Lew Waldman's Ethnographic Arms & Armour Collection Archive


189 - Vietnamese knife, dated 1965

Appearing to be a variation on the dha, Lew attributed this rather modern looking dagger to Vietnam. The grip is constructed of wood with a long aluminum ferrule at either end and slight swelling of the diameter towards the center of the grip. The 11¼ inch long single edged blade is symmetrical in profile with a convex edge opposite a back that starts to taper down from 0.2 inches to a point only where the distal narrowing is present. What appears to be a brass inlaid five pointed star is present on one face just above a similarly made date of 1965. The wooden sheath is bound by a few brass alloy bands and wrapped with synthetic cord. Some staining of the bade and cord wrapping are present. Overall sheathed length is about 18½ inches with a weight of just over 13 ounces.




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