A katar is a katar till......

Jim McDougall · 15th June 2019, 10:21 PM

I think Jens' work on the katar (jamadhar) is not only superb, but even surpasses assignment to any percentile of published arms material of 'tangible value' of a statistic of 2.5% (unsure of how this is calculated). I would say that his work on the katar is in the top ranking, without such numbers. I think the assessment of tangible value is purely subjective as it depends on what is being sought in the material. As I had mentioned, much material serves as benchmark for future research.

With Jens' work, I know how intensely and for how many years he researched all of this, and how carefully scrutinized he vetted his material before publishing. Still, even he will not consider his work the final word on the katar, and his research never stops.

I do appreciate the tongue in cheek humor in associating this term or its variants to places and presuming some sort of central location named for the weapon or in some tenuous way related to them. Ironically, this kind of approach still lurks among arms researchers. Pant used this sort of idea in some of the terms for regional hilt forms on tulwars, such as 'Delhi shahi' as that was where the style was 'invented', among others. However we know hilt styling was not 'invented' in any particular moment or place, but they evolved subtly over time and in undetermined locations.

Humor is always good, as sometimes serious research and discussion can get kinda heavy sometimes.

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15th June 2019, 10:21 PM	#23
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	I think Jens' work on the katar (jamadhar) is not only superb, but even surpasses assignment to any percentile of published arms material of 'tangible value' of a statistic of 2.5% (unsure of how this is calculated). I would say that his work on the katar is in the top ranking, without such numbers. I think the assessment of tangible value is purely subjective as it depends on what is being sought in the material. As I had mentioned, much material serves as benchmark for future research. With Jens' work, I know how intensely and for how many years he researched all of this, and how carefully scrutinized he vetted his material before publishing. Still, even he will not consider his work the final word on the katar, and his research never stops. I do appreciate the tongue in cheek humor in associating this term or its variants to places and presuming some sort of central location named for the weapon or in some tenuous way related to them. Ironically, this kind of approach still lurks among arms researchers. Pant used this sort of idea in some of the terms for regional hilt forms on tulwars, such as 'Delhi shahi' as that was where the style was 'invented', among others. However we know hilt styling was not 'invented' in any particular moment or place, but they evolved subtly over time and in undetermined locations. Humor is always good, as sometimes serious research and discussion can get kinda heavy sometimes.