Bringing the Double Dragon Sui Dao back to Life

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Now the full sets of high definition photos of this 1400 years old Sui Dao coming back to life is uploaded for your viewing enjoyment .



lkchensword.com/double-dragon

Hi Turok;

This is an excellent question ! And at the very start of our journey to bring the Double Dragon Sui Dao back to life, we wonder the exact same question as well.

After extensive research on decorated pommel dao of the same period, or slightly before the Sui Dao. We discovered from actual Pommel that dislodged from the original Dao AND
X-Ray photos of intact Ring Pommel Dao.

We find that underneath the Ring, is a 1 inch long square or rectangular extension. This rectangular extension, is not in the medial center of the ring, but offset slight to the side.

The tang of the blade, at the very end where it contact the Ring, is made thinner on one side. When the bronze ring extension and the steel tang overlap, they dove tail one another.
Than a hole is drill through the 2 metal, and a rivet is apply to rivet the 2 pieces together.

This is how these decorative bronze ring was attached to the steel tang 1400 - 1500 years ago and we use the exact same methods to do the Double Dragon Sui Dao.

In all, there are 18 bronze parts / fitting of this Dao, and we researched and use the same exact way to put them all together to bring the Dao back to life with the same way as the
ancient craftsman did.

There is no parts that we can buy on the stock market, each pin and screw is custom made based on the original.

For example, the Pin near the Pommel where the small metal loop is attached. Had a octagonal shape head, like the capsule of a virus. Very complicated little detail for this single piece.

And we make it exactly the same as you can see when you look at the photo closely.

This dao takes about 2 days to polish all the parts and put them together and is very labour intensive, we do that so interested supporters can feel a piece of history in their hand.

This is a Double Dragon Pommel Dao, the highest grade of pommel and could only be used by person of very high status. The ring actually, so in a courtly setting, the tassel is for decoration.

However, during battle, the tassel was changed to a loop to tie around the wrist. At that time, the elite fight on heavy armor horse back and wear very heavy steel armor.

So the sword have to be secure to the arm in case the heavy impact of clashes or during galloping of the horse got the sword loose.

In Han Dynasty, the wrist loop was tie to the ring itself. However, when the ring start to have all sorts of decoration. The wrist tie got to find some other place to secure and that
is where the pinned loop come from.