A little history please?

[Big Mikey]

The very short answer.

Sporran- general carrying, coins, food, whisky

Kilt pin- weight to hold down the kilt corner, decoration

Fly plaid- dress item as today, also see "great kilt"

Sgian dhu- all purpose knife, eating, defense

Try doing searches, there is a lot of info available in the forum.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Sgian dhu- all purpose knife, eating, defense

Well... not really.

As has been posted elsewhere, the sgian dubh first makes an appearance as part of highland attire in the 19th century as a small skinning knife used by servants to dress deer in the field. It was quickly adopted by the upper classes (those who went deer stalking) as the "badge" of someone who shot game while in the highlands in much the same way German hunters placed the "gamsbart" in their hat. Far from being a general purpose knife, it was a specific tool used for a specific purpose. While it could have been used for eating it probably wasn't, and as far as defense is concerned it is probably better than nothing, but it was never intended to be a defensive tool.

Today, with the exception of the Officer's Model sgian dubh, this small utilitarian knife has largely been reduced in status to an item of (usually junk) jewelry, or replaced by a bottle opener or sham replica.