Dha, Viet Nam, Laos, Hmong

[Ian]

Hi Jim,

I wrote a lengthy post many years ago on the old UBB forum (now defunct) about these mid- to late-20th century daab that continue to be made in northern Thailand. As Detlef noted, these were common bringbacks during the Vietnam War when soldiers picked them up while on R&R in Thailand.

The Northern Lao attribution is fairly close, but these swords are usually described as being made in Thailand. These daab often have filed marks on the spine adjacent to the hilt, with lines, crosses, and even copper slugs set into the spine--these marks have no known meaning. The squiggly S-also no cultural meaning--they are just put there randomly for decoration.

Occasionally, there is a struck mark at forte. These may have some significance with respect to makers' marks or place of manufacture, but no reliable data have emerged to date as to the meaning of these marks. Most of these daab have poor quality blades, and many appear not to have been tempered.

Best regards,

Ian.