Introducing: The Gun Katar
November 4th, 2008 | 
Author: I’m not really into politics, however it appears that the Good ‘ol U. S. of A. is going to have it’s first African American President. Now while that is of itself a noteworthy and landmark occurrence, as the transition from slavery to presidency is no mean feat, I’m also hoping it will bring with it important changes. Like an improved economy. Reduced national deficits. Better international relationships. You know. Good Presidential stuff.
However we will just have to wait and see. Politicians are politicians after all, it doesn’t matter whether they are black or white, which is a fact many seem to have forgotten. The proof is in the pudding. Whatever that means… I never really liked pudding anyway. Only time will tell how well campaign promises equate to results…
Anyway, in honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I’d break out a beauty of a weapon I ran into a while back. I have done a few gunblade posts in the past, but none of them compare to the sweetness that is the Gun Katar:
Gun Katar
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Is that not completely and uncompromisingly awesome? Now this is a weapon for which a Gun Kata would make practical sense. Yes, A Gun Kata. You know, that little gun dance that seemed to occur at random in the movie “Equilbrium”? The one with Christian Bale before he became the “Dark Knight? Yeah. That one. Go look up Gun Kata (not Katar) on the YouTubes or something. But I’m ranting here. Back to Gun Katar goodness.
What you are looking at here is a Katar, a traditional Indian punch dagger, primarily a thrusting weapon, often designed to penetrate chain mail armored opponents. It has a thick wedge shaped blade, and unlike most other weapons, the blade is held vertically, by a grip and a set of side bars that sit at right angles to the blade.
Gun Katar - Side View
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This one is a particularly ornate one, featuring some very intricate engravings. You can see an elephant and a boar on one side, as well as flowers, leaves in the center area where the blade emerges, and other traditional Indian adornments.
Gun Katar - Engravings
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Gun Katar - Engravings
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Like many other katar, this features a double bar center grip, with the traditional side bars that run down either side of the blade and acts as guard as well as added support for the weapon.
Gun Katar - Side Guards
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Under normal circumstances, that would be the sum total of the design of a traditional Katar. Except this one takes quite a hike from the traditional beaten Katar path. This Katar is loaded. With black powder. A double charge no less… 
Gun Katar - Flintlock Pistol Barrel
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This Katar is sporting a pair of flint lock pistols, one attached to either side of the weapon. If you look closely at the grip, you can see a pair of triggers recessed into the front bar, one at the top and one at the bottom.
Gun Katar - Flintlock Pistol Triggers
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As you can probably imagine, a person wielding this in battle would have a healthy advantage over your poorly equipped standard Katar wielding schlub. I can just imagine how confrontations with the original owner of this weapon would have ended. Indiana Jones style.
I love weapons that make the old saying: “never bring a knife to a gun fight.” redundant… 
Anyway I thought this was a cool weapon for a special day… There are one or two more pics at the link after the jump. Here’s to great things in our future…
Peace!
Gun Katar – [CollectorEbooks.com]
Category: Guns, Knives | 
Tags: Battle, Combat, Dagger, Double Edged, Fighting, Gun, India, Indian, Knife, Tactical | 
12 Comments »
I must say this is quite unique. I have never seen such a thing as this before, and it is pretty cool looking. For some reason it makes me think of pirates.
Pirates eh? Hmm… Maybe it’s the shape of the barrel on the flintlocks. There are pirates who were known to carry a brace of flintlock pistols in addition to their cutlasses, they would have looked a lot like these… Except with a regular handle…
I think it made me think of pirates, becasue that would be quite conivnent, if you had your blade and pistol all in one. I know they were found of both stabbing and shooting.
Yes, very convenient indeed, though you have to wonder how they would carry something like this…
with difficulty i should imagine
too true. unless they used like three sword frogs in a row
Hmmm, is it just me, or is the trigger placement a little impractical? Lokks like you would have to be careful not to misfire as you unsheath-holstered it.
Wow cool !! i wish i had one !!
Wow, i actually found this site from this picture, when i was web surfing for pictures of gun hybrids, they really interest me. Anyways this is an awesome weapon, and i had never even though to search for a hybrid katar, lol. i think u could just stick it in your belt anyway, as all you would need to do would be to cover the blade so you didnt cut yourself, or you could put it in a sheath over your shoulder or something lol…
Yes, this does look like the kind of thing you could just stick in your belt, pirate style…
America’s first African-American President…yeah…about that. No, no, I’m not going to get into politics here, so never mind. Anyway, this is certainly an interesting piece. I did a little research on katars a while back when I initially came across the Tom Anderson’s “Critical Mass”, and this sorta thing wasn’t completely unusual. I think it’s a pretty cool idea. Here’s another one for you, if you can find it. While I was doing my research, I came across another weapon similar to a katar. It was a full-length sword constructed similarly to a katar. I think it would be an interesting feature on here, if you can find it. I’d help, but it’s been years, and I can’t remember where I saw it.
Yeah… I’m imagining a huge holster/sheath/scabbard… dunno what you’d call it… but it would be pretty ungainly… couldnt just stick it in your belt like they do in the movies… lol