I’m Japanese and sometimes image go through my my mind that I wanted to born in Scotland. There are no specific reasons,but the image keep coming up my whole life. 2yeas ago I traveled uk and Scotland by car, stayed many places even went to isle of Skye up to north then Aberdeen and went back to Edinburgh. I don’t know other 3 member in my group felt the same way, but I felt blessed in so many places I have been.

Historical bushcraft might be an experimental archeology experiment, like HEMA, thanks for your channel, and keep on !

"Oh! Nettle sting up the kilt!" That will have me laughing all week, cheers!

The Irish favour the Blackthorn for their clubs, but the design is very similar. It's also very handy when weapons like swords have been outlawed.

08:49 This. This is why I support you on Patreon

Your Dirk really looks a lot like my "viking" Seax. I love how successful designs reappear. Once the age of the full plate armor was over, daggers evolved away from these slim, narrow blades and back into how they looked before the advent of plate armor.

So, a longer cudgel could become a walking stick, which might occasionally come in handy as a head-basher......

The Cugel or 'Shillelaigh' usually fashioned from blackthorn & was a common weapon in Ireland in the 19th Century. Often used in faction fighting. Still used as a walking stick in country areas. Theres always a large bulbus head or top. Sometimes fortified with lead poured or driven into the head & called a 'loaded' stick or again Shillelagh. - Graet Video Loved it - Steve, as Eireann

Thank goodness someone finally did a good video on a Dirk!!! This answers so many of my questions about this knife!

This video is awesome, I always wondered what would happen if a swordsman armed. Witha rapier went up against a skilled Irish stick fighter.

Probably my most favorite video yet. I have an earlier triangle style Dirk and a regimental style. Both ha cut plenty of haggis at Burns Night dinners.

I’ve always wondered if the “Arkansas Toothpick” was a descendant of the Scottish dirk.

Appreciate the videos from a US born man with a long Scottish pedigree we've traced back to 13th century Scotland, the Jacobites , and possibly earlier in the 5th century.

I think that your dirk is brilliant. It's realistically made. Quick to produce and functionally made. Fantastic.

I’m happy I found this channel! My heritage is English, Scot and Irish with a smidge of French (?) That was a surprise! Anyway, I have long admired the Scottish heritage and your channel gives me a glimpse of what my ancestors lives were like, thank you.

I've always been a fan of the larger knife I've never had a Dirk in my hands, but even at 76 I am very curious now and will start a search for a dirk. Even though I do not need one most of my knives have been purchased out of curiosity rather than need. Thanks keep up the great video's. I have always since as you would say a wee lad been a fan of the Bowie knife. Happy Trails

08:50 "Nettle sting up the kilt" My legs crossed in reaction.

Ancient Highlander stop watch where can I buy one...LOL. Love the Dirk, it's got the heft to process wood and dress out fish. Enjoyed the martial content and history. Looking forward to more Safe journeys.

Fandabi Friday! My new favourite phrase!

Are you familiar with what is called Roach Belly here in America? It is a blade design believed to come over from Scotland or Northern England. Very useful in Bushcraft.

that ancient highlander stopwatch though

I see five McDonalds didn't like that story about the Campbells.

The disadvantage of making the “bollocks” part of the handle more subtle is that they’re less effective at keeping your hand from slipping forwards onto the blade.

Hi Tom, you clearly have a knack for making every video interesting whatever the subject. Great job. ATB Marc - Belgium

One of my new favourite channels! I love how you combine history and bushcrafting! Cheers

Great vid bro, an love historical facts

Interesting story, Tom, thanks! My ancestors are from the Isle of Skye. I'm always interested in learning all I can about that area and its history. Cheers!

I absolutely love your take on the Highland ways, very inspirational. Its very interesting also to hear stories as I have not heard that one before. Keep em coming mate.

A very handsome, yet extremely practical blade. AWESOME.

Form and function are beautiful. Your dirk is beautiful, and that is coming from an American with a few bowie knives. As for bush knives, I want a sharp 90 degree spine on mine for scraping a staff smooth or scrape an animal hide.

Your channel is really adding to my knowledge of my Scottish ancestors and this story got me to thinking, before my father died, he gave me a shillelagh an Irish friend had given him. There are all kinds of youtube sites about fighting/marial arts with canes, shillelaghs, staff, and sticks. I'll have to start on them after I finish yours.

Black Alder is not only extremely common in Europe but it is a very dense hardwood, perfect for impact and abusive treatment. The Indigenous of N. America would use Black Locust, among other very hard, dense wood, to make the ball headed clubs that are very similar to the cudgels and shillelaghs of the Scotland & Ireland area. Great video thanks.

Wonderful history lesson 😊

Thanks looks a nice tool, another good one 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Great video, if I may suggest that when cleaning fish or small game, putting the blade in a stump with a couple of inches at the point sticking up,then simply pull the game across the knife, works great with any large knife

Dude your so lucky to have access to such beautiful places to explore your craft. Its a real struggle to find anywhere nice that isn't bloody privately owned where I am. Great content. Keep it up👍

Very awseome!!! im working on a modified Dirk as we speak. Not many good videos on the dirks like this one. Great job! New sub.

Very nice ! Enjoyed it especially the history part and fighting techniques, and your twist on the dirk ,

I'm glad KZfaq recommended your channel. Subscribed.

very nice and informative video. I really love that you take so much time to spread this old knowledge among us. thank you.

I just recently (2020) discovered your Scottish and Highland cultural videos. Thank you for this video and your efforts to explore, learn about and share Highland culture. Keep up the good work! Notwithstanding Heiko's fine looking blade(s), as a knife enthusiast and Highlander, I would urge you to try and adopt the true dirk for your forays into the wilds. You've accurately described the historical dirks and with some effort you will see that they are very effective...along with the smaller Highland knives even for "bushcrafting". I live on the Kilmartin River on the Isle of Skye. For many centuries this has been my country; these are my ancestors. I must seriously question Heiko's story, not for the violence or for the skill you were illustrating, but for the historical participants and probable outcome. These historical tales sometimes get twisted about in the retelling, but your points on Highland toughness and quick thinking are accurate.

Very interesting video, thanks for sharing.

That was Fantastic 👌

I really enjoyed this video. Nice job👍🏻

I love your videos. It's fascinating seeing bushcraft from around the world. Survival/bushcraft should match one's culture and environment. It gets old seeing people copying everything someone else is doing. Your videos are unique.

Really interesting video 👍 with the cudgel, they may have done the "Ray mears" trick... Where he used the embers of a fire to harden wooded tent pegs, to harden the end for greater strength.

Your videos r interesting to watch. Always learning something new from you ! Much ❤❤

I like it it works beutiful blade take care brother

Dang! Home boy even gutted a trout with his dirk. Solid!!

Great stuff. A staff, a club and a knife - the beginning of everything. Nate

i wish i could go back in time and be a highlander... but i can still do bushcraft and wilderness living skills with 17-18 century tools and pretend. back then if you somehow found someone who had died and left behind a sword and some other tools it would have been very valuable, and today you can easily buy dozens of swords and other tools..

Wow.. Amaging tricks.. LOVE from india

Great stuff Sir! Thanks so much!

Where I live here in the states, there's the Fort Ticonderoga museum here in New York where during the Battle of Carillon in 1758, which had the largest casualties of the French and Indian War, the 42nd Black Watch Highlanders suffered some 50% or more casualties. In the museum is at least one dirk from the time period, and you can see the difference between how they used to look versus the ones made today that are ceremonial. They seem to be much larger than the ones you see now, and definitely more robust.

Thank you. Inspiring.

Very, very interesting. I'm very glad I am a subscriber. Great video.

Your blade looks like a Dirk and an American Bowie knife had a baby. I dig it! Looks like a very competent heavy duty bushcraft knife to me. well done.

Excellent video. Good demo and history. Thanks and take care.

Awesome video I also had a brush craft and self defense Dirk made by KHHI in Nepal, and this Dirk is going to be full tang.

Hi Tom. Thanks once again for an interesting, informative and entertaining presentation. Keep then coming! ATB. NIgel

I like your historical research and presentation.

Great video. Nice to learn more about our Northern neighbours and friends.

I have a bit of training with the Japanese hanbo, a 3ft hardwood staff, and one of the things we were taught was to use the rounded edge at the end of the staff as a precise tool for breaking bones. We learned to bring it down on the back of someone’s hand to break the small, delicate bones there and possibly disarm the enemy of more sophisticated weapons like a blade. Having a club with a head like that seems like it could be used for the same purpose and possibly even the odds against another person using a weapon like a broadsword. After they’re disabled, it could make a follow-up with the dirk considerably easier. Your videos are always practical and interesting to watch, I particularly enjoy the martial aspect of them and comparing them with my own knowledge of Japanese martial techniques. It seems all great cultures seem to have parallels

Quite nice design. I like it very much

I would recommend getting the Scottish Dirk from Tod's Workshop. All Tod's knives are hand forged to museum specifications & they are incredibly reasonably priced. I think you would love one of his blades! I'm a bit obsessed with mine, the balance is perfect, and weilding it shows the careful thought that goes into all aspects of its design. I wish it was socially acceptable to wear it around town! (I might anyway lol) It would be cool to watch you put one of his blades to the test! Your dirk is cool though, its design is very robust and rugged. I enjoy your channel, keep up the good work!

The man made you a very nice blade. Thanks great video.

thanks brother, magnificient video, lovely knife.

Lots of fun. Great video!

Cracking video mate really enjoyed watching this very interesting stuff pmsl at nettle sting up the kilt 😂😂😂 atvb jimmy 😎 😎

Cool! Glad you escaped the ambush! All the best until next time.

I'vealways thought of the dirk as an offspring to the viking seax, they are very similar in form if you look at variations of the seax and not only the broken back seax, love the stuff you make and always happy to learn new things! 😁

Another informative, well thought out video,!!

awesome knife there and i love the sheath you made. Top stuff :)

Always interesting to watch your video learn so much thank you

Very informative video. Thanks.

It almost looks like a modern day survival knife!😎😎😎🔪🔪🔪👍👍👍

Every informative……..Might I suggest you don't wrap your fingers around the sheath when pulling the dirk out. A sharp knife could easily cut the leather eventually and your fingers could get more than a taste of the blade one day.

Well done Sir!

I love your videos. Thank you so much for all the hard work and research you put into them. Had a good giggle at 'nettle sting up the kilt' though 😂😂.

Brilliant work as always mate, nice piece o'metal you've there🔥👍👍👍

Love this video and I love your dirk I am going to get one made like it!

I made real Dirk's modeled after ones in Al White's collection, which was more extensive than Scottlands National Mus.. Al was a Master Jeweler, Gun Smith(Colts master engraver), and one of the top Engravers in the World. He had a Dirk collection of Clansmen Fighting Dirks, and Warrior Gentleman Dirks. He trained me and I was in business as 'The Silver Dirk" and made my Dirks, styled after the weapon of the 1600's. It was later that the regimental dirk became the "art piece" of the Silver Smith. I really like your real version of the Highland Dirk. In fact I like all that you are doing here. I also am a Longbow Archer. I hope to return to Fife in 2020 for our Clan Gathering, and 622nd anniversary of Lord Crawfords, Earldom. I'll be 80, and a little slow, but I would very much like to meet you. Joseph Lindsay Haylee (Haley) Esq.

Very good. Thank you very much

Useful info! 👍

Just got done watching two seasons of Outlander. Some of my ancestors are from there, so I’m very interested in the ways of life there and also the land of Scotland. Thanks for all your videos. We’re from Maine, USA

Interesting video again. Great presentation of information as usual, keep it up sir.

8:50 "oooh, nettle sting up the kilt!" I feel you, brother. Been there, more'n once.

It's the primitive bush knife of the highlands. Love the videos Sir, keep it up and I might see you on the trail 🤙 🤙

Good video. Very creative and entertaining. :)

Excellent watching I tell ye!

If you want to read a historical story about the good use of a Dirk, look up Sir David Lindsay dual with Lord Wells on London bridge. Period English writers called it a "dagger" but we Scots know it was a Dirk. Sometimes refereed to a a Joist, but it was a dual to the death.

I love your videos sir! As an American of strong Scottish descent I have a huge interest in the things you showcase on your channel. I grew up in the woods often going off for a couple of days at a time even as a child with just a knife to see how well I could do on my own. It’s always been fun and huge for building problem solving skills and confidence. The only thing I offer on this video is the reverse grip on the dirk. It’s a personal opinion and I in no way am going to say it’s wrong and doesn’t have its uses with a single edge blade but the main strength of your hand is at the index finger side of your hand so I tend to think it’s a better place to have the leverage of a blade of any length. Imagine your reverse grip knife is captured by an opponent. Your reach is already shortened by having the dangerous end against your forearm and now they are prying it away from that spot against your pinky and ring fingers. Like I said just my thoughts and opinion. I hope one day to come across the pond with my family and maybe meet you and several of the other Scottish you tubers I enjoy so much. Until then may your goodness bring you fortune. Le fearann ​​agus a 'mhuir.

So interesting how you pronounce the "g" in cudgel. I learned it as a soft g like "garage" instead of a hard g like "goat".

I'm glad I subscribed to this channel, this is a quality channel.

My ancient Highland stopwatch 😂😂 just me that found that funny? I'm looking into my Scottish heritage and how they survived in the past coz I live in the woods semi wild so your highland series is huge help and I thank you😊 my problem is being able to afford the stuff I cant make😂 i also recently made a club similar with Hazel just its not that t shape the top hitting area is on the top but on the side for swinging and a bigger impact zone I also painted the top of it black with charcoal from my fire🙃🙃

Pitt, Dirk Pitt...couldn't resist...love your videos..

Great vid... when fighting a longer weapon I’d much prefer to employ A forward grip due to ability to cross distance

Time to fire up the forge... great video mate! 3'rd gen Aussie, ancestors were highlanders.

This dirk is fantastic. A piece of solid tool! Greetings from Poland :)

Excellent video