As Andrew said, there is almost nothing in English written about dha & daab. Here are mentions of them, mostly from the esthetic point of view, in a few books. I have found one source that is pretty good regarding late-19th century manufacturing techniques, and there is a good article by Francis Boyd in Blade magazine about present-day methods used in Thailand. Here is a list of the most substantial sources about dha/daab that I have found:
Bell, A Monograph on Iron & Steel Work in Burma, Super. Gov't Printing, Rangoon (1907);
Egerton, An Illustrated Handbook of Indian Arms, London (1880) (reprinted by White Lotus Press, Bangkok, 1986) (ISBN 974-87456-1-9) - be sure to get the second edition, which includes Burma;
Ferrars & Ferrars, Burma, Sampson Law Marston & Co., London (1908) (it has been reprinted recently, though);
Fraser-Lu, Burmese Crafts, Past and Present, Oxford Univ. Press, 1994 (ISBN 0-19-588608-9)
Punjabhan, Naengnoi, Silverware in Thailand, Rengrom Publishing, Bangkok (1991) (ISBN 9748869563);
Stone, A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor, Jack Brussel, New York (1934) (recently reprinted) (ISBN 0-517-065878);
That's about it, other than passing reference to the use of dha here and there. With the exception of Bell and Ferrars, all are derivative and don't really give a whole lot of information. The Fraser-Lu and Punjabhan books have some very nice photos, however. Historical photographs and illustrations showing people of various ethnic group with the weapons have been of some help, too.
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