Help with Sword ID

Abravefan11 · 22nd August 2006, 02:49 AM

I was given this sword over 20 years ago by my father and know nothing about it. Where it came from? How old it is? Etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

If it would help to have a better picture of a particular part of the sword I would be happy to provide one.

Ian · 22nd August 2006, 04:07 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, 04:21 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, 02:13 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, 02:31 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, 02:47 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

Tim Simmons · 28th August 2006, 04:56 PM

IMHO here say and facts are rather confused about these swords. Having a tang through the handle and peened over, the blade is not going anywhere and the notion that this example is not for use is a little wide of the mark.

Andrew · 28th August 2006, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

IMHO here say and facts are rather confused about these swords. Having a tang through the handle and peened over, the blade is not going anywhere and the notion that this example is not for use is a little wide of the mark.

Tangs that extend completely through the handle are exceedingly rare in these swords, Tim. The feature you show is probably not a tang. Even if it is, it is unlikely to be a solid tang, more likely to be a "rat-tail" which are inherently unstable and prone to breakage at weld points.

Either way, having handled dozens of substantially similar swords (and cut with several), I can only tell you I personally wouldn't want to "use" one of these for anything other than decoration.

Tim Simmons · 28th August 2006, 06:25 PM

Hmmm. One could say that about a great many ethno weapons. How many people have you cut with one? I would not want to be faced with a man wielding one in my village

Andrew · 28th August 2006, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

Hmmm. One could say that about a great many ethno weapons. How many people have you cut with one? I would not want to be faced with a man wielding one in my village

lol. I understand what you're saying, Tim. Yes: even a poorly made "wall hanger" can hurt, kill or maim someone. Even a pencil can kill.

Maybe we need to define "use"? To me a "user" darb is a weapon with a hardened blade and a handle fixation method sufficient to withstand repeated swings, cuts, blocks and impacts without failing.

Tim Simmons · 28th August 2006, 10:24 PM

Yes we could be talking about two very different weapons. One a specialist, a knight? in some kind of bonded service. The other like my example, really no wall hanger, just a cheaper village weapon. The blade is far from soft and the balance is good. Not every village is going to have a princely guard. Playing with these things out of context might not always add to the sum of knowledge

.

RhysMichael · 29th August 2006, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

:
understand what you're saying, Tim. Yes: even a poorly made "wall hanger" can hurt, kill or maim someone. Even a pencil can kill.
Maybe we need to define "use"? To me a "user" darb is a weapon with a hardened blade and a handle fixation method sufficient to withstand repeated swings, cuts, blocks and impacts without failing.

I look at it the same way, Andrew
Of course the others could be used as a weapon or tool but not repeatedly so. I can take a piece of aluminum and grind an edge on it and it would cut a couple of times before denting enough to dull but still that would not be what I would call a use sword.

22nd August 2006, 02:49 AM	#1
Abravefan11 Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 7	Help with Sword ID I was given this sword over 20 years ago by my father and know nothing about it. Where it came from? How old it is? Etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated. If it would help to have a better picture of a particular part of the sword I would be happy to provide one. Attached Images

22nd August 2006, 04:07 AM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,200	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.

28th August 2006, 04:56 PM	#7
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,807	IMHO here say and facts are rather confused about these swords. Having a tang through the handle and peened over, the blade is not going anywhere and the notion that this example is not for use is a little wide of the mark. Attached Images

22nd August 2006, 04:21 AM	#3
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, 02:47 PM	#6
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

28th August 2006, 06:25 PM	#9
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,807	Hmmm. One could say that about a great many ethno weapons. How many people have you cut with one? I would not want to be faced with a man wielding one in my village

28th August 2006, 10:24 PM	#11
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,807	Yes we could be talking about two very different weapons. One a specialist, a knight? in some kind of bonded service. The other like my example, really no wall hanger, just a cheaper village weapon. The blade is far from soft and the balance is good. Not every village is going to have a princely guard. Playing with these things out of context might not always add to the sum of knowledge .