Cambodian Dhas

ariel · 11th July 2007, 01:19 AM

Dhafia to the rescue!
I just bought this trio on a lark. The seller said he got them in Cambodia. I show them the way they are, no cleaning, just to show the amount of patina.
The first one is a Dha, 72 cm in length total, the blade alone is 51 cm. Very primitively made, with a lot of pockmarks.The handle is wood, turned. There are two iron collars. The "tsuba" is ~ 8 cm in diameter, pretty thin and composed of layers: there is an overlay of softish metal all over and it is covered with vegetal designs on a crosshatched background, rather pretty. The scabbard appears to be newer, with the halves joined by wooden pins.
The knife is 29 cm, blade alone 19.5 cm long and 1.7 cm wide. It is single edged, and there are some simple designs along the blade, reminescent of what is often seen on Thai Darbs. The handle is wood, with old and very tight rattan bindings and a small brass collar with indents.The scabbard looks newer, brass fittings on both ends.
The last one is 83 cm long, blade alone is 64 cm long and 2 cm wide at the base, widening to 4.5 cm at the tip. The quality of the blade is much higher than the Dha's.The base of the blade has a wavy projection on the edge side ( blade-catcher?) There is a very thin fuller running along the entire back of the blade. The handle is wood, with a 9 cm iron collar and a brass shell 27 mm in diameter.
I have a feeling that all the wooden parts on all swords are old, but newer than the blades.
Questions:
- Are these Cambodian?
-Any particular names?
- The "tsuba" on the Dha and the "blade catcher" on the other sword suggest to me that these are not agricultural implements. Correct?
- Where does shell come from?
- How old do you think they might be?

11th July 2007, 01:19 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Cambodian Dhas Dhafia to the rescue! I just bought this trio on a lark. The seller said he got them in Cambodia. I show them the way they are, no cleaning, just to show the amount of patina. The first one is a Dha, 72 cm in length total, the blade alone is 51 cm. Very primitively made, with a lot of pockmarks.The handle is wood, turned. There are two iron collars. The "tsuba" is ~ 8 cm in diameter, pretty thin and composed of layers: there is an overlay of softish metal all over and it is covered with vegetal designs on a crosshatched background, rather pretty. The scabbard appears to be newer, with the halves joined by wooden pins. The knife is 29 cm, blade alone 19.5 cm long and 1.7 cm wide. It is single edged, and there are some simple designs along the blade, reminescent of what is often seen on Thai Darbs. The handle is wood, with old and very tight rattan bindings and a small brass collar with indents.The scabbard looks newer, brass fittings on both ends. The last one is 83 cm long, blade alone is 64 cm long and 2 cm wide at the base, widening to 4.5 cm at the tip. The quality of the blade is much higher than the Dha's.The base of the blade has a wavy projection on the edge side ( blade-catcher?) There is a very thin fuller running along the entire back of the blade. The handle is wood, with a 9 cm iron collar and a brass shell 27 mm in diameter. I have a feeling that all the wooden parts on all swords are old, but newer than the blades. Questions: - Are these Cambodian? -Any particular names? - The "tsuba" on the Dha and the "blade catcher" on the other sword suggest to me that these are not agricultural implements. Correct? - Where does shell come from? - How old do you think they might be? Attached Images Last edited by ariel; 11th July 2007 at 03:24 AM.