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[ashoka]

nice early Katar, welding areas circled. They've been blobbed and ground down a bit to make them less obvious, at least that's what it looks like from these photos.

[Kubur]

I totaly agree with Stefan.
Now what does it mean?
- A weakness of the joint between the old German blade and the Indian hilt?
- Or a fake?
I just ask because I always wondered about this kind of katar...

[kronckew]

i see the areas mentioned- not as obvious when you actually see it under a daylight light. oddly, in the inside of the bowed area, which is chequered, it looks like there is an area in the centre about 10mmx5mm where it is polished, but chequered and slightly raised almost like a slot where a stub of blade tang was peened (or hammer welded) over & polished & chequered over. in any case the weld repair was a long time ago.

[ashoka]

Just a common spot of weakness at the thinnest point after centuries of rusting. Not a bad way of repairing it really, if repair is what you're after. Lots of things surface in bad condition especially katars, and unrepaired would make it harder for the Indian dealers to sell to most collectors. I also reckon the welding at the base of the mount is new within the last few years. The stub at the back of the front bar is probably where tangs from the blade mounts went through and were peened over. There was no welding used originally at the front.

Originally Posted by Kubur

I totaly agree with Stefan.
Now what does it mean?
- A weakness of the joint between the old German blade and the Indian hilt?
- Or a fake?
I just ask because I always wondered about this kind of katar...