I recently purchased a Sgian Dubh from the Kiltmart website. I've seen several threads regarding Kiltmart merchandise, and went into this with my eyes wide open.

I made the purchase last Saturday night, the purchase was processed Monday morning, and shipped out Monday afternoon via DHL. I would like to mention here that the DHL shipping was quite nice, they provided a tracking number with which I was able to track the item on it's journey. I saw it leave Arizona, arrive in Waco, Texas, leave there and arrive in Atlanta, Georgia, leave there and arrive at the Hub in Greenville, SC, and from there dispatched to a local delivery driver, and arrive at my home. Tracking the item was kind of fun, but then again, it doesn't take much to have fun The item arrived at my house on Friday morning, not bad for shipping out of Arizona on Monday afternoon, and going most of the way across the country.

As to the Sgian Dubh itself, it's about what you might expect, and I had no illusions about getting some priceless masterpiece for for under $20. It has some sort of polymer handle with a diamond pattern on it, a wooden sheath that is either painted black to match the handle, or has some sort of thin layer of polymer over it. The pommel, bolster(?), and the end caps of the sheath are a sort of chromed metal, not sure if they're steel or not, and the 'blade' itself also appears to be chromed. As such, it doesn't appear to be able to be sharpened, and currently has no edge on it.

As I said, about what you'd expect for under $20, much like something you might find at a flea market, were Sgian Dubh prolific in the local flee markets, for about the same price. It's nothing to pass on as an heirloom, and would probably not stand up to the rigors of daily use as a utility knife, but it was exactly what I expected, processed and delivered quickly.

I fully intend to get a 'real' Sgian Dubh in the future, this is just a placeholder of sorts, something to stuff in the top of my hose until I can arrange for the real thing.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the experience with Kiltmart, and keeping in mind the level of quality to expect for the price being paid, would certainly consider purchasing something from them again if it fit my needs.


Casey

PS- Now, if I can just get my kilt from Rocky & Kelley, I'll be able to start kilting