Good morning Jens,
To see a depiction of such an early katar is Very interesting!
Although we have talked on katars over the years, I have nothing solid to contribute.
My thoughts are that in India, much thought was put into production of weapons. This thought likely came to the (correct) conclusion that a thrust /punch in-line with the forearm is more powerful than one at an angle to it, hence the katar came into being.
Now; I have always wondered Why some early katars have a single bar to grip? The mechanical leverage is so poor, that I do not understand this.
The Very early example above could possibly work for slicing/slashing, but could easily double back on itself in a thrust.
Side -bars would appear ideal for parrying, but the grip needed developing into wider 2-3 or more bars for control.
I apologise if this is a digression, but if a person made a katar with a single bar to grip, and actually tried it to see how it felt in the hand, would not common sense say that the this grip needed refining to control the weapon in use?
This in no way answers your question, and again my apologies!
Richard.
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