Indian Katar

Aurangzeb · 31st October 2006, 03:47 AM

Hello All!

I got this nice katar recently. It is good quality steel and shows good age. Unfortunatly a t some point in recent history it looks like it was scrubbed with a wire brush!

So any koftgari on it is long gone but some spots between the crossbars shows s ome real nice aging as well as some old black rust, but no active rust is on it.How old could it be,, could it be from the Mughal period? Comments are welcome!

Mark...

Jim McDougall · 31st October 2006, 04:10 AM

Aurangzeb
You might find the thread on the katar posted by Athena, which is about six spaces down interesting. Often the search feature will reveal data on katars as well, which might give information on similar examples.
Jim

Jens Nordlunde · 31st October 2006, 05:01 PM

Hi Aurangzeb,

It’s a nice old katar you have, and a pity it has been scrubbed down with a wire brush. This, unfortunately, happens sometimes. Do you think it has a watered blade?

This one could be from the Mogul period, but it is difficult to say after the treatment it has been through, although my personal opinion is, that it very well could be.

fernando · 31st October 2006, 08:09 PM

Hi Aurangzeb,
Very nice piece.
I happen to have a "katar" very much similar to yours. Can i ask you a question?
Have you measured the width between the two handle bars? Can you easily fit your hand onto the grip bar?
Thanks in advance
fernando

Jens Nordlunde · 31st October 2006, 09:54 PM

Hi Fernando,
You should know, that it is not possible for a normal western hand to fit into a katar hilt. There have been several discussions about this, and no one could prove that it would fit.
Try to make a search.

Aurangzeb · 1st November 2006, 04:32 AM

My hand does fit somewhat good on the crossbars. As to wether it has a watered blade, I'm not really sur is there a way to check to see if it is because it is well wire brushed. I will try to get a close up of the untouched space between the crossbars later. So this dates to about the late 18th. or early 19th. century probalbly. Can this one be put to a specific rehion? Thanks for the help!

Mark...

31st October 2006, 03:47 AM	#1
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	Indian Katar Hello All! I got this nice katar recently. It is good quality steel and shows good age. Unfortunatly a t some point in recent history it looks like it was scrubbed with a wire brush! So any koftgari on it is long gone but some spots between the crossbars shows s ome real nice aging as well as some old black rust, but no active rust is on it.How old could it be,, could it be from the Mughal period? Comments are welcome! Mark... Attached Images

31st October 2006, 04:10 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,785	Aurangzeb You might find the thread on the katar posted by Athena, which is about six spaces down interesting. Often the search feature will reveal data on katars as well, which might give information on similar examples. Jim

31st October 2006, 05:01 PM	#3
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,713	Hi Aurangzeb, It’s a nice old katar you have, and a pity it has been scrubbed down with a wire brush. This, unfortunately, happens sometimes. Do you think it has a watered blade? This one could be from the Mogul period, but it is difficult to say after the treatment it has been through, although my personal opinion is, that it very well could be.

31st October 2006, 08:09 PM	#4
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,652	Hi Aurangzeb, Very nice piece. I happen to have a "katar" very much similar to yours. Can i ask you a question? Have you measured the width between the two handle bars? Can you easily fit your hand onto the grip bar? Thanks in advance fernando

31st October 2006, 09:54 PM	#5
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,713	Hi Fernando, You should know, that it is not possible for a normal western hand to fit into a katar hilt. There have been several discussions about this, and no one could prove that it would fit. Try to make a search.

1st November 2006, 04:32 AM	#6
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	My hand does fit somewhat good on the crossbars. As to wether it has a watered blade, I'm not really sur is there a way to check to see if it is because it is well wire brushed. I will try to get a close up of the untouched space between the crossbars later. So this dates to about the late 18th. or early 19th. century probalbly. Can this one be put to a specific rehion? Thanks for the help! Mark...