Howdy all,

As some of you might know, I've been lusting after a Sgian Dubh made by our own Drac ever since I saw his thread HERE shortly after I joined X-Marks.

Luckily, our schedules have finally meshed up to the point where we've been able to get a trade going.

Drac was looking for something in a brown hunter, or possibly something in fur. When I went through all of the materials I had, Drac said that the Western Diamondback snakeskin sitting on my materials stack would fit the bill.

Luckily, I still had some of the luscious British Tan leather from #5-10, seen HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. **

Things came together further when Mrs. Drac jokingly mentioned that British Racing Green and British Tan go together like cheese and pickle (my words, not hers). So I thought it might be interesting to have the pinked trim layer under the cantle dyed in BR Green.

The end result is the working drawing below:


Here are the actual materials to be used, along with a few of the patterns for cutting:


The snakeskin is a WHOPPER, topping out at over 5.5" in useable scale across the back, and over 55" long (and that's without head or tail)!
It's really nicely patterned, with the scales intact.

The green dyed sample is a little too light, but the colour is good. I was worried about a transparent green dye onto a fleshy-tan surface, but the manufacturer actually accounted for the colour-shift that would take place when applied. In final application the green will be darker.

The body of the sporran is mostly plain, to best show off the pattern on the snakeskin. The tan leather will have a decorative stitch (shown) which echos the shape of the inlay for the snake.

The cantle is studded with brass domed rivets, and closes with a top strap and snap on the back. The interior will be lined in pigskin.

** You'll note several missing sporrans in 5-10, they were done for "non-X-Markers" and were therefore not documented online. Additionally you might note a gap between #12Mk2 (Lugosi) and this #14. That is because #13 is a personal piece for me that I need for an upcoming black tie event, and is basically a #11 also seen HERE.

As always, constructive commentary or critique is welcome.
ith: