Our standard sgian dubh blades are made from 26C3 carbon steel made in Sheffiled, England. This is a high carbon, very clean, fine-grained steel capable of exceptional hardness and holding very fine edges, making this steel suited to fine knifes.

Special steel's like Damascus steel, is sourced from the UK when possbible.

Initially the sgian dubh blade and integral handle tang is cut from 3mm sheet steel. We then work in our trade mark texturing and cut the "Choil" in to the blade.

The blade is then hardened by heating it to 820°C and quencing it in warm oil. Oil is used as this reduces the cooling shock and reduces the chance of fracturung the steel.

The blade is then tempered, a process that reduces the tension within the steel and reduces the possibility of chipping. We then temper our blades at 200°C for two 2 hour periods. Resutling in a Rockwell Hardness of approximetly 64HRC.

After tempering, we start to form the blade by using a double sided flat grind finished with a double sided micro-grind and final stroping.

When our knifesmith is happy, each blade is then engraved with the McDougall & Nairn logo and its unique production number and finished with metal wax to help prevent rusting.

The handle is built up, including the bolster, spacers and main handle component. The handle is generaly built up from various materials including wood, antler, horn. metal and modern resin products, as requird by the client.

The handle materials are then milled, assembled on to the blade tang and held in place with a resin glue and a mechanical pin.

When dry, the made up handle is then worked down by hand to create our standard handle shape and polished to a fine finish.

Our unique sgian dubh sheaths, with our tade mark "Frogs Mouth" opening have been designed in house. We cut grade A British oak bark tanned saddle leather butt and hand sew it using waxed linen to create a welted sheath that is not only functional, but looks better with age as the pattina builds up from natural oils in the skin over time.