Unknown Thai Chopper

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Andrew

The spine markings are identical to those found on many Montagnard dha, and the blade engravings (if not the inlay--those are quite unusual in my experience) similar to this dha of Mark's:
Northern Thai seems more and more likely for that one.

Yes, very similar markings and probably dating from about the same time. Mark's sword seems at least a hundred years old, perhaps second half of the 19th C. or earlier, and I would not be surprised if this chopper was made then.

Originally Posted by Andrew

Montagnard dha spine markings:
Similar spine markings seem to appear on weapons from a wide geographic area, from China to the north right down through most of SEA.

Tom H. made a similar point with respect to the blade style, and the markings could be more widely distributed than simply northern Thailand and neighboring states. Perhaps the ill-defined term "hill tribe" might apply to the patterns.

Ian.