It always amazes me...a Sghian is very obviously an accessory that one wears ceremonially...most of them look like they'd be good only to spread peanut butter on toast. Once again: anything longer than it is wide is a weapon? And a guy dressed in a kilt is SO inconspicuous...he MUST be up to things nefarious! That's why he has that BIG, SCARY, DANGEROUS knife in his sock! I suppose that a dummy one would come in handy but in a bad set of circumstances it might not be recognized as a "dummy" soon enough. I believe that it has been pointed out in past threads that, historically, the Sghian was put into the sock top by way of showing it "out in the open" rather than its usual place hidden in the folds of the kilt or under the arm. Obviously, no law enforcement type is going to stop and engage in a discussion of historical fine points, though. Face it, we've had folks shot dead here in Chicago because they were taking out their cell phones at the wrong time...certain concessions should be made to modern circumstances...you can wear the thing all you want at home or at Highland Games/Celtic events. Should you get busted for walking around with a Sghian on your person and get hauled before a judge, what do you think that the judge is going to say to you? If you got an even tempered and REASONABLE judge, he'd have to say something like, "...I appreciate the tradition but get real...if you go around with a shiv on your person, you're gonna end up right back here again so how about you forgo this particular part of tradition in the interest of public safety and not clogging up the courts."

Best

AA