strange sword

[Ian]

Detlef, I owe you an apology. Here are pictures from an Assam Facebook discussion page showing recently made heng dang. Wooden hilts, including black shiny ones, and a couple with small disc guards! Also, some with tunkou it seems!

I don't know how representative these swords are of traditional Tai Ahon weapons, but I think they do seem to confirm the use of plain wooden hilts and perhaps disc guards on these swords. It would be nice to find some museum specimens with established provenance. However, your Assam designation is in play. Who knew? Amazing what is out there in the digital jungle.
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[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Detlef, I owe you an apology. Here are pictures from an Assam Facebook discussion page showing recently made heng dang. Wooden hilts, including black shiny ones, and a couple with small disc guards! Also, some with tunkou it seems!

There's nothing to apologize for, we all learn something new every day, that's what the forum is there for!

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

I don't want to say that the sword in question is a hengdang, I only want to show that you can find long handled swords in the region.

A few pictures of hengdang, found online.

First picture is titeld "Ahom hengdang and sword".