Fake vs real dirk.

**CamelCody** · 19th October 17, 08:48 PM

I should mention, Cold Steel is an American company but their blades are made in china, I believe.

**MacRob** · 20th October 17, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by CamelCody

I have a dirk made by the American knife company Cold Steel. I love it, it's sharp out of the box and looks the part. it retails for about $125USD, and has been rigorously tested. I use it all the time, from piping gigs to camping trips. My advice is; get one.

The Dirks are made in India.

**Orvis** · 11th October 17, 05:26 PM

Assuming your renfest allows attendees to wear/display weapons such as dirks (some don't allow anybody to carry weapons except staff members who are acting as fest characters) and are portraying an historical Highlander, then I'd recommend a mild steel dull/blunt dirk to avoid somebody grabbing it and then suing you for $5 million after he/she cuts him/herself.

If you are wearing a kilt as part of modern Scottish dress, you don't need a dirk, and instead of a sgian dhu I'd recommend a sgian brew (you'll need it).

The only time I carry a dirk is when I'm attired in 18th c. Highland dress as part of a reenactment event. My recreated dirks are sharp (the way the makers finished them) and occasionally come in handy as tools (cutting ropes, for example), but I keep them close and don't allow anybody not in my reenactment group to handle them due to liability issues.

**Geoff Withnell** · 12th October 17, 09:08 AM

The ref faire I go to most often is the Pennsylvania Rennaissance Fair and they allow weapons, but they must be "peace bonded". There must be a tie wrap, or some means of securing the weapon in the scabbard, so it cannot be readily drawn. I wrap clear duct tape around the top of the scabbard and the dirk handle where they meet with the dirk sheathed. Almost invisible, and the renfair folks are satisfied. Oddly enough, they don't seem to consider sgains to be weapons, as I have never been asked to peace bond my sgian. My dirk is quite sharp.

Originally Posted by Orvis

Assuming your renfest allows attendees to wear/display weapons such as dirks (some don't allow anybody to carry weapons except staff members who are acting as fest characters) and are portraying an historical Highlander, then I'd recommend a mild steel dull/blunt dirk to avoid somebody grabbing it and then suing you for $5 million after he/she cuts him/herself.

If you are wearing a kilt as part of modern Scottish dress, you don't need a dirk, and instead of a sgian dhu I'd recommend a sgian brew (you'll need it).

The only time I carry a dirk is when I'm attired in 18th c. Highland dress as part of a reenactment event. My recreated dirks are sharp (the way the makers finished them) and occasionally come in handy as tools (cutting ropes, for example), but I keep them close and don't allow anybody not in my reenactment group to handle them due to liability issues.

**Orvis** · 12th October 17, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by Geoff Withnell

The ref faire I go to most often is the Pennsylvania Rennaissance Fair and they allow weapons, but they must be "peace bonded". There must be a tie wrap, or some means of securing the weapon in the scabbard, so it cannot be readily drawn. I wrap clear duct tape around the top of the scabbard and the dirk handle where they meet with the dirk sheathed. Almost invisible, and the renfair folks are satisfied. Oddly enough, they don't seem to consider sgains to be weapons, as I have never been asked to peace bond my sgian. My dirk is quite sharp.

I usually go to the Maryland Renn Faire near Annapolis - no weapons allowed! I've been to reenactments where the management seemed to be untrusting of the reenactors' ability to control their bladed weapons (when it came to some idiotic tourists or their kids trying to suddenly grab them) and they (being properly aware of liability issues) made us tie them in such a way that the blades could not be drawn from the scabbards without going through a specific set of steps. While some of the living history guys had sharp blades, most of us Highland reenactors had blunt dirks and swords to prevent the $5 million liability lawsuit conundrum.

BTW, I admire the fact that you've got a Vince Evans dirk - I've seen a few of them and they are to die for! I've got one by Glenn McClain and two by Mike McRae - all sharp.

**Orvis** · 12th October 17, 10:55 AM

Whoops! In a previous post, I expressed my admiration of Geoff Withnell having a Vince Evans dirk. Then I noticed that it was actually MacRob that had that dirk. My apology - Murphy's Law was in full operation!

**OC Richard** · 13th October 17, 04:54 AM

Originally Posted by Mikewood

For those that wear a dirk as part of your highland apparel, do you have a functional dirk with a sharpened edge or a mild steel display dirk that does not have an edge?

Honestly I don't know.

I have a British military-issued dirk made in the 1980s. I don't know how to tell if it's a "mild steel display dirk".

Here's a thread I did comparing it, a British-made MOD issue dirk, to an Indian-made copy:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...ia-copy-93838/

**48HofC** · 13th October 17, 11:09 AM

Your MOD dirk is not a mild steel display dirk, the British Army only issued dirks that are substantial and can hold up to daily usage, not wall hangers. The pommels for some reason get a lot of abuse and the caps do come off on occasion, franken dirks are put together so parts are not all original.

**macmanjim** · 12th December 17, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by Mikewood

For those that wear a dirk as part of your highland apparel.
Do you have a functional dirk with a sharpened edge or a mild steel display dirk that does not have an edge.
I am looking to make myself one for the local renfest coming up but I don’t have any 1095 blade steel and the forge is broken so I could not temper it if I did have one. I do have a nice piece of mild steel I could use...

I am thinking of making one now and make. Real one later.
I guess I answered my own question.
But what do you have?

Cold Steel has a functional one.

**Laurentius** · 12th December 17, 04:57 PM

Originally Posted by macmanjim

Cold Steel has a functional one.

The blade of my dirk was made in Sheffield, made to order, I had to wait for it. I got it from Jack Adams who is now alas deceased but I think the tradition continues, the blade of my sgain dhu came from the same factory. I made the handles and the sheaths for both myself. I like the work of real craftsmen, Jack Adams was one of the last of them. I would not want a cold steel blade if you paid me to advertise one.