December 10, 2012

Roth and Ramberg and the Sgian Dubh maker

Calendar, Travel


If you have one of our Roth and Ramberg calendars then you know it’s December and you should be looking at a photo of a man named Rab.

What’s a Sgian Dubh (pronounced skin-doo)? Well it’s a traditional knife worn in the sock of a kilt-wearing Scot.

Where do you find a Sgian Dubh maker? Well, in the hills overlooking Loch Ness, of course. There, a man named Rab Gordon, hand makes the beautiful knives. He lives in an old stone farmhouse with his wife and young son. Inside one of the many buildings is a workshop beyond imagination. Think Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, if you are old enough to know what that means.

Rab has a year long waiting list of people who want to own one of his pieces. Lucky for us, he took the time to be photographed in the driving rain and then share some of his whisky with us. Rab was the last person we photographed for our 2012 calendar. Soon after we made our way back to Edinburgh for our flight home. We miss Scotland and the people like Rab who made it a trip of a lifetime.