Help wanted Identification of Katars

Rick · 9th September 2005, 02:41 PM

The question is has anyone ever deciphered these 'armoury marks' before ?
I can't recall anyone on this forum doing it .

Calling Jim !!

Jens Nordlunde · 9th September 2005, 03:28 PM

It will be interesting to see who else has Indian weapons with arsenal marks. Here is one, also with dot markings, the same kind of markings can also be found on tulwar blades.

Some armouries marked their weapons, others not. The marking itself does not tell much about the weapon, other than it has been in the armoury at one point. The weapons in an armoury can be from many places, like weapons from the armoury in Bikaner, can be from Bikaner, but they can also be from a lot of other places in India, like maybe Orissa. If the Rajput’s had been fighting in Orissa and won, they would have taken the weapons home with them and stored them in the armoury, and the arms would be marked with the armoury mark. A thing which must be remembered is, that the one who marked the weapons, most likely, could neither read nor write, so he had to make the marks after a drawing, maybe made by someone who barely could read and write. After having marked a few hundred, with thousands waiting to be marked, it would be natural if his ‘handwriting’ got scamped. This all leads to, that it nowadays is very difficult to read the markings, and only few of the arsenal markings are known to have belonged to certain arsenals.

Hi Rick, not that I know of. The reason, or some of the reason, will be like mentioned above - but maybe some day

.

Rick · 9th September 2005, 03:49 PM

Well , here's my contribution .

Wootz tulwar with an almost straight blade .

dennee · 9th September 2005, 05:06 PM

And the important thing about such armory marks, like serial numbers on today's military weapons, may be that each was a unique (or perhaps a unique identifier for a whole group or armory?), rather than necessarily having an intrinsic meaning. In other words, even if it represents a series of numerals and/or legible characters, it may not add up to words.

9th September 2005, 03:28 PM	#2
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	It will be interesting to see who else has Indian weapons with arsenal marks. Here is one, also with dot markings, the same kind of markings can also be found on tulwar blades. Some armouries marked their weapons, others not. The marking itself does not tell much about the weapon, other than it has been in the armoury at one point. The weapons in an armoury can be from many places, like weapons from the armoury in Bikaner, can be from Bikaner, but they can also be from a lot of other places in India, like maybe Orissa. If the Rajput’s had been fighting in Orissa and won, they would have taken the weapons home with them and stored them in the armoury, and the arms would be marked with the armoury mark. A thing which must be remembered is, that the one who marked the weapons, most likely, could neither read nor write, so he had to make the marks after a drawing, maybe made by someone who barely could read and write. After having marked a few hundred, with thousands waiting to be marked, it would be natural if his ‘handwriting’ got scamped. This all leads to, that it nowadays is very difficult to read the markings, and only few of the arsenal markings are known to have belonged to certain arsenals. Hi Rick, not that I know of. The reason, or some of the reason, will be like mentioned above - but maybe some day. Attached Images

9th September 2005, 03:49 PM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	Well , here's my contribution . Wootz tulwar with an almost straight blade . Attached Images

9th September 2005, 02:41 PM	#1
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	The question is has anyone ever deciphered these 'armoury marks' before ? I can't recall anyone on this forum doing it . Calling Jim !!

9th September 2005, 05:06 PM	#4
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	And the important thing about such armory marks, like serial numbers on today's military weapons, may be that each was a unique (or perhaps a unique identifier for a whole group or armory?), rather than necessarily having an intrinsic meaning. In other words, even if it represents a series of numerals and/or legible characters, it may not add up to words.