presentation & Wootz katar

TimW · 4th October 2010, 12:09 PM

hey all

I am new here, and would like to introduce myself. As many of you, the childhood fascination for edged stuff stayed. I am now a parttime knifemaker and collect various edged tools. At the moment I do not have a peculiar interest: I like knives with a nice (his)story. In my collection, one can find recent handmade knives, old pocket knives, african and indian weapons, ...

Last week I obtained an old Katar from an antiques dealer in Brussels. It looked old and dirty, but the quality of the blade (geometry, sharpness) made me decide to buy the knife. After a carefull cleaning and etching the following beauty came out:

All info involving age / origin of the katar are more than welcome.

Enjoy

Tim

RSWORD · 5th October 2010, 04:29 AM

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing a nice wootz bladed katar. The wootz pattern is very nice and looks nice and consistent throughout. Dating katars can be difficult because stylistically they cover a long period of time. My gut on this one from the picture is probably early to mid 19th century. Specific regional attribution can be difficult and I don't see any distinguishing features in this example to help me with that but perhaps someone else can.

VANDOO · 5th October 2010, 05:48 AM

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

IT IS ALWAYS FUN TO TAKE A CHANCE ON AN ITEM AND FIND IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN YOU THOUGHT. THIS KATAR IS ONE SUCH ITEM NICE FIND.

CharlesS · 5th October 2010, 03:21 PM

Congrats! That's one of the most attractively contrasting and consistent wootz katar blades I have seen. Often the wootz on these is crystalline damascus of low contrast, and with "cloudy" areas in the wootz.

Nice find!

Lew · 5th October 2010, 04:48 PM

Hi Tim

That is a real nice example my guess is 1835-50 probably from Rajasthan it seems that some of the Persian wootz ingots made their way back to that area. I have a katar with a high contrast wootz pattern also but it is the only one I have seen until now.

Congrats and welcome to the forum.

Lew

Jeff D · 6th October 2010, 02:49 AM

Hi Tim,

Great find. I cannot comment on the katar's shape or style, but, I think you can
make a case for it being 100 years earlier by the wootz. That high pattern activity with such vivid contrast suggests 18th century to me. 19th century wootz usually has more stripes and less activity, ultimately leading to the broken up "match stick" appearances.
I got to get a list of shops from you next time I head to Europe.

All the Best
Jeff

TimW · 6th October 2010, 08:39 AM

Thanks for all the feedback. Must admit i felt pretty happy when the wootz pattern popped out. As for the list of shops: no problem. By the way: paid 130 € for the piece (which is an ok price for a wootz katar).

Atlantia · 6th October 2010, 12:40 PM

Its a beauty. My guess would also be later 18th C. But there are members with very similar Katars who will doubtless be along presently to 'nail it down'.

Lew.
Aren't the Rajasthan Katars characterised by grip bars with central bulges that are wider than the side bars? Would this still count as Rajasthan type with its 'slimmer' grips?

4th October 2010, 12:09 PM	#1
TimW Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 54	presentation & Wootz katar hey all I am new here, and would like to introduce myself. As many of you, the childhood fascination for edged stuff stayed. I am now a parttime knifemaker and collect various edged tools. At the moment I do not have a peculiar interest: I like knives with a nice (his)story. In my collection, one can find recent handmade knives, old pocket knives, african and indian weapons, ... Last week I obtained an old Katar from an antiques dealer in Brussels. It looked old and dirty, but the quality of the blade (geometry, sharpness) made me decide to buy the knife. After a carefull cleaning and etching the following beauty came out: All info involving age / origin of the katar are more than welcome. Enjoy Tim

5th October 2010, 04:29 AM	#2
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,093	Hi Tim, Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing a nice wootz bladed katar. The wootz pattern is very nice and looks nice and consistent throughout. Dating katars can be difficult because stylistically they cover a long period of time. My gut on this one from the picture is probably early to mid 19th century. Specific regional attribution can be difficult and I don't see any distinguishing features in this example to help me with that but perhaps someone else can.

5th October 2010, 05:48 AM	#3
VANDOO (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: OKLAHOMA, USA Posts: 3,138	WELCOME TO THE FORUM IT IS ALWAYS FUN TO TAKE A CHANCE ON AN ITEM AND FIND IT IS EVEN BETTER THAN YOU THOUGHT. THIS KATAR IS ONE SUCH ITEM NICE FIND.

5th October 2010, 03:21 PM	#4
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	Congrats! That's one of the most attractively contrasting and consistent wootz katar blades I have seen. Often the wootz on these is crystalline damascus of low contrast, and with "cloudy" areas in the wootz. Nice find!

5th October 2010, 04:48 PM	#5
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	Hi Tim That is a real nice example my guess is 1835-50 probably from Rajasthan it seems that some of the Persian wootz ingots made their way back to that area. I have a katar with a high contrast wootz pattern also but it is the only one I have seen until now. Congrats and welcome to the forum. Lew

6th October 2010, 02:49 AM	#6
Jeff D Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: B.C. Canada Posts: 473	Hi Tim, Great find. I cannot comment on the katar's shape or style, but, I think you can make a case for it being 100 years earlier by the wootz. That high pattern activity with such vivid contrast suggests 18th century to me. 19th century wootz usually has more stripes and less activity, ultimately leading to the broken up "match stick" appearances. I got to get a list of shops from you next time I head to Europe. All the Best Jeff

6th October 2010, 08:39 AM	#7
TimW Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 54	Thanks for all the feedback. Must admit i felt pretty happy when the wootz pattern popped out. As for the list of shops: no problem. By the way: paid 130 € for the piece (which is an ok price for a wootz katar).

6th October 2010, 12:40 PM	#8
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Its a beauty. My guess would also be later 18th C. But there are members with very similar Katars who will doubtless be along presently to 'nail it down'. Lew. Aren't the Rajasthan Katars characterised by grip bars with central bulges that are wider than the side bars? Would this still count as Rajasthan type with its 'slimmer' grips?