Our Story

I’ve always enjoyed knives, craft, natural materials and traditional processes. When I lost my plastic sgian dubh with its fake stone, I vowed never to wear plastic again.

I replaced it with a small knife made from a truck spring that I bought on the banks of the River Nile in Uganda – and nursed a dream of a retirement project making my own ‘real sgian dubh‘.

Ten years later while working in the Himalayas I came across the remarkable knife makers of Nepal and the idea for the Real Sgian Dubh Co. was born.

These days I’m based in Scotland and work full time for The Woodland Trust to protect restore and create native woodlands for the benefit of people and planet. That keeps me busy so please be patient if I’m slow to reply to your query.

Alastair Seaman
– Founder –

AS portrait

My business philosophy is that in its own small way, what we do should make the world a better place:

we make something beautiful that will bring enjoyment to our customers and their succeeding generations.
we pay our craftsmen significantly above the market price for their labour and we pay them in advance or very promptly.
£5 from the sale price of each knife goes to support health and development work in Nepal.

Terms

By purchasing our products, you agree to these terms and conditions:

Our Goal

We aim to give our customers beautiful knives and a quality service. We value your feedback and welcome your comments. Please feel free to contact us at mail@sgiandubh.scot

Our Promise

We suspect you will be delighted with your Real Sgian Dubh. However, if for any reason you are not completely satisfied then simply return it to us within one month and we promise to refund the full purchase cost.

Customs

Knives sent outside the EU are accompanied by an EU customs declaration stating the international customs [TARIC] code [93070000] and with a full invoice attached.

Your country’s customs department may charge you for any locally payable import taxes. You are responsible for knowing what these are and paying for them. In Jan 2016, the US duty for this code was 2.7%.

Payments

Purchase can be made using a credit or debit card through Paypal and direct bank transfer for UK customers. If you are purchasing from outside of the UK then your credit or debit card company will carry out the currency conversion for you.

Goods are dispatched after receiving confirmation of payment from Paypal.

Delivery

We post knives within a few days of receiving payment. Because this is a hobby business, we can’t guarantee immediate dispatch although if you have a deadline date we will do what we can to help.

Delivery charges within the UK are a flat rate of £5. A charge of £10 per knife is made for delivery outside the UK. Our knives are delivered by Royal Mail. We use First Class Recorded Delivery for UK deliveries and International Signed-for Airmail for international deliveries.

Delivery does not include insurance and purchasers buy at their own risk. All knives are carefully inspected and packaged before posting.

Stock

We endeavour to keep a good stock of knives but occasionally we may be unable to supply your order. In this case we offer you the opportunity to change, defer or cancel your order.

We aim to supply directly to individual customers and reserve the right not to fulfil large orders for retail.

Safety

It’s obvious but we need to state it. Real Sgian Dubhs are dangerous.

Our knives are sold on the understanding that the purchaser is over 18 years of age.

It is your responsibility to ensure that no one is injured by your sgian dubh.

You should make sure that it is kept safely out of reach of children.

Knife legislation varies around the world. It is your responsibility to know what your legal responsibilities are and to abide by them.

The Real Sgian Dubh Co. will not be liable for any damages caused by its products to their owner or any other party.

Please remember...

Our knives are handmade using natural materials so each one is completely unique. Appearances and sizes will vary slightly from the pictures shown on this web site.

If you want a guaranteed standard specification then you will need to buy a machine-produced sgian dubh made from plastic.

Praise for our Sgian Dubhs

My sgian dubh arrived over the weekend. It is a work of art. I am a Randall knife collector and appreciate the fine detail. I shall wear it proudly

J.B.Charlotte, USA

Thank you Alastair, the sgian dubh arrived safely today. It is a very handsome piece of workmanship, a gift for our sons 21st and he is delighted.

I.C.Scotland

The sgian dubh is just beautiful. I purchased this as a present – suspect it will be received with joy and astonishment.

P. KaelinUSA

It’s a really beautiful piece of art actually. Thank you very much. And I appreciate the care that you have in sourcing the materials and in how they are made.

H.S.UK