Safety / fake Sgian dubh

[Tobus]

I do sometimes wear a traditional Sgian Dubh out of a sense of tradition, and I can see the purpose in wearing a bottle opener or other handy thing, but I can't see the purpose wearing a handle that has no function other than being a handle.

Those are my thoughts as well, Richard. If wearing a real blade is an issue, it's innovative and creative to replace it with something else like a bottle opener, shoe horn (which is probably handier than a sgian dubh for a lot of people), or other tool. But wearing a fake handle turns it into a prop. When it reaches that stage, what's the point? A sgian dubh is not a necessary or required piece of gear, and it's perfectly acceptable to not wear anything in one's hose at all. I would even venture to say that a lot of native Scots choose not to wear a sgian dubh these days anyway.

I wear a sgian dubh and use the blade for all sorts of things, but if I couldn't wear it, I'd look for what other things I could attach to a handle. Cigarette lighter? Vaping device? USB thumb-drive? Comb? What about a hollow tube with a screw-cap end that could be used for storing car keys, toothpicks, money, lip balm, and other small items that might be easier to access rather than digging around in the bottom of a sporran? Then it's both functional and creative.