Puff, you raised an interesting question for me in that last post, when you said that the black lacquered handle is not something that is popular any more. Can you point out any stylistic or manufacturing or material characteristics of daab that reflect a certain date or era? I find the Ayutthaya & Rattanakosin styles fairly easy to identify, but I am sure there are other indications that can pin-point a date more precisely. Both "Ayutthaya Period" and "Rattanokosin Period" cover many centuries, and styles & methods must have evolved during those periods
The thing that vexes me most in my study of dha and daab is the lack of a chronological frame of reference. For example, there are two pretty distinct styles of Shan dha, but whether or not they are regional variations, ethnic variations, or chronological variations is something I just don't know. It would be great to be able to say "This one was made between ____ and ____, because that is when the button pommel was used," or "Black lacquer was used on handles starting around _____, then fell out of popularity by about _____."
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