Burmese story dha restored by Battara

Battara · 15th June 2005, 06:48 PM

Thank you so much for your comments.

I'm so glad that Andrew is pleased with the results. When I got the piece, the very top was squashed and coming off, so I had to replace it with a dome shape I made and placed wire I twisted (like me

) around the bottom it, the same wire that I used to cover the base of the pommel which was a 1/4-1/2 inche of lead. The silver collars of the top and bottom of the ivory part were dented and I had to get these out as well. Speaking of the ivory part, this was covered with adhesive that was difficult to take off also.

Andrew asked me to darken the background of the blade to bring out the silver. I tried a blackening solution, but that worked for a while until it began to later rust out the background metal. So I turned to something completely different - permanent India ink. No rust there.

Ah the scabbard.......This was fun.......the bands were darkened brass and very rough on the surface. Interspaced between each band, as Andrew stated, were bands of brass wire held in place by pitch. I took all of that off and, per Andrew, replaced them with silver wire. I then reshaped the large brass bands, cleaned them and polished them (again per Andrew) and made a silver top and bottom chape. The original top chape had a tin flat plate that was uneven and warped. I just soft soldered a new silver plate to the top chape band (because I made it fit too well).

In the middle of all of this Andrew sent me a dha dagger that was the "little Bro" of the dha sword and I did the same type of stuff to it to match. I did, however, have to pull off the upside down ivory handle and reattach it.

All of this took a while and I was a little rushed because I wanted to get this all to Andrew for Timonium (and get some money to bring to the show

). But all in all, no one was destroyed in the making of this product.

Oh, BTW - I did try to get pictures in process, but my el cheapo camera did not take pictures worth printing.

Next on Santa's list: a digital camera and enter the 21st century.

Andrew · 15th June 2005, 07:53 PM

India ink! I had forgotten about that bit.

I'll post up pix of the small, matching dha later tonight.

Jose, is it common for brass to polish up so white, or does this have a high white-metal content to it (tin?)?

The fault failing to get pre-restoration photos is mine: I can't believe I didn't snap some before sending it to you.

Maybe we can work out a trade for a digi-cam on the next project.....

Ian · 15th June 2005, 08:27 PM

Silver over brass is also possible, with some thinning of the top silver layer. I've noticed this before on Burmese swords and scabbards.

Ian.

Battara · 15th June 2005, 09:07 PM

In this case the bands are brass, perhaps with more tin and less copper. I tested the bands in the process. No silver content in them what-so-ever, not even an over lay. Yes, some brass shines up very near white metal when the copper content is lower. I would place these as inbetween white metal and yellow brass. The more copper content, the redder and/or yellower it becomes. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference at first glance between newely shined whiter brass, silver, and white metal.

15th June 2005, 06:48 PM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,280	Thank you so much for your comments. I'm so glad that Andrew is pleased with the results. When I got the piece, the very top was squashed and coming off, so I had to replace it with a dome shape I made and placed wire I twisted (like me ) around the bottom it, the same wire that I used to cover the base of the pommel which was a 1/4-1/2 inche of lead. The silver collars of the top and bottom of the ivory part were dented and I had to get these out as well. Speaking of the ivory part, this was covered with adhesive that was difficult to take off also. Andrew asked me to darken the background of the blade to bring out the silver. I tried a blackening solution, but that worked for a while until it began to later rust out the background metal. So I turned to something completely different - permanent India ink. No rust there. Ah the scabbard.......This was fun.......the bands were darkened brass and very rough on the surface. Interspaced between each band, as Andrew stated, were bands of brass wire held in place by pitch. I took all of that off and, per Andrew, replaced them with silver wire. I then reshaped the large brass bands, cleaned them and polished them (again per Andrew) and made a silver top and bottom chape. The original top chape had a tin flat plate that was uneven and warped. I just soft soldered a new silver plate to the top chape band (because I made it fit too well). In the middle of all of this Andrew sent me a dha dagger that was the "little Bro" of the dha sword and I did the same type of stuff to it to match. I did, however, have to pull off the upside down ivory handle and reattach it. All of this took a while and I was a little rushed because I wanted to get this all to Andrew for Timonium (and get some money to bring to the show ). But all in all, no one was destroyed in the making of this product. Oh, BTW - I did try to get pictures in process, but my el cheapo camera did not take pictures worth printing. Next on Santa's list: a digital camera and enter the 21st century.

15th June 2005, 07:53 PM	#2
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	India ink! I had forgotten about that bit. I'll post up pix of the small, matching dha later tonight. Jose, is it common for brass to polish up so white, or does this have a high white-metal content to it (tin?)? The fault failing to get pre-restoration photos is mine: I can't believe I didn't snap some before sending it to you. Maybe we can work out a trade for a digi-cam on the next project.....

15th June 2005, 08:27 PM	#3
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,397	Silver over brass is also possible, with some thinning of the top silver layer. I've noticed this before on Burmese swords and scabbards. Ian.

15th June 2005, 09:07 PM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,280	In this case the bands are brass, perhaps with more tin and less copper. I tested the bands in the process. No silver content in them what-so-ever, not even an over lay. Yes, some brass shines up very near white metal when the copper content is lower. I would place these as inbetween white metal and yellow brass. The more copper content, the redder and/or yellower it becomes. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference at first glance between newely shined whiter brass, silver, and white metal.