Sgian Dubh

P

pullrich

Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
863
I recently finished this sgian dubh made from the damascus billet I won in Fred Rowe's raffle last year (thanks Fred!). I recall that it is made from Harley motorcycle chain and 1084. The rest of this knife is big maple burl, madrona, a few brass pins for decoration. I hope you enjoy! There are some rough spots but overall I'm pleased considering my experience level and equipment. All input is welcome of course.
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Here is how I put it together to get the length I wanted:

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I like chain Damascus, of course there's not many patterns I don't like.
You demonstrate multiple skills here resulting in a very nice knife/ sheath.
 
Damn this Gaelic is complicated...

I was going to tell you "It's not black", thinking that "Sgian-Dubh" means "black knife". But apparently "dubh" has a second meaning, "hidden".

Anyways,

Very nice knife & sheath. Really like the woodwork!:thumbup:

Kind regards,

Jos
 
Again.. well done Phil. Really nice piece. Makes me want to weld up all my old chainsaw chains!
 
Thanks everyone. Overall I'm pleased with it and the mistakes that are there represent learning for me. For example, I did the shaping of the handle while it was assembled lightly with CA (thinking that I didnt want to permanently assemble it until the carving was done). Only it turned out that I had put on too much CA on the butt cap and I had to pry that off with a wrench. Then I carved and re-assembled. Next time I do something like this I'll go ahead and fully epoxy it and carve as a last step. Then there was a SNAFU with trying to add some coloring to the carving recesses for contrast... looked awful and I never did get it all back out. In the end I'm happy and I glad you liked it.
 
Phil... It's really worth learning to pin individual components together like Karl Andersen does with his take downs when you want to work individual components. Another thing you could try instead of CA is hot glue.. the kind you use for gluing points on to arrows. You can break the glue joint with very low heat on a heat gun or hair dryer. And I also learned from Jesus Hernandez to apply petroleum jelly to the tang and then fill your tang hole with regular old automobile bondo. Allow it to set with the tang in place and then pull it out. You then have a perfectly fit handle on the tang that doesn't move around allowing you to work the individual components together.. and also remove them for finishing. Just some ideas!
 
Thanks for the hot glue tip , Scott, never heard of that, I'm going to try that next time. The CA has worked for me in the past but I swabbed on too much this time. I may try the jelly and bondo trick, too. I've read of using epoxy instead of bondo but in either case part of me doesnt trust the jelly to not stick, ha ha.
 
I love Sgian Dubhs. Good choice on going with a wooden sheath vs. leather on a Sgian Dubh made from damascus. The sweat from wearing it in your sock (or kilt hose for those secure enough in calling them that ;)) will rust the blade by the end of a hot day at a festival/ parade.
 
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