Hi Ariel:
You make an important point that these are handmade items constructed to a general formula and made using handed down techniques. That there would be regional variation and changes over time is inevitable. How quickly such changes occur and how much license is given to the various specialists who make these items also likely varies from place to place. What makes this a challenging topic is that we usually do not know the degree of variation introduced and how quickly that occurred.
I'm thinking of the Laz bichaq from your own interests which seems to have come and gone rather quickly, and the Kachin dao which was replaced almost completely by the straight Shan dha with a squared off end during just a few decades of the second half of the 19th C. My understanding of Borneo swords like the topic of this thread is that they changed little over a century or two, with the same basic blade and hilt styles, but differed mainly in their decorative elements. However, I too am no expert on changing styles of Borneo swords, and look forward to hearing from others in response to your ideas.
Before we get too side tracked, however, let's remember the original question asked by Godfried. Hopefully some of our other experts will also give opinions.
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