a recent montagnard dha i picked up

kronckew · 30th August 2010, 09:22 PM

the join between the blade and the grip seems oddly off centre in both the horizontal and vertical views, is this deliberate or has this been re-handled?

all my dhas have the blade and tang centrelines intersecting at the junction or overlapping, and the grip hole for receiving the tang is central as well, even if the blade and grip centrelines are at an angle.

the original posted one appears to have more blade below the central point than above, and in the spine view seems a bit more to the left of centre.

carlitobrigante · 31st August 2010, 12:29 AM

yep your right, the placement of the blade in the handle is off-centre, not as obvious as the photos make it look, not noticable in the hand till i looked close.

Theres some newer looking exopy in there as well, id say good chance blade came slightly loose and when re-seated and epoxyed it was done with blade dead centre.

So many unusual things on this dha. Theres quite a few very very small nicks along the length of the cutting edge, someone has given this one a fair bit of use aswell it seems.

Philip · 31st August 2010, 06:51 AM

I concur with Battara. Over the years I've handled a lot of "montagnard" dhas; quite a few came back with US troops during / after the Vietnam War and although the majority are fairly plain if not crude workaday specimens, there is the occasional one appropriate to a tribal chief: well decorated with silver and copper, sometimes with imported Burmese blades ornamented with gold and silver overlay in floral motifs. But never have I seen one ornamened with stones as this one is. Also, the purely cylindrical profile of the hilt components strike me as odd. These dhas invariably have a slightly conical ferrule at the head of the grip, right where the blade emerges. And as Kronckew points out, the asymmetrical positioning of the blade is a point of concern, and that odd pommel is also something that you don't find on the originals either.

Something to ask yourself -- why would an experienced cutler who's presumably made a career of fitting-up dhas, need to install a brass counterweight after-the-fact to improve the balance? Methinks that a craftsman who knows his trade wouldn't have to futz around like that. Especially considering that dha blades have a "blind" tang and therefore the length of the grip (which is a key element of balance) does not have to conform to the parameter set by tang length.

30th August 2010, 09:22 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,216	the join between the blade and the grip seems oddly off centre in both the horizontal and vertical views, is this deliberate or has this been re-handled? all my dhas have the blade and tang centrelines intersecting at the junction or overlapping, and the grip hole for receiving the tang is central as well, even if the blade and grip centrelines are at an angle. the original posted one appears to have more blade below the central point than above, and in the spine view seems a bit more to the left of centre.

31st August 2010, 12:29 AM	#2
carlitobrigante Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Solihull, UK Posts: 81	yep your right, the placement of the blade in the handle is off-centre, not as obvious as the photos make it look, not noticable in the hand till i looked close. Theres some newer looking exopy in there as well, id say good chance blade came slightly loose and when re-seated and epoxyed it was done with blade dead centre. So many unusual things on this dha. Theres quite a few very very small nicks along the length of the cutting edge, someone has given this one a fair bit of use aswell it seems.

31st August 2010, 06:51 AM	#3
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	I concur with Battara. Over the years I've handled a lot of "montagnard" dhas; quite a few came back with US troops during / after the Vietnam War and although the majority are fairly plain if not crude workaday specimens, there is the occasional one appropriate to a tribal chief: well decorated with silver and copper, sometimes with imported Burmese blades ornamented with gold and silver overlay in floral motifs. But never have I seen one ornamened with stones as this one is. Also, the purely cylindrical profile of the hilt components strike me as odd. These dhas invariably have a slightly conical ferrule at the head of the grip, right where the blade emerges. And as Kronckew points out, the asymmetrical positioning of the blade is a point of concern, and that odd pommel is also something that you don't find on the originals either. Something to ask yourself -- why would an experienced cutler who's presumably made a career of fitting-up dhas, need to install a brass counterweight after-the-fact to improve the balance? Methinks that a craftsman who knows his trade wouldn't have to futz around like that. Especially considering that dha blades have a "blind" tang and therefore the length of the grip (which is a key element of balance) does not have to conform to the parameter set by tang length.