Very first Dha for comment

[Mark]

Andrew - yes, I was refering the the damascus dha with the date cartouche, which I expect is the "Oldman" dha refered to.

Alaung Hpaya - Artzi (Oriental Arms) doesn't mind linking to his photos. I was going to do the same, as that is the inlaid dha I was talking about that I bought at Timonium.

We haven't found any clear information on the brass, and sometimes copper, insets along the spine. I sort of doubt that it counts kills, since I think its something that would have been done at the time of manufacture, and the patterns are always very regular, which should not be the case unless the owner always killed in even numbers . I have found reference to the talismanic significance of some metals in Burmese and Thai culture, but not specifically brass or copper. It is something that I have most often seen on Shan and Thai dha, in the latter case in the more contemporary krabi-krabong daab.

Philip Tom has suggested that it is a stylized representation of bamboo.

Kyat being reference to the number of layers is interesting, but wouldn't one expect the number to be either smaller (welded billet) or even (folded billet)? Could it refer to the weight of the sword?

[~Alaung_Hpaya~]

I would guess kyat is likely to refer to the weight of the sword ( I'm not overly familiar with Burmese measurements but I think it refers to density more specifically than mass ) .

Here is a picture of the spine showing the regular lines :





It looks like some of the brass and copper have fallen out . There are identical diagonal lines on the steel where there is no brass . Is this to allow purchase for the brass or a deliberate pattern and therefore a deliberate random variation in the design ?

[Mark]

I believe that the cross-hatching on the steel is to provide better attachment for the inset, so those would be areas were one has fallen out. If you look at the close-up in the second photo of my sword, you can see the inset edge-on, and how it is attached to the steel below.

[RhysMichael]

We have talked before that these markings on the spine. If I remember correctly they are also found on malay klewangs, tenegre, talibon, parang nabur and more rarely chinese swords


I will post pictures of the dha-hmyaung soon

[Ian]

Hi John:

We have indeed discussed these inlaid areas and marks before. They appear also on a short Thai pole arm that can be seen here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=605

I believe PUFF had a very interesting observation a while back when he said that these marks were a type of "registration" for specific weapons and owners. In the past the marks on the spine were recorded against the name of the owner, but more modern pieces simply use these as decoration: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3021

Originally Posted by PUFF:

Currently, there are hypothesis for marks on the spine. The first one is helping a calculation or strategy note. Another one which 's come from more reliable source is that spine marks are blade registration. The marks can be transfer to a paper or cloth with a piece of charcoal and a copy will be kept by town/city officer.

The slug, however, is related with spiritual believe. The most reliable one is that the copper material has a warding power against evil or person's spiritual protection. Some smiths point out the metal keep rust away. But the hypothesis 's less solid sice it 's scientificly not true.

Both marks and slugs may serve their purpose in the old time. But in this modern time, although the marks and slugs are traditional preserved, but its real purpose has been forgotten and they are purely used as a decoration.

Ian.