The jamadhar ('death tooth'), better but perhaps incorrectly known as a katar, is a style of dagger limited to the Indian Subcontinent. This example is typical in having a 9½ inch (24 cm) long straight double edged blade riveted to a curved cross piece to which are attached, through an elaborate shoulder, hand and wrist guards parallel to the blade on either side and a grip formed by a pair of sculpted, linked cross bars. Lew attributed this example to Mysore, India and has estimated the date as 1750. The blade, possibly an import from Europe, has a lenticular cross section with a maximum thickness of 0.1 inch (0.25 cm) and appears very slightly bent out of true. There is a slight loss from delamination on one side of the tip and a linear forging slag inclusion visible on one blade face. The hilt shows fairly scant remains of silver koftgari plating (silver applied to a cross-hatched field on the underlying iron). The piece is well patinated with a few foci of mild pitting. Overall length is 15¾ inches (40 cm) with a weight of about one pound (456 grams).
