I'm just taking a crack shot, but aren't they for decoration and a symbol of courage...maybe they used them as a psychological weapon to psych themselves up. The wave blades...to me...look like fire, maybe hot flame rising. If you look at Thai designs and patterns, you'd see pattern of bright golden flame; I guess it is supposed to be very hot. The reason for that is they like to think they have conquered all fear by staying pured, doing good deeds by following the teaching of Buhddism, which the flame represents in the paintings, carving, and patterns on the temples. This is probably why the Siamese were the toughest fighters in Southeast Asia. In a few chapters, they talk about a couple thousands villagers, who fought part of the Burmese armies that range from twenty to thirty thousand troops. In the end all of them died fighting! You have the Celts in Gaul, which outnumbered the Roman ten to one, and they still fear them, and in the end they panic and fled, which gave Julius Ceaser a great victory and tremendous amount of respect at home. No offense to all you Celts, ofcourse!
