Katar

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Katar
Ornamented katar
Type	Dagger
Place of origin	India
Specifications
Blade type	Double-edged, Straight blade
Hilt type	Horizontal

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A katar (Devanāgarī: कटार), also known as a Bundi dagger, is a type of short punching sword that is native to the Indian subcontinent and popular elsewhere for swift and quick attacks. It was used by Indian warriors called Rajputs. It is notable for its horizontal hand grip, which results in the blade of the sword sitting above the user's knuckles. Three other examples of bladed weapons native and unique to India are the Khanda, Urumi and Pata.

Typically, katars were used in close range hand-to-hand combat, which is effective in armour piercing. The blade was often corrugated for additional strength. "Hooded katars" are katars with a shield extending over the back of the user's hand. The handle sides were also used to block attacks, since all katars had an "H"-shaped handle. Because of the nature of the weapon, attacks were mainly direct thrusts that would easily pierce the enemies' armor with a single but strong blow, possible because of the light weight and amazing attack speeds that could be achieved. The use of poisons was another deadly way of increasing the katar's effectivity in battle. Katars ceased to be in common use in the 19th century.

The katar is one of the oldest and most characteristic of the Indian knife weapons. Its peculiarity lies in the handle which is made up of two parallel bars connected by two, or more, cross pieces, one of which is at the end of the side bars and is fastened to the blade. The remainder forms the handle which is at right angle to the blade. The blades are always double-edged and are generally straight and with lengths from a few inches to about 3 feet. The blades of southern India are often made broad at the hilt and taper in straight lines to the point, and elaborately ribbed by grooves parallel to the edges. European blades of the 16th and 17th centuries were often used, especially by the Mahrattas and were always riveted to projections from the hilt.

Katars with native blades are often thickened at the point to strengthen them for use against mail and are often forged in one piece with the hilt. The blades are sometimes forked at the point, and katars with two, and even three blades occur. The Indian armorers occasionally made katars that were hollow and served as a sheath for smaller ones: or with three blades that folded together, appearing to be one, until the handle bars were pressed together, when they opened out. There is even a katar displayed at the City Palace Museum in Jaipur, with two single-shot pistols built into either side of the weapon. Many katars have guards for the back of the hand made with solid plates but many are elaborately pierced. Among the Mahrattas the gauntlet sword, called pata, was evolved from the katar. Retractable forearm daggers are mechanical modern versions of the katar.

Multibladed katars are sometimes called suwayah or suwayyah.

'Katar' is also a basic term for any short bladed weapon with the same handle as the one in the picture above, although stabbing is its primary purpose, many blunt ended katars have been made, some with no tip at all.

[edit] Appearances in Popular Culture

In Television: A knife that appears to be a Katar is Hunter's knife/dagger in Neverwhere.

The Katar appears in numerous popular computer games including:

• The Soul Edge/Soul Calibur games, as the weapon of choice of the character Voldo (in an oversized, three-bladed version).
• The Jungle Book the live action movie is shown and explained to be used to remove an enemy's guts.
• Diablo II: Lord of Destruction as the preferred weapon of the Assassin class.
• The Assassin of Hexen II also uses an unusual twin-blade Katar as her default starting weapon.
• In Ragnarok Online, this is an exclusive weapon to the Assassin and Assassin Cross classes.
• Kiros, a character in the Squaresoft game, Final Fantasy VIII, uses katars as his weapon of choice.
• In Final Fantasy XI, it is a type of hand-to-hand weapon used mainly by Monks but is also usable by several other classes.
• In The Last Legion, a multibladed Katar was used by the Eastern Empire female warrior, Mira.
• In the world of Summoner, Katars (called Khosani Blades) are the traditional weapon of the people of Vadagar the earth god , the Khosani.
• In the film Hellboy, the assassin Kroenen is seen using bladed weapons similar to Katars that could retract into his Nazi uniform jacket.
• In the MMORPG ROSE Online Katars are a weapon in use mostly by the Hawker class preferred because of their speed.
• A weapon similar to the Katar appeared in the 2007 action-stealth game Assassin's Creed.
• In the online MUD, Discworld, the katar is a weapons favored by assassins and thieves for its strong stabbing abilities.
• In the MMORPG Shaiya Katars will also be available in the class 'Vail, Assassin'
• In the Prince of Persia 2008, the Hunter, one of the enemies uses Mechanical Katar as his main weapon
• In the online game "Rohan: Blood Fued", Katars are the favored weapon by the "dhan" (assasin) race.
• The anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 00 features a Katar-like weapon called a Carbon Blade. These are usually seen as standard equipment on the Tieren-type Mobile Suits of the Human Reform League.
• In the popular MMORPG Maplestory, a thief class can obtain/use a similar weapon can be purchased, called a "Triangular Zamadar".
• In the movie Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Optimus Prime is seen weilding dual katars in a fight.
• In the game Feudalism 2, the assassin Diana can wield katars.
• In the game Starcraft, the Protoss Zealot uses a katar style weapon.
• In the game Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 and 4th editions, a katar is one of the weapons available for use.
• Manhunter (Paul Kirk) of DC Comics universe is known to use a Bundi dagger.
• The Covenant Plasma Sword in the Halo series is modeled after the Katar.
• Dragonica MMORPG

[edit] See also