New Katars

ariel · 31st May 2007, 03:00 PM

Katar is usually viewed as a purely stabbing weapon, very often with a reinforced point for mail-piercing.
However, we see many katars with blades made out of European swords and some shown here, including the longest one, are just an example.
The inherently thin European blades were shortened and re-configured to the degree that the fullers were running off the point. They certainly were not reinforced to penetrate mail and were likely quite bendable even with modest pressure. Their edges, however, were carefully sharpened.
Thus, they were the antithesis of what the classic description of Katars proclaimed: not stabbers but slashers.

31st May 2007, 03:00 PM	#15
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Katar is usually viewed as a purely stabbing weapon, very often with a reinforced point for mail-piercing. However, we see many katars with blades made out of European swords and some shown here, including the longest one, are just an example. The inherently thin European blades were shortened and re-configured to the degree that the fullers were running off the point. They certainly were not reinforced to penetrate mail and were likely quite bendable even with modest pressure. Their edges, however, were carefully sharpened. Thus, they were the antithesis of what the classic description of Katars proclaimed: not stabbers but slashers.