Overlay is a technique where silver, or other metal, is hammered and annealed onto a prepared surface to display a complex decoration. The technique is common to Burma. It is thought to have originated as early as 1650 CE.
It is most frequently seen as silver applied to steel or iron, but copper and brass have also been used. The metal is applied as relatively thick wire and foil to a roughened surface, not hammered into an incised pattern as would be inlay, nor surface-applied as a slurry, paste, or thin leaf, as is gilding. The wire is applied to a cross-hatched pattern and hammered into place. When both sides of the blade are completed, it is heated gently and all the design gone over with the hammer. The design is then refined by using a cold chisel. Hammering reduces any rough surfaces.
Engraving and brass inserts on the spine of a Northern Thai or Shan daab
Vegetal patterns on dha
See: Overlay Decoration on Burmese Dha Blades
On blades from Malaysia, Kinatah is a relief decoration on a blade of the highest order.