A 19th Century Sgian Dubh

[artificer]

...and what are those tacks on the handle made from? They look red.

Also, I know sgians of this period are always made with a hidden tang (as are most modern sgians and dirks, as well), but do they tend to use a two piece handle construction (glued together sandwich style), or do they tend to have a one piece construction with the space for the tang drilled out?

Because I see a seam there that's either two pieces of wood glued together, or from moulding (in plastic); sorry, but when they labled that thing as early 19th century, they lost all credibility in my eyes.

A quick and dirty image enhancement yields the following:



I think the "seam" you are seeing is the end of the carved face.
The studs to appear to be small cabochons of garnet or similar.

My knowledge of Scottish art & craft is certainly no rival for others here, but I'd say it was Victorian based on the silver work.

ith:

[Ryan Ross]

A quick and dirty image enhancement yields the following:



I think the "seam" you are seeing is the end of the carved face.
The studs to appear to be small cabochons of garnet or similar.

My knowledge of Scottish art & craft is certainly no rival for others here, but I'd say it was Victorian based on the silver work.

ith:

Thanks for that, Scott. I'm not accustomed to actually handling items like this, so most of what I see are pictures that don't show the back of the item. I suppose I never thought about the idea that the carving might stop so abruptly.

It looks like a very nice piece, for sure...the plastic hypothesis was, certainly, mostly in jest.

It still seems like the price asked is ridiculous, though, especially if it comes with no historical details (which I'm guessing it does not, as it's almost certainly been misdated).

Eh, who knows...

[Séamus Ua Proinsias]

Boy, I'm so glad I posted this! Most fascinating, Sirs!

Given the place I found it, a misdating, even one totally immalicious, doesn't strike me as out of place, particularly on what is merely an æsthetically pleasing curio to them, and what is a very significant and living part of a tradition to us. And as far as the pricing goes...well, the thing speaks for itself. I'd expect the fittings to be at least twenty-two karat for that usurious sum.

On the laws, I looked at a summary of United States open-carry laws I found somewhere on here, and what struck me as odd is that Pasadena had much more liberal laws than L.A. county as a whole (five or seven-inch blade as opposed to a three-inch blade). But as I say, I never did understand that clearly.

Jake