New acquisition- Burmese Dha

[Nathaniel]

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s243/lofu6379/Burmese%20Dha/e90e_3.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s243/lofu6379/Burmese%20Dha/ed16_3.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s243/lofu6379/Burmese%20Dha/efee_3.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s243/lofu6379/Burmese%20Dha/f365_3.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s243/lofu6379/Burmese%20Dha/f74e_3.jpg

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s243/lofu6379/Burmese%20Dha/e527_3.jpg

[kahnjar1]

:) looks to be KACHIN in origin. What is length etc?
Regards Stuart

[ariel]

This one does not look like a utility machete: fighting sword, nothing else.
Nice one: simple, sturdy, good quality.
Good catch!

[Nathaniel]

Good question, kahnjar1

Here are the stats:

60cm blade
17cm hilt
79cm Overall

And your right, Ariel, it is very sturdy...1cm thick at the spine at the hilt and at it's tip is 0.5cm! Good Grip and the blade feels very solid in the handle...no rattling.

The top 2 thin bands are nailed...3 bands missing....and the 4 bands at the bottom are not nailed at all.

[Mark]

Nice dha, Nathaniel. This is one of those interesting cross-pollenated pieces that you see so often in the region. As Stuart pointed out, there are strong Kachin influences, namely the square/concave tip (hard to tell which on the older ones that have been worn down). The blade curve, grip style, and scabbard style are Bama (Burman), however.

The typical Kachin utility dha has a flared grip, and a short, very broad, essentially straight blade, though you could say that there is some blade curvature due to a different sweep of the edge and spine blade.
http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/images1/229-mib25.jpg
http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/images1/230-mib26.jpg
The "fighting" Kachin dha on the other hand has a long, straight blade and a simple, unflared handle like yours.
http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/images1/231-ayw06.jpg
Both have a square/concave tip. Shagreen is not very common on Kachin sword dha (or sword dao, as Egerton calls them), though it is quite common on Bama dha.
http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/images1/225-mib.jpg
http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/images1/227-iag08.jpg

[Nathaniel]

Thanks for the pics & info Mark :)