Jamdhar katari - a theory

Bob A · 28th May 2019, 07:36 PM

Having made an effort to look into Kafiristani costumery, I admit my thought that the thinner blade of the Jamdhar katari is not influenced by scanty dress. Those folks live in an area demanding reasonable-to-serious clothing.

My example was deemed to be early 17th century by Artzi, and is in fact rather different from the later examples, with regard to the hilt geometry. Assuming the kafiristan location attributed to these weapons, I have to assume that their blades are standard and of long standing. I'm still unsure of their intended function, given the nature of the weapon. I assume it would be just the thing for close-in assassination; aside from that I'd be hard pressed to think what to do with it.

All that said, it remains a very attractive dagger.

28th May 2019, 07:36 PM	#11
Bob A Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 441	Having made an effort to look into Kafiristani costumery, I admit my thought that the thinner blade of the Jamdhar katari is not influenced by scanty dress. Those folks live in an area demanding reasonable-to-serious clothing. My example was deemed to be early 17th century by Artzi, and is in fact rather different from the later examples, with regard to the hilt geometry. Assuming the kafiristan location attributed to these weapons, I have to assume that their blades are standard and of long standing. I'm still unsure of their intended function, given the nature of the weapon. I assume it would be just the thing for close-in assassination; aside from that I'd be hard pressed to think what to do with it. All that said, it remains a very attractive dagger.