Mughal Katar

Justin · 5th March 2005, 04:32 PM

Welcome to the forum!

I am sure that someone more knowledgeable with Indian arms can tell you more ,but my gut feeling is that this katar is probably from the early to mid 19th century {1800-1850}.There is a lot of inlaying still intact and while it is possible that you katar was well cared for, inlaying is usually the first thing to go on a knife,it gets worn ,rubbed and scratched off fairly easily.Nice katar either way.

Rick · 5th March 2005, 09:42 PM

There are also many past threads on the katar from the old forum available through the search feature if you have not already used it :

http://www.vikingsword.com/cgi-bin/s...i?action=intro

Jens Nordlunde · 7th March 2005, 07:16 PM

Welcome to you and your son,
The kind of katar you are showing, are seen frequently, but not often. None the less, I think Justin is very generous to date it in the first half of the 19th century. There are some from that period - but still. This does means that you both should enjoy the katar - and go on collecting

.

All the best

Jens

Aurangzeb · 8th March 2005, 12:21 AM

Greetings To All !

Thank you very much for all of your replies to our initial inquiry regarding our Katar ! We are wondering if this Katar is considered to be from the Mughal era ?
As always, your comments are very much welcomed and appreciated !

Best wishes,

Mark Jr.

Jens Nordlunde · 9th March 2005, 09:55 AM

Hi Aurangzeb,

If there is any rust on your katar stop it with WD40, make a search for cleaning weapons, on this forum and follow the instructions, but be careful not to spoil the silver koftgari.
When I have finished the cleaning I use to give the weapon some solid car wax and polish it for protection.
Katars come in many types and forms, here is one of the more unusual. The outer blade is scabbard for the inner blade. Notice that the inner blade is quite a bit older than the rest of the katar.

Jens

Aurangzeb · 11th March 2005, 12:31 AM

Hi Jens!

Very nice katar.How old is it anyway?

Jens Nordlunde · 11th March 2005, 02:30 PM

Hi,

It is hard to tell how old it is, but my guess is 19th century, the inner blade is probably one hundred years or more older. Most types were made over a period of several hundred years, with only small variations, so a precise dating is very problematic. Even when a weapon has a year inlaid, this can not always be trusted, it can have been inlaid later, at the time the weapon was made – or it can even be a year fifty or a hundred years older than the weapon.
Notice also that some decorations can have been added later, so you may have two ‘types’ of decorations.
On the link you will find a katar with silver decoration a bit like yours. This is called a Garsoe katar and the characteristics for this type of katar is the way the side guards are formed – they are not straight http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001461.html these kind of katars come from Sind. You will find Sind in the western part of India, where the harbour town Karachi is.
Try to find old maps of India on Google; this will help you to locate the different places.

The katar shown is typically for south India.

8th March 2005, 12:21 AM	#4
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	Mughal Katar Question Greetings To All ! Thank you very much for all of your replies to our initial inquiry regarding our Katar ! We are wondering if this Katar is considered to be from the Mughal era ? As always, your comments are very much welcomed and appreciated ! Best wishes, Mark Jr.

9th March 2005, 09:55 AM	#5
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Hi Aurangzeb, If there is any rust on your katar stop it with WD40, make a search for cleaning weapons, on this forum and follow the instructions, but be careful not to spoil the silver koftgari. When I have finished the cleaning I use to give the weapon some solid car wax and polish it for protection. Katars come in many types and forms, here is one of the more unusual. The outer blade is scabbard for the inner blade. Notice that the inner blade is quite a bit older than the rest of the katar. Jens Attached Images

11th March 2005, 12:31 AM	#6
Aurangzeb Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 306	Nice Katar Hi Jens! Very nice katar.How old is it anyway?

11th March 2005, 02:30 PM	#7
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Hi, It is hard to tell how old it is, but my guess is 19th century, the inner blade is probably one hundred years or more older. Most types were made over a period of several hundred years, with only small variations, so a precise dating is very problematic. Even when a weapon has a year inlaid, this can not always be trusted, it can have been inlaid later, at the time the weapon was made – or it can even be a year fifty or a hundred years older than the weapon. Notice also that some decorations can have been added later, so you may have two ‘types’ of decorations. On the link you will find a katar with silver decoration a bit like yours. This is called a Garsoe katar and the characteristics for this type of katar is the way the side guards are formed – they are not straight http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001461.html these kind of katars come from Sind. You will find Sind in the western part of India, where the harbour town Karachi is. Try to find old maps of India on Google; this will help you to locate the different places. The katar shown is typically for south India. Attached Images

5th March 2005, 04:32 PM	#1
Justin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 182	Welcome to the forum! I am sure that someone more knowledgeable with Indian arms can tell you more ,but my gut feeling is that this katar is probably from the early to mid 19th century {1800-1850}.There is a lot of inlaying still intact and while it is possible that you katar was well cared for, inlaying is usually the first thing to go on a knife,it gets worn ,rubbed and scratched off fairly easily.Nice katar either way.

5th March 2005, 09:42 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,347	There are also many past threads on the katar from the old forum available through the search feature if you have not already used it : http://www.vikingsword.com/cgi-bin/s...i?action=intro

7th March 2005, 07:16 PM	#3
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Welcome to you and your son, The kind of katar you are showing, are seen frequently, but not often. None the less, I think Justin is very generous to date it in the first half of the 19th century. There are some from that period - but still. This does means that you both should enjoy the katar - and go on collecting . All the best Jens