Help with Sword ID

Ian · 22nd August 2006, 03:07 AM

Welcome bravefan.

Your father passed on a Thai sword called a darb. It is of relatively recent (second half of 20th C) manufacture. You can find a lot of information about these swords using the forum's search engine. Type in Thai darb and you will find some similar examples as well as older forms and some very elaborate ones.

You will find a lot of info about your sword here also: http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001291.html

Ian.

Abravefan11 · 22nd August 2006, 03:21 AM

So more than likely this sword was brought back from Southern Asia to the states by a G.I.? Does this mean it has little value?

RhysMichael · 22nd August 2006, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abravefan11

So more than likely this sword was brought back from Southern Asia to the states by a G.I.? Does this mean it has little value?

I cannot add to anything Ian said about the description. As to value, appaisals are not done on this forum. That being said if it was given to you by your father 20 years ago that alone should add some personal value to it. Particularly if he passed on any stories of how and where it came into his possession. Did your father serve the country in Nam perhaps ? As often discussed here there are many ways to value a sword. If you are simply interested in the monetary value look on ebay for many similar swords. If you do this for a while you can weed out the values that are off base and get a feeling for the true price it would sell for.

Abravefan11 · 22nd August 2006, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhysMichael

I cannot add to anything Ian said about the description. As to value, appaisals are not done on this forum. That being said if it was given to you by your father 20 years ago that alone should add some personal value to it. Particularly if he passed on any stories of how and where it came into his possession. Did your father serve the country in Nam perhaps ? As often discussed here there are many ways to value a sword. If you are simply interested in the monetary value look on ebay for many similar swords. If you do this for a while you can weed out the values that are off base and get a feeling for the true price it would sell for.

I apologoze if I was missunderstood. I wasn't looking for a specific value, nor do I have any intentions of selling it. I simply was looking for any information I could get pertaining to where it may have come from and how old it was.

My father gave me the sword for my 14 birthday. For that reason alone I have no plans to sell it. He didn't serve in the military and never gave me any background on how the sword came into his possesion.

I guess a better way of presenting what I was trying to ask is this:

From what Ian has written in this post and others on this site there seems to have been many of this Thia type of sword manufactured with the sole intent of selling them as souviners to the G.I.'s from the mid 60's to early 70's. Were there any better quality swords made at that time that are similar and if so, what is something to look for? Or with my sword matching a lot of the descriptions Ian has given, is it more than likely maunfactured just as a souviner.

Again I'm not trying to put a dollar amount on it. Just trying to get a good idea of it's history.

Again thanks for the help given and any that may follow.

RhysMichael · 22nd August 2006, 01:47 PM

A brave fan
many of these swords are made for the trourist market. Some are not even hardened. But quality swords are still made for use in this region of the world. Its hard to say from a picture which this is ( a tourist sword or a use sword ) Some questions to ask yourself as you look at it:
How tight is the handle to the blade ?
What condition and quality are the wrappings on the handle?
Is the copper at the throat and pommel thick or thin ?
Lastly the thai smiths do have a technique to use a file or cut a nail to demonstrate a hardened well made blade but you may not be comfortable with either of these.

There are several people on this forum who may be able to give you much more information on these swords ( Ian is certainly one of them ) There are also some people who represent companies that make contemporary blades. Hopefully they can add much more to this

I hope this helps

Mark · 22nd August 2006, 08:00 PM

There is a "middle" path, one could say, between pure tourist and a use blade, which is a martial arts blade. This could well be a daab made for use in the Thai martial art muay thai. Swordmaking is still very much a live tradition in Thailand, though there has been an unfortunate tendency to abandon tradition sword-making techniques for newer ones (such as stock removal). Most of the daab in the style of yours that I have seen are made by modern techniques, but whether strictly for tourist trade or for martial arts I cannot say. They certainly have the proper balance for use. Here is an article written by Antonio Cejunior about a visit he made to Aranyik, the sword-making center of Thailand: http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/visit.aranyik.htm
If you want information on daab generally, and pictures of other examples, try the Dha Research Index. Mostly pictures, actually.

Perhaps one of our Thai members can give some insight about where this style comes from (Aranyik is in the south, and there are other sword-making centers in the north, such as Chiang Mai).

PUFF · 23rd August 2006, 12:24 PM

Is this an ellipse mark?

This mark could be related to either Aranyik (central Thailand) or LumPang (Northern Thailand) 's product.

However, the pointy tip on the scabbard 's usually associate with modern Dahb from central Thailand. Also, the rattan works on the scabbard 's are not very neat. It 's likely to be a tourist type from Aranyik. Narrow/untaper spine (2/8" or less) will confirm this. A popular souviner from Ayuthaya (or Bangkok) though

22nd August 2006, 03:07 AM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Thai darb Welcome bravefan. Your father passed on a Thai sword called a darb. It is of relatively recent (second half of 20th C) manufacture. You can find a lot of information about these swords using the forum's search engine. Type in Thai darb and you will find some similar examples as well as older forms and some very elaborate ones. You will find a lot of info about your sword here also: http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001291.html Ian.

22nd August 2006, 03:21 AM	#2
Abravefan11 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 7	So more than likely this sword was brought back from Southern Asia to the states by a G.I.? Does this mean it has little value?

22nd August 2006, 01:47 PM	#5
RhysMichael Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Virginia Posts: 520	A brave fan many of these swords are made for the trourist market. Some are not even hardened. But quality swords are still made for use in this region of the world. Its hard to say from a picture which this is ( a tourist sword or a use sword ) Some questions to ask yourself as you look at it: How tight is the handle to the blade ? What condition and quality are the wrappings on the handle? Is the copper at the throat and pommel thick or thin ? Lastly the thai smiths do have a technique to use a file or cut a nail to demonstrate a hardened well made blade but you may not be comfortable with either of these. There are several people on this forum who may be able to give you much more information on these swords ( Ian is certainly one of them ) There are also some people who represent companies that make contemporary blades. Hopefully they can add much more to this I hope this helps

22nd August 2006, 08:00 PM	#6
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	There is a "middle" path, one could say, between pure tourist and a use blade, which is a martial arts blade. This could well be a daab made for use in the Thai martial art muay thai. Swordmaking is still very much a live tradition in Thailand, though there has been an unfortunate tendency to abandon tradition sword-making techniques for newer ones (such as stock removal). Most of the daab in the style of yours that I have seen are made by modern techniques, but whether strictly for tourist trade or for martial arts I cannot say. They certainly have the proper balance for use. Here is an article written by Antonio Cejunior about a visit he made to Aranyik, the sword-making center of Thailand: http://www.arscives.com/bladesign/visit.aranyik.htm If you want information on daab generally, and pictures of other examples, try the Dha Research Index. Mostly pictures, actually. Perhaps one of our Thai members can give some insight about where this style comes from (Aranyik is in the south, and there are other sword-making centers in the north, such as Chiang Mai).

23rd August 2006, 12:24 PM	#7
PUFF Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 30 miles north of Bangkok, 20 miles south of Ayuthaya, Thailand Posts: 224	Is this an ellipse mark? This mark could be related to either Aranyik (central Thailand) or LumPang (Northern Thailand) 's product. However, the pointy tip on the scabbard 's usually associate with modern Dahb from central Thailand. Also, the rattan works on the scabbard 's are not very neat. It 's likely to be a tourist type from Aranyik. Narrow/untaper spine (2/8" or less) will confirm this. A popular souviner from Ayuthaya (or Bangkok) though