Item Description
Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an extraordinary Scottish Dirk dating to the early 19th Century, roughly 1820, which is still contained within its original steel-mounted scabbard, which still retains the original fork & knife within. The grips are all sharkskin-wrapped with faceted steel tacks in a circular pattern, with the dirk having additional tacks along the sides and at the pommel. The steel fittings are all beautifully engraved, with the pommels all showing a lovely floral pattern. The matching scabbard is gorgeously decorated with two depictions of a thistle. The thistle first appears as a royal symbol on silver coins issued by James III in 1470. The latin motto of the Order of the Thistle is "Nemo me impune lacessit" which means "no-one attacks me with impunity".
The 12½” blade of the dirk is correctly scalloped at the spine, with some evidence of past oxidation having been cleaned away. The dirk has an overall length of 17”. The grip of the dirk is sharkskin-wrapped, affixed with several patterns of faceted steel tacks, with roughly 50 on the grip of the dirk itself, with three or more tacks being lost. There is some loss of sharkskin material as shown, but nothing extensive. The crossguard is engraved with a lovely wind-based motif with the same pattern engraved into the base of the pommel, with a 15-petal flower engraved into the pommel face.
The accompanying fork is in great shape, with the two prongs still straight and sharp. The faceted steel tacks are arranged in the same circular pattern on the face of the grip, which still retains about 85% of the sharkskin. The fork measures 6¼” overall. The knife is in similar shape with the sharkskin 95% retained, with an overall length of 6⅞”. The fork and knife are both engraved on the pommel base with the same pattern as on the dirk, and the pommel faces are similarly engraved with flowers. This confirms that the set originally came together, and did not have parts replaced over time.
The original 14¼” steel-mounted scabbard is in fair condition, with the two channels for storage of the fork and knife still intact, although the lower storage is missing the metal face as well as the small nails that keep the metal plate in place. These channels are both topped with steel cut into a Thistle, a national symbol of Scotland, and the tip of the drag has also been cut into the shape of a thistle, fantastic craftsmanship for its day. The sharkskin wrap of the scabbard is heavily worn with heavy loss of material, with the entire scabbard only retaining about 50% of it. The throat and drag are retained but heavily oxidized. Due to its age, the scabbard doesn’t fit entirely over the blade, primarily due to shrinkage. It is a miracle that the set has remained together like this for so long.
This is a tremendous set, one of the most gorgeous Scottish Dirk sets we have ever offered. Comes ready for further research and display!
Specifications:
Blade Length: 12½"
Blade Style: Scottish Dirk with Scalloped Edge
Overall length: 17“
Scabbard Length: 14¼”
- This product is available for international shipping.
- Eligible for all payments - Visa, Mastercard, Discover, AMEX, Paypal & Sezzle
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