Sgian Dubh

[Geoff Withnell]

I used to wear a belt knife around Cincinnati all the time with no comment made. (pre-kilt days). I don't see a difference, really. I believe Rex Tremende is from Cinti, and is fairly traditional in his dress. I wonder if he can shed some light?
Is it the town in genertal or the UC campus?
Geoff Withnell

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

There is, I suppose, a difference between being kilted and having a sgian dubh and wearing a turban and having a kirpan-- although for the life of me I can't see it. Both are defensible on cultural grounds.

My personal attitude is you either wear/carry a sgian dubh, or you don't. Fakes are, in my opinion, the hallmark of the PC woos.

[Streetcar]

I've carried a pipe, as well as a cigar in there on past occasions - not at the same time of course...

But if you're not a smoker, you could always carry a pipe without the tobacco, or perhaps a wooden dowel stained to look like a cigar. I believe some costume shops stock some plastic "prop" cigars and pipes...




Sorry, lack of sleep is making me a bit....off....I suppose.

No sarcasm/disrespect intended.

[McNulty]

Obviously I can't pack a sgian dubh to school, so I put my cell phone there. Works real nice especially since I remove my sporran in class.

Nulty

[Wolfhawk]

Yes, very PC... don't want to hurt anybody's feelings....

[Rex_Tremende]

I'm not a fan of sticking a sgian in my hose. Carrying a knife around here is frowned on even in formal situations, and getting a dummy seems pointless.

Are there other traditions for sticking something else there?

I used to wear a belt knife around Cincinnati all the time with no comment made. (pre-kilt days). I don't see a difference, really. I believe Rex Tremende is from Cinti, and is fairly traditional in his dress. I wonder if he can shed some light?
Is it the town in genertal or the UC campus?
Geoff Withnell

Well, like Guy, I'm not in the habit of carrying around a knife, and I'm also with Rathdown; I don't feel the need to wear substitutes just for the sake of sticking something down there, though not for his reasoning. But as I've noted elsewhere, I could be swayed to wear a sgian duhb, and I wouldn't think that I'd have a problem most places I would go here out and about.

My guess is that UC wants to create a campus environment that feels safe for all students. It's probably easier for administrators to declare a ban on all such things rather than to carve out exceptions. The only tools you need to bring to class are your books and a sharp mind.

Regards,
Rex.

[KFCarter]

I have a bit of a different view than some regarding the use of "non-knife" sgain dubh. I think of them more in the vein of the normal evolution in clothing styles. For example, there are elements of traditional kilt jackets that are echoes of things that were once functional. I wouldn't consider those elements to be "dummy" elements, but rather handsome and unique vestiges of the garments "lineage". So when people make creative use of the tradition of the sgian dubh by placing something similar but more currently useful in their hose, they are just doing what people always do: adapting.
:ootd:

[Kerr the Walker]

I carry a sgian dubh in my hose whenever I'm kilted unless I know for a fact that fixed blades are expressly forbidden. Take that with a grain of salt though: I carry a blade clipped to my pocket most everywhere I go. If people want to frown at me, that's their business.

But for the times that I do know I'd be in dutch for having a blade on me, I have a sgian brew that comes in extremely handy. More than one occasion I've been at parties where the host had to go hunting for a bottle opener. When you pull out the sgian brew to take care of business and everyone sees what they thought was a knife, it is definitely good for a laugh.

[Frank McGrath]

A lot of people ask me if I carry a knife. I just tell them no. The doctors have not allowed me to carry sharp objects anymore.

[The Guy in the Kilt at UC]

I like that sgian brew thing. When I saw it, I exclaimed "Ha, awesome!" right in the middle of the computer lab. My family actually has one of those hanging around the house. I never thought to put in a sock. Thanks, guys.