Peened tangs on Dha
 

The new dha I just got has a long tang with the end peened. I untill now had always though of dha as having short tangs that were fixed with resin into the handle. So I attibuted the new dha as a modern variation only. Then I got to looking at some of my other dha closer and found some that look to have peened tangs. The end cap on the second one from the left may or may not be covering a peened tang but the others definitely seem to ( at first I thought the third from the left was just damage but on looking closer there is a thicker center that looks peened ). Any thoughts on this ?
Thanks
John

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v9...peenedends.jpg

Very possible. I think that the Ayutthaya-period darb that I have has a peened tang. I tested this by connecting a flashlight bulb, battery and some wire, making an open circuit. I held one wire against the blade, and the other on the very tip of the pommel, and the bulb lit up. So, something was completing a circuit between the blade and the pommel (the fittings on this one are iron, by the way. The handle has a middle section of iron separated fromthe ferrule and pommel by laquered cord wrappings, and I could not complete a circuit here. The alternative explanation is that the handle is made of, or has a sleeve of, conductive material, which is in contact with the blade and the pommel but not the middle section (maybe that is a band slipped around the wrapping of the handle or something).

http://members.cox.net/thedhapage/Images/Image185.jpg

On the other hand, I have one very beat up dha that is of the style of the second one from the left, on which the flattened pommel had come loose. The pin in the center was essentially a nail holding it into a wooden handle, so what looks like a peened tang may actually be the way the pommel is attached to the handle. Only taking one apart will tell for sure, but that is hard with these things -- they are either loose, or super-solid.

John:

I think Mark's comment about a nail or pin to hold the pommel onto the handle is probably correct. I have diassembled a number of these that were loose, and in each case they were not a peened over tang but a nail or pin to hold the end cap in place.

Then again, there is always the exception to the rule.

Ian.

I thought they were all like this except for the really fine ones.Timhttp://[/IMG] [IMG]http://