt of lightning can reach temperatures of 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or about five times the temperature of the surface of the sun. This hardens and carbonizes the wood into a burl of great strength should the tree survive, and as I can state from experience singes the hair off your body and causes burns over the skin of your body. There is much symbolism going into this project, the blade is fire hardened and finished with a lightning pattern along the spine, the handle (outside of the wood being struck) is being adorned with the ancient symbol of Mjöllnir.. the hammer of Thor, the God of thunder and lightning... His hammer being a physical representation of lightning in viking lore. The sheath will be hammered copper wrapped in leather and finished with neetsfoot oil and darkened in the sun to bring out a natural hue that will pair well with the oiled and waxed wood of the handle.

I've got pics, I have to post em but my son is stealing the iPad from me. :(

Can't wait to see 'em!!!

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...A002024ED8.jpg

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...41075ECA8C.jpg

These are the rough Pics of the basic shape and pattern along the spine, more polishing follows the hardening and tempering, the bolt on the spine is blackened from the oil dip and looks rather sharp against the polish of the blade.

This is gonna be sweet, I can tell already.

Awesome work...can't wait to see the finished product.

Attachment 27381Attachment 27382

Here are a couple pictures of my homemade handle.....the handle is cherry, it used to have a rubber grip on it that used to give me blisters on my leg when tucked into my piper hose.

Dude...

This is art.