Dha ID request

Ian · 23rd July 2006, 12:52 AM

I believe this sword has some "Montagnard" heritage, referring to the people of the uplands of Laos and neighboring Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The features that strike me as being consistent with Montagnard work are the oddly segmented hilt and small ferrule, and the charring of the wood on the scabbard and hilt. I have seen each of these features on Montagnard dha before, but not altogether on a single piece. I agree with the feeling that this piece is not very old -- almost certainly 20th C.

Ian.

DavidE · 23rd July 2006, 03:14 AM

Hey guys,

I could be wrong about this, but the wood doesn't look to be "charred" nearly as much as it does in the picture. The difference in color appears to me to be the result of a person's grip on the sword and scabbard. The handle and scabbard are a very dark brown and a bit rough. Exactly where your hand would go on the handle though, the wood is smooth and much lighter. Maybe it was charred, and the "charring" was simply worn off by someone's hand.

I'm attaching two additional pictures of some details that may be of interest. The first is of some sort of symbols/characters on the scabbard, which also allows you to see the color variation. The second is of a "butt" or plate which looks to be nailed to the bottom of the handle.

David

RhysMichael · 24th July 2006, 12:49 AM

It is not charred to to point that any material comes off. But it is darkened by the flames. Here is a link showing an escrima stick this was done to

http://www.wle.com/wholesale/media/W185.jpg

PUFF · 24th July 2006, 02:24 AM

I do agree that the wooden parts were flame treated. Seems to be done by the engraver, to bring out his/her engraved pattern.

And I think the blade was custom made because this kind of peening/marking takke too much time to be a production blade. For me, the sword 's decoration suggested its personal/home defend purpose. The "ติ" inscription could be someone 's name, likely to be owner (please enable Thai encoding on your page).

DavidE · 24th July 2006, 04:00 PM

RhysMichael- Thanks for the link.

PUFF- Interesting. It does look like the parts of the handle/scabbard that were flame treated were the parts that have carving.

23rd July 2006, 12:52 AM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,399	Maybe Montagnard I believe this sword has some "Montagnard" heritage, referring to the people of the uplands of Laos and neighboring Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The features that strike me as being consistent with Montagnard work are the oddly segmented hilt and small ferrule, and the charring of the wood on the scabbard and hilt. I have seen each of these features on Montagnard dha before, but not altogether on a single piece. I agree with the feeling that this piece is not very old -- almost certainly 20th C. Ian.

23rd July 2006, 03:14 AM	#2
DavidE Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7	Hey guys, I could be wrong about this, but the wood doesn't look to be "charred" nearly as much as it does in the picture. The difference in color appears to me to be the result of a person's grip on the sword and scabbard. The handle and scabbard are a very dark brown and a bit rough. Exactly where your hand would go on the handle though, the wood is smooth and much lighter. Maybe it was charred, and the "charring" was simply worn off by someone's hand. I'm attaching two additional pictures of some details that may be of interest. The first is of some sort of symbols/characters on the scabbard, which also allows you to see the color variation. The second is of a "butt" or plate which looks to be nailed to the bottom of the handle. David Attached Images

24th July 2006, 12:49 AM	#3
RhysMichael Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Virginia Posts: 520	It is not charred to to point that any material comes off. But it is darkened by the flames. Here is a link showing an escrima stick this was done to http://www.wle.com/wholesale/media/W185.jpg

24th July 2006, 02:24 AM	#4
PUFF Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 30 miles north of Bangkok, 20 miles south of Ayuthaya, Thailand Posts: 224	I do agree that the wooden parts were flame treated. Seems to be done by the engraver, to bring out his/her engraved pattern. And I think the blade was custom made because this kind of peening/marking takke too much time to be a production blade. For me, the sword 's decoration suggested its personal/home defend purpose. The "ติ" inscription could be someone 's name, likely to be owner (please enable Thai encoding on your page).

24th July 2006, 04:00 PM	#5
DavidE Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7	RhysMichael- Thanks for the link. PUFF- Interesting. It does look like the parts of the handle/scabbard that were flame treated were the parts that have carving.