New Katars

[beoram]

Originally Posted by ariel

Katar is usually viewed as a purely stabbing weapon, very often with a reinforced point for mail-piercing.
However, we see many katars with blades made out of European swords and some shown here, including the longest one, are just an example.
The inherently thin European blades were shortened and re-configured to the degree that the fullers were running off the point. They certainly were not reinforced to penetrate mail and were likely quite bendable even with modest pressure. Their edges, however, were carefully sharpened.
Thus, they were the antithesis of what the classic description of Katars proclaimed: not stabbers but slashers.

Interesting. So are katars very well adapted to slashing? Do the earliest katars appear to be designed for stabbing or slashing?