Dha sword, or Kachin "long knife."

Mr.BadExample

Mr.BadExample

Joined
Sep 11, 2002
Messages
3,548
Several folks here collect other ethnic arms, and this is the one I'm currently seeking.
I've looked on oriental-arms.com, and they have the fanicer, thai-style dhas. Those are fine, but not what I am looking for.
I'm looking for one like in the photo here, commonly called the Kachin dha, which is more like a heavy bladed machete.
I found a short one on tribaltrappings.com, has anyone dealt with them?
I'm not looking for an antique, if a company like valiant made them I'd be fine with that. I've held a couple at my Bando instructor's house, but he brought those back from Burma himself. They are very heavy... Sher could make a great one! This one is 32.5" long.
kachindha5cs.jpg
 
I think that is a Dao of the Naga people of N.E. India. Of course Burma and N.E. India are very close. Did a search for naga dao and turned up a lot of hits. If I remember correctly, the Naga were headhunters.

Steve

Edit: for good info on the dha (or darb or daab) go to http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/
 
Hi Mr. BadExample:

I have two of those exact knives. I played with them when I was a boy and they chop through brush and the woods very well. I would not say the blade is heavy, though.

Here you will find a few pictures of them:
http://members.cox.net/nettech3
 
they had one very much like one of these on ebay.uk just a couple of weeks ago, went for under 50 pounds if i remember. i missed it by a few pounds as i was not seriously bidding on it (prefer pointy ones)

Image32.jpg


and i've already got one of these:

dha.jpg


20" Kobra next to it for comparison

moral is, keep checking ebay as they do come up occasionaly, some at bargain prices. (mine was cheap as the scabbard was quite damaged & required restoration)
 
Steve Poll said:
Hi Mr. BadExample:

I have two of those exact knives. I played with them when I was a boy and they chop through brush and the woods very well. I would not say the blade is heavy, though.

Here you will find a few pictures of them:
http://members.cox.net/nettech3
Click to expand...

Steve, thanks- those are the ones. They seem to go by many names, Ragawa Maru knives is another name. The ones I held felt front-heavy like a kukri.

And yes, ferguson, some of the Kachin (a catch-all name for the tribes, this means "savage") or Jinghpaw are headhunters. Thanks, I'll try looking for daos as well.
 
they're still being sold out there, just picked this one up on ebay tonite:

dha3.jpg


not quite what you were after, close tho. keep your eyes peeled & you may get one....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top