The impression which I've gleaned over the years of examining and discussing is that this type of knife is from the frontier region of lowland southern Bhutan and the northern Assam, in the watershed of the Brahmaputra River. The design of the metal ferrule reinforcing the wasp-waisted grip at the root of the blade is similar to that on the more familiar Bhutanese swords from the Tibetan-influenced highland regions of the country. The open-fronted scabbard concept is something seen in many parts of SE Asia, such as on the Kachin dao, the swords of the Taiwan highlanders, and on various "bolos" and knives of the central and northern Philippines.
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