Hi everyone

[Mark]

Welcome to the forum, Antoine. And your dha is so beautiful (I think I've said that a few times before )!

As for pamor, pattern welding just does not seem to have caught on in most parts of continental southeast Asia. Laminated (sanmei) is fairly common, though, both sandwiched steel and inserted edge. I have come across a literature reference to an interesting "jacketing" method used in Burma around the turn of the 20th century. An iron blade core would be headed, and a thin sheet of steel hammered over and welded to it. The jacket could be renewed periodically as it wore out.

I have a small dha (the blade is about 6 inches long) that is possibly from Cambodia (though I am not 100% certain). It is rather corroded from having been in the ground, but was polished and etched on one side just before I bought it. It either shows very complex lamination, or perhaps is the result on a few "rejacketing" cycles.