What proper Cock of the North (Scottish Gentleman) would be caught in public without a suitable knife tucked in the top of his hose? None, I dare say. It was not always thus.
skien dhu
a small knife (a skien dhu - translation a black knife) hidden in your sock.
Skean Dubh: Skean Dhu knifes made in Scotland.Thistle Inset Stag Horn Skean Dhu Order Code: SK3. Skean dubh with stag horn handle - bull horn cap, ebony trim and recessed thistle. ...
Sgian Dubhs from Scotland
The Highland clans had been broken at Culloden in 1746. All weapons had been forbidden to the Highlanders, and even the bagpipes were classed as a weapon of war. To be caught wearing a kilt or tartan in any form brought a harsh and automatic sentence. However, the English bowed to the obvious--the Scots were a tough, combative people and good fighters. The dirk, kilt and targe lived on in the Highland regiments which began to be formed in the English Army. One regiment which rapidly became famous was the Black Watch, which fought successfully in America during the French and Indian War of the 1750's.
Sir Walter Scott wrote a series of novels based on the Highlander, in which he contrasted the simple code of honor of the Highlander with the political deviousness of the Lowland Scot and the English.
where else in western society is it considered high fashion to stroll into a formal dinner dance wearing a knife with a 13 inch blade?
http://www.oregonknifeclub.org/dirk.html
Scottish Dirk or Ballock DaggerThe Scottish Dirk is an early model (circa 1700) and is similar in form to earlier ballock knives. The Sgian Dubh, or sock knife, appeared in military use ...
imperialweapons.com/swords/daggers/01dirk.html - 5k - Cached - Similar pages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgian_Dubh
The Sgian Dubh (pronounced "skee(a)n doo", IPA /ski:n du:/, or lightly diphthongised /skiən/)
The name comes from the Gaelic meaning "black knife", where "black" may refer to the usual colour of the handle of the knife. It is also suggested that "black" means secret, or hidden, as in the word blackmail.
Spelling
As Gaelic words often pose problems for English speakers, many erroneous spellings are found in the literature surrounding the kilt and Highland dress, mostly involving misplacing the h, imitating the pronunciation or confusing sgian with the place-name Skene:
skein dubh
sgian dhub
skene du
skean dhu
skhian dubh
sgian means knife or dagger, dubh means black.
this is the same knife that a Scottish woman would have carried under the apron of her wrap-around "kilted" skirt, along with her purse. Just as with any man, a woman would have had to carry her own eating utensils.
armpit dagger mentioned in connection with the Scots in the 17th and 18th centuries. This was a knife slightly larger than today's sgian dubh that was carried in the upper sleeve of the jacket and drawn from the inside through the armhole, or possibly in the lining of the body of the jacket under the left arm
skinning and butchering of wild game after the successful hunt was usually undertaken by the upper-class hunter's ghillie, literally "boy" in Gaelic, as in serving boy. The huntsman would not stoop to such work. It may have been a hangover of this attitude that had officers in the military regiments resist the carrying of sgian dubhs, as they were initially considered fit only for "ghillies and serving rascals."
That the little knife was not fully accepted by the upper classes is hinted at by the fact it is not worn by "that wee German Laddie," King George IV, when he was painted in full highland regalia during his visit to Scotland in 1822. By the 1850's, however the sgian dubh was universally worn.
The other alternative might be what was done by some members of kilted regiments--having the image of a sgian dubh tattooed on the leg.
What proper Cock of the North (Scottish Gentleman) would be caught in public without a suitable knife tucked in the top of his hose? None, I dare say. It was not always thus.
skien dhu
a small knife (a skien dhu - translation a black knife) hidden in your sock.
Skean Dubh: Skean Dhu knifes made in Scotland.Thistle Inset Stag Horn Skean Dhu Order Code: SK3. Skean dubh with stag horn handle - bull horn cap, ebony trim and recessed thistle. ...
Sgian Dubhs from Scotland
The Highland clans had been broken at Culloden in 1746. All weapons had been forbidden to the Highlanders, and even the bagpipes were classed as a weapon of war. To be caught wearing a kilt or tartan in any form brought a harsh and automatic sentence. However, the English bowed to the obvious--the Scots were a tough, combative people and good fighters. The dirk, kilt and targe lived on in the Highland regiments which began to be formed in the English Army. One regiment which rapidly became famous was the Black Watch, which fought successfully in America during the French and Indian War of the 1750's.
Sir Walter Scott wrote a series of novels based on the Highlander, in which he contrasted the simple code of honor of the Highlander with the political deviousness of the Lowland Scot and the English.
where else in western society is it considered high fashion to stroll into a formal dinner dance wearing a knife with a 13 inch blade?
http://www.oregonknifeclub.org/dirk.html
Scottish Dirk or Ballock DaggerThe Scottish Dirk is an early model (circa 1700) and is similar in form to earlier ballock knives. The Sgian Dubh, or sock knife, appeared in military use ...
imperialweapons.com/swords/daggers/01dirk.html - 5k - Cached - Similar pages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgian_Dubh
The Sgian Dubh (pronounced "skee(a)n doo", IPA /ski:n du:/, or lightly diphthongised /skiən/)
The name comes from the Gaelic meaning "black knife", where "black" may refer to the usual colour of the handle of the knife. It is also suggested that "black" means secret, or hidden, as in the word blackmail.
Spelling
As Gaelic words often pose problems for English speakers, many erroneous spellings are found in the literature surrounding the kilt and Highland dress, mostly involving misplacing the h, imitating the pronunciation or confusing sgian with the place-name Skene:
skein dubh
sgian dhub
skene du
skean dhu
skhian dubh
sgian means knife or dagger, dubh means black.
this is the same knife that a Scottish woman would have carried under the apron of her wrap-around "kilted" skirt, along with her purse. Just as with any man, a woman would have had to carry her own eating utensils.
armpit dagger mentioned in connection with the Scots in the 17th and 18th centuries. This was a knife slightly larger than today's sgian dubh that was carried in the upper sleeve of the jacket and drawn from the inside through the armhole, or possibly in the lining of the body of the jacket under the left arm
skinning and butchering of wild game after the successful hunt was usually undertaken by the upper-class hunter's ghillie, literally "boy" in Gaelic, as in serving boy. The huntsman would not stoop to such work. It may have been a hangover of this attitude that had officers in the military regiments resist the carrying of sgian dubhs, as they were initially considered fit only for "ghillies and serving rascals."
That the little knife was not fully accepted by the upper classes is hinted at by the fact it is not worn by "that wee German Laddie," King George IV, when he was painted in full highland regalia during his visit to Scotland in 1822. By the 1850's, however the sgian dubh was universally worn.
The other alternative might be what was done by some members of kilted regiments--having the image of a sgian dubh tattooed on the leg.
What proper Cock of the North (Scottish Gentleman) would be caught in public without a suitable knife tucked in the top of his hose? None, I dare say. It was not always thus.