Memorabilia - Militaria - Indian Daggers

Traditionally, in India the dagger indicated the background and status of the wearer. Maharajas vied with each other, commissioning the finest craftsmen to make the most beautiful and valuable weapons, decorated with precious metals and rare jewels. At the same time, plain steel daggers were used by ordinary men in the battlefield.

There were many different types of Indian dagger. The most common were the Katar. This was a dagger designed for thrusting; the blade was almost always made of steel and was usually broad and double-edged; the tapering blade gave the dagger a triangular look. It has a unique H-shaped handle. One version has two extra blades that spring out on either side of the main blade when the handles of the hilt are squeezed.

 Kata

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Memorabilia - Edged Weapons (European)

The first bronze swords were made about 2,000 BC. Two types of bronze swords were made: a cutting sword with a broad leaf-shaped blade and a thrusting sword with a longer, narrow blade. The Assyrians are believed to have introduced the sword as a weapon of war.

Iron swords were used by the Greeks from the seventh century BC. Because of rusting, very few iron swords from before the 15th century have survived although older bronze swords are relatively common.

The modern Nepalese Ghurkha kukri is a shortened adaptation of the Greek kopis, a slashing sword used in the 5th century BC.

The main European source of iron ore was Styria, in present-day Austria, and the cities of Innsbruck and Passau produced the best blades for knives throughout the Middle Ages.

In the 8th century, the Vikings revolutionised sword making with their discovery of the process of carbonising iron by repeatedly folding and beating the heated metal. This allowed them to make tough, hard swords that held a superior edge and did not easily bend. The Japanese developed similar techniques some centuries later.

 Viking sword

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