The first HI Katar -- pix

Bill Martino

Bill Martino

Joined
Mar 5, 1999
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It only took two years to get this one here and it would have never gotten here if Dave K had not furnished a wood model. But here it is.

24 inches and 43 ounces made by Bura.

Fit and finish excellent. Symetry near perfect. Quite faithful to the model as I recall it. (How can they "improve" on a katar, anyway???) I don't want to put a file on the edges but touching them with a chakma tells me they are decently hard and near razor sharp.

I did not specify method of assemble so Bura did it per model which was screwed together. Bura threaded and bolted. If this ever gets into production which I doubt I believe we would be better off if the blade and handle were welded together.

My only criticism is the two cross members (handles) are not quite identical -- off just enough to let you know these were not turned on a lathe and are forged.

When they sarkis asked what kind of scabbard Dave wanted I told them he didn't need a scabbard. Of course, this incensed them so they made one of the best scabbards to date per their own design and specs.

She'll fly today or tomorrow, Dave. Sorry it took two years to get this to you.
 

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WOW!!! :D:D:D

I'm definately gonna get one of these!!! Any guesses on price yet, Uncle.

Bob
 
Very nice!
I'm sure a lot of people would be interested if they went into production. I know I would be ;) I haven't found anyone else making katar's and the real ones are out of my league.

Ryan
 
Is that right -- 24 inches long? That's huge! :eek:

My katar is about average size, and is a scant 15":
wootzkatar1.jpg


:confused:

(BTW, I'd be all for buying an HI version too; a carved scabbard would be nice...:cool: )
 
:confused:
wow, what's that thing? how are you supposed to use it and what is it used for. can you take a picture while using that thing?
 
Bill:

I wouldn't worry about the forged handles, unless they're uncomfortable to hold. I agree that the blade should be welded on.

I will also purchase one if the kamis are willing to make more and work out the blade/weld issue.

Dave K, please let us know what you think.

S.
 
Uncle,

Dave K, after a two year long wait, has forgotten all about the katar. :(

In order to keep order, I volunteer to store said katar here, in the center of the U.S. (well, 13 miles south of it), where it will be safe. We CANNOT allow a riot to break out over this forgotten piece, nor can we let this beauty to slip into the hands of the (ahem. ...) 'Researcher' . ... where it'll be locked up in an underground vault, never to see the light of day. :eek:

:D:D:D

Alan
 
I picked the wrong day to stay off the forums.

I am ecstatic that they actually made it, especially before their upcoming move to India! :)

It does look pretty much to specs, though I won't know if Bura noticed all the various tapers until I see it up close.

Only obvious boo-boo is that the two tines of the frame are not the same length. I suspect that one of the ends of the plywood model may have broken off somewhere in transit, and Bura may have just replicated what he found. The thin plywood frame was pretty feeble compared to the pine blade, but it had to be or the finished product would have weighed a ton...

The imperfections in the two round handle parts and the gap between them was not what I intended but I strongly suspect that Bura may have just been being a wiseass and replicating the imperfections I included in my own model. At first, I was just kind of playing around with the belt sander and a broom handle with the intention of experimenting with "practice" handles before sitting down to make the _real_ ones, but I wound up just using my original attempts out of pure laziness and the fear that the whole effort might not ever get anywhere anyway.

Other than that, the katar really looks pretty good (if I do say so myself), though I have to agree with Uncle Bill that welding would have been far better than bolting. I only used screws on the model where I didn't think wood glue would hold up, but I do know some welders here in AZ and I may look into having them weld the parts together.

A few things about the size: yes, it is indeed "A Katar of Extraordinary Magnitude," but intentionally so. At first I couldn't decide what size to make the katar at all. Eventually it dawned on me that longer, heavier tines would help the overall balance of the blade in terms of pointability and that in any case it would always be easier for the end user to shorten the tines than to lengthen them. I also wanted the blade to be longer rather than shorter for similar reasons, but I also noticed the often uneven taper of the blades on historical katars and couldn't figure out whether it was due to original design, the long-term effects of repeated sharpening, or even the tips breaking off in use and having to be completely reground post-battle. So, the basic idea was that the eventual end user could feel free to hack off a few inches from either or both sides of the piece to suit individual preference and even to replicate the blade taper pattern from a historical piece like "The Tongue of the God of Death" if so desired.

Finally , I was trying to outsmart the kamis. The real sticking point of these katars is that you want their framework to fit your hand like a glove--if it is too small you literally won't be able to get your hand in it to wield it at all, and if it is too large your hand will be completely lost in it. I am told that historical models from the subcontinent may have been too small for modern western hands, but I was still nervous that the kamis might decide to overcompensate and make the damn thing 8 inches wide. I am six feet tall and my brother is 6'5" but neither one of us has particularly large or small hands, so I decided to add about 1/4" to our overall unpinched hand widths in the hopes that guys with larger hands could still pinch their hands into it with a minimum of pain but without making the whole thing as ridiculous as the Super Salyan turned out to be.

My ultimate reason for making the thing two feet long overall, however, was that I personally feel that that the kamis generally do a better job making smaller versions of larger things than they do in making larger versions of smaller things. My final hope was that anyone could eventually go ahead and order, say, a 14" version of a 24" knife and still get decent overall proportions, whereas if my original was 14" but somebody ordered a 24" monster, the kamis might make it too big for anyone a la Super Salyan.

So that was my reasoning, anyway. Hopefully not too bad for a Polack.

-Dave
 
Dave, I didn't get it in the mail yesterday -- too much airport and dentist -- but she'll fly today with any luck.

The handle is nicely tapered per model. Fit and finish are really excellent. If you intend on using this katar heavily I'd suggest you take it to a welder and ask him to run a bead at the handle-blade juncture.

I purposely didn't offer any instructions regarding assembly because I wanted to see what they would do. They stayed as true to the model as they could -- for a change. But as I said, how can you "improve" on a katar?
 
Not bad. I almost wonder if this is the sort of thing to let the kamis vary from the wooden prototype on. I mean what can they really do to it? Dave - you didn't have an enlarged tip on your model, did you? That's sort of a nice touch if it's possible. The angle on the blade looks a bit steep to me, but it's hard to tell from a pic. And of course the sides of the grip should be the same length. But just to have an HI katar of any sort produced is an accomplishment, or so I gather.

cheers, B.
 
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