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New knives from India! I bought these in Jaipur this time.

From the left: a Katar, or "Tiger Knife", so called because a Rajput would prove his courage by hunting a tiger with one of these (a less ornate one of these). It's 14" overall, blade is 8 1/4". The hilt and sheath fitting is inlaid with silver, the hunting tiger scene on the blade is pretty typical (it's a tiger knife, after all). The cloth on the sheath is a modern replacement, but my understanding is the fitting is original. The smaller khanjar (middle) is 9" overall, with a 5 1/2" blade. The blade is pattern welded steel, sheath and hilt are inlaid with silver. The hilt has an animal head pommel - a lion or tiger in this case - which is something you see a lot on Indian Khanjars. The larger Khanjar (right) is 16" overall, with a 10 1/2" blade. The blade is pattern welded steel, with a small silver inlay decoration in the middle. The hilt is rose quartz, once again with an animal head motif (this time a ram). From what I gather from the dealer, the hilt was replaced at some point. The sheath fittings are steel with silver inlay, once again the cloth is a modern replacement. The two larger knives are old-ish, maybe not quite 100 for the original parts (not old enough for authentic Wootz steel). The small Khanjar is modern.

My unscientific, entirely anecdotal experience buying weapons in India has been that Tulwars have been easier to find in Mumbai, but Katars are almost impossible, while the opposite was true in Jaipur. quality and prices were both higher in Jaipur, but that could just be where I went (I saw a gold inlaid, museum quality antique Katar for 600K INR, which is about $7500 US - that's a bit too much for something with no practical use). In the Himalayas (Darjeeling and Gangtok) I mostly found Nepali, Tibetan, and Sikkimese knives and swords and nothing from lower altitudes, but I was looking for Himalayan weapons specifically. Honestly didn't look too hard in Kerala/Tamil Nadu - I saw an Aruval there for sale, but it's really a farm tool more than a weapon. I haven't found any armor or shields for sale, but getting any significant amount of armor back to the US would be hard on the ol' baggage weight allowance.

Previously:

Enjoy,

-D

Description

New knives from India! I bought these in Jaipur this time.

From the left: a Katar, or "Tiger Knife", so called because a Rajput would prove his courage by hunting a tiger with one of these (a less ornate one of these). It's 14" overall, blade is 8 1/4". The hilt and sheath fitting is inlaid with silver, the hunting tiger scene on the blade is pretty typical (it's a tiger knife, after all). The cloth on the sheath is a modern replacement, but my understanding is the fitting is original. The smaller khanjar (middle) is 9" overall, with a 5 1/2" blade. The blade is pattern welded steel, sheath and hilt are inlaid with silver. The hilt has an animal head pommel - a lion or tiger in this case - which is something you see a lot on Indian Khanjars. The larger Khanjar (right) is 16" overall, with a 10 1/2" blade. The blade is pattern welded steel, with a small silver inlay decoration in the middle. The hilt is rose quartz, once again with an animal head motif (this time a ram). From what I gather from the dealer, the hilt was replaced at some point. The sheath fittings are steel with silver inlay, once again the cloth is a modern replacement. The two larger knives are old-ish, maybe not quite 100 for the original parts (not old enough for authentic Wootz steel). The small Khanjar is modern.

My unscientific, entirely anecdotal experience buying weapons in India has been that Tulwars have been easier to find in Mumbai, but Katars are almost impossible, while the opposite was true in Jaipur. quality and prices were both higher in Jaipur, but that could just be where I went (I saw a gold inlaid, museum quality antique Katar for 600K INR, which is about $7500 US - that's a bit too much for something with no practical use). In the Himalayas (Darjeeling and Gangtok) I mostly found Nepali, Tibetan, and Sikkimese knives and swords and nothing from lower altitudes, but I was looking for Himalayan weapons specifically. Honestly didn't look too hard in Kerala/Tamil Nadu - I saw an Aruval there for sale, but it's really a farm tool more than a weapon. I haven't found any armor or shields for sale, but getting any significant amount of armor back to the US would be hard on the ol' baggage weight allowance.

Previously:

Enjoy,

-D