Here is another dirk based on the earlier styles. It is based on a piece that went up for auction and had a bit of hullaballo about being associated with Simon Fraser.. the leader of the Fraser clan who was beheaded due to affiliations with the Jacobite risings.

I made an attempt to give the blade some historical steel character by folding up some 19th century spring material that I salvaged from a logging camp. Not exactly sure what it was.. but very high carbon and associated with an old location. Anyway... I cut it up and folded it for a 150 plus layer billet.

The description indicated that the grip was bog oak.. but seems unlikely due to the grain and the yellow wood peeking through damage. It was decided to go ahead with the bog oak theme however so we used my Lake Superior salvaged oak.

The spine had the Fraser clan war cry scratched brutally into the spine.. obviously not the work of the original maker. In fact... I wonder if the holes in the spine and the crudely scribed half-circles were from the former presence of a brass sleeve over the spine.

So.. I'm really enjoying the dirk and am looking forward to trying some with silver fittings and more elaborate blade engraving. It is very nice to be using high temp salts for heat treating these as it allows me to do the carving/engraving in the blade prior to heat treat.


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What does the inscription in Gaelic say on the blade's edge? I cannot catch the last word.

The inscription translates to "The Great Field" referring to the muster ground of the Fraser clan during the 17th and early 18th centuries. It was the battle cry of the clan at that time.

Wow - that's really a stunning piece. Love all the little details.