It means 'Black knife' in Celtish, or Secret knife. Well today I will tell you all about this Scottish secret! In olden times when visiting fellow gaelic Crofters, it was deemed polite to leave your sword, axe, bow and knives outside the house to prevent accidents at the dinner table. (Nothings changed there.) However, it would be crazy to be totally unarmed should the house be attacked by baddies. So the Sgian Dubh, usually hidden cleverly under the arm would be tucked into the top of the hose (sock) so it was no longer a consealed weapon and quickly accessable.

The laws are similar today about consealed weapons and so this one will be used by the guy who commissioned this knife to complete his traditional outfit during his wedding!

So here is how I made it...

The design needed to have smooth lines and a simple shape. Full tang Sgian Dubh's are unusual but this construction has allowed me to do my signature filework on both sides, making a very strong working knife.  Its flat handle shape provides a snug fit into the sock or pocket.

We chose ebony as it fits quite well into the idea of a black knife and blue liners to complement the hints of red brown in the grain. Named by the Ancient Egyptian's as 'hbny,' it is one of the few woods that sink in water and its this high density which gives it such a fine finish. Gives it a good weight in the hand too!

So here it is and I'm very pleased with it, as was the customer who kindly wrote a great review on the Blade forum.

By the way, I always try to source materials ethically and this bit of ebony was given to me by a friend who bought it 15 years ago to make a fret board for his guitar. He thought I would actually make use of it, so thanks to you Jim!

I was asked to make a wood carving knife using an olive wood log from Greece. The guy who commissioned it brought the log back from their Greek olive grove, so I could make this knife to celebrate his Dad's birthday. Underneath are some pictures to show how I made it.

The logs had quite a few cracks in (from an axe) so I first had to select the sound wood with an interesting grain. Squaring up helps throughout the build, and is safer when using the band saw.

The customer wanted the grain on the thin segments to run in different directions so I had to find the wood with no splits and a strong grain structure. Then sanding on a flat surface to get the spacers the same thickness.

The layers are then drilled out and assembled making sure all surfaces are flat and will show off the grain. The arrow is to line up the bolster with the main handle.

I've lined up the bolster and main handle then used slow dry epoxy resin with a tint of blue. Then I sawed off the excess then sanded it for a few hours, testing the shape and comfort of the grip.

'A fine knife,' I hear you say 'but where will it live?'    Read on...

Here I am on my way in. (Photo taken by a kind old lady who was passing by!)
Managed to get a nice reflection of the Cathedral over the road in the plaque metal.

The Stag handled pocket knife is also a pocket gun!
The knives with tiny blades are pen knives - for trimming up quills when writing.
This style could now be called a pencil knife I suppose.
The knife in the middle with 14 blades and mother of pearl scales is for when your blade is blunt and an oil stone isn't handy - next blade - until you have 14 blunt blades, then its time to get sharpening.
Of course most of the blades will have started life bigger before enthusiastic sharpening. My Grandad gave me a pen knife which he had sharpened the 2 blades down by over an inch!

Old carving knives. And forks. Apparently the 2 pronged fork is a Sheffield thing. Along with using ivory. The cutlers hall was in a way built on the back of elephants - they used to use ivory handles for everything so they have a couple of elephants on the top of their heraldic shield and sign.

Sheffield 'Cut Throat' straight razors.

Each blade in this literally man sized party piece is beautifully acid etched with scenes from around the world. The inside is full of intricate file work, and there are scissors, a saw, and all kinds of curiosity blades. Lacking in function but excelling in skilled craftsmanship.

From the biggest to these handy pocket tools custom made for hamsters. Who wear trousers.
The smallest is about 10mm long with mother of pearl scales.

Here are some big boy's Bowie's. The top one is based on a Roman gladius - same size blade, about a foot and a half. These are the must have combat accessory for fighting the French, American or English. Again really intricate acid etching - a bit of a lost art.

Thats it.
Going to be making my own damascus in the next couple of weeks and drawing up the first designs for these hunting knives. Looking forward to folding some steel and firewelding.

Here is a hand-made leather sheath made for the Ferraby K6 8.5'' Chef's Knife. The leather is hand stained and penetrated with hot wax so is durable and water proof. I designed it with a little lip on the sheath to hold the knife firmly in place. The heavy duty construction involves a double welt and hand stitched high gauge nylon.   A great way of storing your new knife!

Here is my new Hand Forged logo which is etched onto the blades of the new Forged Finish Range.

I am very pleased with this new development and will now be making as many of these as I can to meet with all the orders that have been coming in! Thanks for everyone's positive feedback :)

Just handed over this custom made Full Tang Throwing Tomahawk. I designed it to be a strong practical tool for chopping wood and throwing at a target.

Materials - Exra tough High carbon spring steel made in sheffield.  English oak scales with a strong straight grain with nickle silver and brass rivets.

I was asked to create a specially made carving set to become a family heirloom. This is the initial design for the knife and fork. I gave the knife an 8'' full bellied but fairly thin blade to give control and dexterity when slicing meat.

The customer took the option of an aluminium bolster and 5 spacers on a rosewood handle with stainless sandwich liners. These are most of the layers cut out and sanded ready for gluing up. Each has to be perfectly flat to make each layer meet in a clean line. The black layers are the vulcanised fibre - a layer introduced to increase the stength of the bond and give the handle more durability. Rosewood gives a great finish and doesn't mind getting a little wet.
I made the blades out of Sheffield SF100 high carbon razor blade steel and got them hardened to 59 Rockwell with a liquid nitrogen cryo-quench then double tempered.

Next I made the aluminium bolsters and riveted them in place with nickel silver rod. Then I glued up the sandwich liners and spacers with a slow drying epoxy resin. While waiting for them to dry I made the rosewood box. The dovetails took a steady hand and were very satisfying when tapped together.
I put a layer of stainless in the lid with my signature wave filework with two layers of black fibre. 

Here are the finished products:

Here are the two custom knife sets I have just finished. The brief given was to design and make two sets of kitchen knives to the customer's specifications. One set with bolsters and black, white and brass spacers, the other with a simple yew handle. As well as the knives the customer wanted two custom made leather knife rolls.

The next stage was to work up the sanding grits to a 400 and then polish the blade to a 180 satine. I then drilled the holes in the handles, hardened and tempered the blades and then polished them again.

The brass bolsters are fitted first onto the handle, then riveted onto the blade with nickel silver rod.

Next the yew scales were cut out and fitted onto the tang. Black and white vulcanised fibre  and brass spacers were then carefully fitted.

I always look for interesting grains or patterns when choosing wood for handles. This yew has been seasoning for over 30 years!

Once the knives were complete I then started work on the leather roll. I sourced two beautifully tanned deer skins. I liked the deer leather as it is softer and more supple than cow leather while not as stretchy as sheep leather.

I formed the leather carefully around the knife handles and held it securely in place with stainless rivets.

The knife roll is secured with poppers and can be carried using a handle.


Finally I had the blades laser engraved with my logo and with a personalised message requested by the customer.