sgian dubh carving

[MacRob]

There is something very appealing about trying a sgain...

...thank you for the photos.

You are welcome. As I mentioned above, very few hand tools are needed for doing carving, along with a great deal of practice. Vince and Grace use a couple of flat blade homemade chisels and a modified leather punch to do all this carving. I would disagree with other posters regarding Exacto Knives. I have used them for years on other projects but do not think they will work very well on a dirk or sgian handle. If you are interested in doing a sgian or dirk handle yourself then do get a copy of Vince's book. There was also an excellent article with very good photos in Blade Magazine's Guide to Making Knives (2nd Edition) featuring Vince and Grace making a dirk from scratch like mine, which is shown below.

Attachment 21846

[Theyoungkiltman]

What do you think about using needle files?

[MacRob]

What do you think about using needle files?

You do not need needle files for the woodwork although they do come in handy for the metal fittings. Three chisels and a wood burning knife were the only tools used to make the handles on both the dirk and the sgian. There are other tools required of course, like a specially shaped sanding block to get down into spaces between the knot work but the three chisels do it all for the wood working part. Get the book or CD Rom and it will become completely clear. Not saying you can sit down and do one like those in the photos the first time - although some people can - but you can get a good start.

[Mike S]

For those seriously thinking of carving their own Sgian and Dirk handles, I use the following micro chisels:

http://www.micromark.com/6-piece-mic...-set,6756.html
And:
http://www.micromark.com/miniature-c...of-7,8423.html