One of India's most iconic weapons excluding pollution and curry, The Katar is without a doubt intimidating just from it's implications alone. Hailing from the southern reaches of the country, the Katar initially came to prevalence within the Vijayanagara Kingdom (1336–1646) who, at the apogee of their power controlled virtually all of the Deccan.
Vijayanagara kingdom at the height of it's power
classified as a push dagger by modern standards, the design of the Katar is unique in the fact that when held, the blade is directly in line with the forearm of the user. This enables the primary thrusting action to be executed in the same manner as a punch, allowing the warrior to place the weight of his body behind his dagger blows similar to a boxer employing his hips into a knockout strike. An operator of the katar would employ the weapon not unlike that of the fists of a pugilist, aiming for the head/torso with a rapid Farage barrage of strikes. This method of attack is described in an Indian martial art dating from the 16th century which utilizes the use of two katars in each hand.
Because the katar could deploy such powerful blows, many of the blades were thickened on specific points to prevent them from breaking or bending during battle. These improvments to the katars design helped it achieve a role as an armor piercing weapon. The katar could literally punch through cloth, mail, and even plate armor depending on the blade shape and steel used against an unfortunate opponent
who's better at the stabbing?
early forms of the weapon featured a leaf/shell like plate used to protect the back of the operators hand. These hand guards were often ornately decorated with piercings and displays of masterful file work. As the hand guard variant was gradually replaced in favor of the basic hilt design, numerous structural differences emerged alongside the evolving weapon. Longer narrow blades become popular in northern India while the wider curved/wavy blades resonated within the southern population.The advent of European trade bare witness to the importation of European blades, which were often repurposed onto katars dating from the 1500-1600s
some interesting variations include.....
scissor katars: When the two grips are squeezed the main splits in two to reveal a third blade, supposedly for parrying strikes and ripping out intestines.... Although i doubt the practicality of this thang it's an interesting design
double bladed kitars: thanks to das and grapes I realized the resemblance between a katar and an energy sword. like the above variant, this was probably inferior to the standard katar
my personal favorite and probably the most practical out of the upper two, the gun katar packs a punch with two side mounted flintlock pistols.
as a final farewell I leave you with a clip of the historically inaccurate show deadliest warrior showing the katar in action.
http://www.spike.com/video-clips/n60ut1/deadliest-warrior-insides-out
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