Dha construction
Historically, iron ore was mined and smelted locally and sold in bazaars to blacksmiths. The use of iron imported from China was also common. After the mid-19th century C.E., imported European iron and steel gradually replaced local iron. A traditional forge used cylindrical bamboo bellows, a smallish anvil in a wood base, and a trough of water for quenching. Ferrars & Ferrars (1908). Egerton (1880) states that the Singpho (Jingpaw) Kachin of the Assam region used "a lump of stone as an anvil and a rude hammer," yet produced weapons "which are highly prized for their temper and durability." In more recent times, European-style anvils and heavy sledges are used, though the traditional forge can still be seen in both Burma and Thailand.

The basic construction of the dha comprises a forged, single-edged blade, a short tang, and a wooden handle of circular cross-section that is fixed over a blind tang. Bell (1907) describes three ways in which dha were traditionally made in Burma. The Royal troops during the reign of King Mindon (reigned 1853-1878 C.E.) carried swords of iron, over which a thin coating of steel had been welded. The shaped iron dha was heated red-hot, and a thin, red-hot sheet of steel was wrapped around the blade and hammered to weld the metal, the process repeated ten times, and the blade quenched in water. A method used in the upper Chindwin River valley starts with a shaped blade of iron, over which a strip of steel was placed, over all of which was put a coating of clay. The blade is heated until red-hot, causing the metals to bond and the clay to crumble away. The point of the blade is coated again with clay and heated, then cooled slowly until it reaches a dull green color, then given the final quench. In a third method, the back and edge were made separately and welded together with a lap joint. The Chinese technique of inserting a hardened piece of steel between two softer layers (qiangang) can be found on some Shan swords, and even some knives, but perhaps to a lesser extent on Kachin dha. This technique is still used today in Thailand by smiths of Chinese descent. Boyd (2000). Differential tempering and hardening of the cutting edge, resembling Japanese methods, may also be found on some of these swords. Edge hardening is generally achieved by selectively heating the edge in a very hot fire, followed by quenching (as opposed to the use of clay to create different zones of hardening in a uniformly-heated blade, as seen in traditional Japanese sword-making). Boyd (2000). This edge heating results in a visible temper line that is frequently both wider and less even than the hamon of a Japanese sword. Catalogue no.238 . However, blades have a more delicate temper line such as is seen in Japanese swords are known, indicating that the clay differential hardening technique was known. Catalogue no. 237. At least some blades made today in Aranyik in Thailand are cut from a blank of sheet steel, shaped by stock removal, then tempered.

While blade shape may reflect the distant origins of the dha, it actually tells us little of the source of manufacture of a particular sword. Burmese swords do tend to be straighter than Thai swords; the square or concave tip seems more common in Burmese swords, while the upswept tip seems favored in Thai blades. Exceptions are apparent, though, and a particular smith might produce blades of all of these forms. Blades, at least the best ones, tended to be made centrally and dispersed via trade, though local blacksmiths did (and still do) produce utility blades for local consumption. The Duleng Kachin territory (east of the Irawady and north of the Nam Tisang rivers) in the Kachin Hills area, and Mong-Kung and Kehsi in the Shan States, were known to be important centers of blade exportation to Lower Burma and Thailand. Aranyik in central Thailand was, and still is, a major sword-manufacturing center in that country, as is the northern city of Chiang Mai. Taken together with the form and decoration of the fittings, blade shape may give clues as to the original owner of a particular sword; blades (either purchased or made-to-order) usually were decorated and fitted locally to the owners' taste. The owner's choice may show as much personal taste and whim as it does adherence to an ethnic or cultural standard.

Most working dha have a plain steel blade without fullers or ornamentation. The spine of the blade may be flat or peaked, the latter being more common on Shan style swords. Blade thickness just in front of the hilt ranges from about 6-12 cm (0.25 to 0.5 inches), with an average of about 8-9 mm (about 0.35 inches), tapering abruptly towards the tip, until the width at the spine is essentially the same as that of the edge.

Decorative blades may have one or more fullers, although a single wide fuller is probably the most common variant. Koftgari (designs made by hammering wire and/or thin sheets of metal onto the roughened surface of the blade) done in silver, copper, or brass may be seen at the forte, extending for varying distances along the blade, and inlaid work may be found along the spine in front of the hilt (more rarely on the blade). Figures 1 and 2. Koftgari appears to be exclusively a Burmese decoration on dha.

 
 


The dha tang is usually a thin tapering wedge of steel about 7 to 10 cm (about 3-4 inches) in length. The orientation of the tang is in the long axis of the blade immediately before the hilt, so that any curve of the blade is carried through from the forte into the handle. In many cases this gives the sword a graceful curve from tip to pommel.

There is considerable variation in the shape of the tip of the blade – one can find dha with cutlass-like upswept tips, with rounded spatula tips, with squared-off tips, and even with concave, almost forked, tips. In Thailand the term for "tip" is hua, literally "head." Hua lem and hua darb both refer to an upswept tip (e.g., catalogue nos. 258, 259, 260), hua bua refers to a more-or-less spatula shaped tip (e.g., catalogue nos.259, 254), hua khong refers to the concave tip (e.g., catalogue nos. 231 and 228), hua lu guy refers to a so-called "sheep's foot" tip where the spine curves down toward the edge (e.g., catalogue nos.256, 257), and hua tat or hua chuey refer to an angled tip (e.g., catalogue nos.264 and 265).

Hilts are highly variable in form and construction, although some general comments can be made. A style common in Burma has a simple straight hilt of three approximately equal parts: a central wooden piece flanked by two metal ferrules that may be cylindrical or slightly flared at the ends. E.g., catalogue nos. 225, 231 and 232. A bud-shaped pommel is also common. This style of hilt is usually about 17-25 cm (about 7-10 inches) in length and could be used for a single- or two-handed grip.

A second common style is a straight wooden cylinder wrapped with many thin plaited rings of rattan. This is often seen on Shan style swords used for every day chores. E.g., catalogue nos. 243, 244. It is the typical dress of a working man’s dha. These hilts are simple, utilitarian, and found throughout the region. Such hilts vary widely in length; on some swords the hilt can approach the length of the blade itself, perhaps more commonly seen in dha from Thailand and Laos.

Fancy variants of these hilts are common. Silver, ivory, and other exotic materials, with or without elaborate decorations or carving, are found on the hilts of dha. The hilt is often the most elaborately decorated feature of these swords. Figures 3 and 4. Pommels, when present, often are of thin metal over a core of resin, which makes them fragile and prone to damage.


 

Scabbards are typically two strips of wood, often bamboo, that are bound together with rattan or metal. Figure 5. The most usual binding is multiple thin braided rattan strips at intervals along the sheath. Some scabbards are painted black or covered with dark resinous materials, particularly those from Thailand and Cambodia. More ornate scabbards can be partly or completely covered with silver, brass or sometimes gold, reflecting the status of the owner. On some of the more ornate Kachin and Shan scabbards, the foot flares symmetrically and is squared off. Most scabbards have rounded ends, though pointed ends are not uncommon. The more ornate scabbards tend to have squared ends.



 

The most common suspension system for dha is usually a rope wrapped around the throat of the scabbard and tied into a large loop that is used to hang the sword over a shoulder or sling it across the chest. Pairs of shorter dha are also carried crossed on the back. When worn over the shoulder, the sword is carried hilt forward, with the cutting edge down, and drawn across the body.