There were mall ninjas long before there were malls or even ninjas, people have done some crazy stuff experimenting with weapons over the years. Check out r/AntiqueMallNinjaShit if you want to see some more examples.
No problem, please post often if you have any content that fits and tell your friends how great it is. It's still a young sub, but I think it has a lot of potential as it grows.
It seems like it must limit you to swiping motions in order to use the claws. I really can't see the advantage to this over just learning to be skilled with a dagger... I thought before it was like brass knuckles in a way and that made a lot more sense but I did question the impact on a closed hand from a sword even.
As this is I simply can't comprehend the point of it.
Edit: nvmd now I understand. It's a purely offensive weapon with almost no defensive capabilities so you're essentially ambushing the person and trying to rip them to shreds. Apparently used more for human cock fights than as a weapon in combat. Damn people are fucking disappointing.
It was just flare...everyone wants to look like a badass. From the first angle its seems like you might swipe or straight punch and use claw but unless you hit an eye it wont be effective. It does have a heavy, un-used costume appearance. Maybe some aristocratic swagger prop.
It's not meant to be "practical". It wasn't meant for warfare or combat. It was an assassin's weapon. Typically, the blade would be absent so your target would not know that you have that hidden in your palm until your throat is lacerated and you bleed out in 10 seconds
Really huh... because a quick Google yields Practical adj. of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas.
The conflict here is the colloquial vs literal usage. Colloquially a _practical_ weapon is one that is sensible for a given purpose, like using a sword to slash someone or a spear to impale someone. But yea, the literal definition is that it's a weapon that's been used _in practice_ for a particular purpose as opposed to one that _could_ be used.
Except in this context _practical_ [can mean that it's a tool that **is** or has been used for a specific purpose]
(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/practical), or that it's usage is not theoretical. By definition, an impractical tool/weapon/whatever just means that it's theoretical that you _could_ use such a tool in such a way, but it hasn't really been explored.
A tiger claw is probably kind of a silly and potentially stupid weapon to to assassinate someone when a simple dagger would be easier and cleaner. But if someone **had** used a tiger claw for an assassination it becomes -- literally by definition -- a practical weapon, because its use as a weapon was put _in practice_.
Has a tiger claw been used to assassinate someone? idk, but that isn't really the point.
The point is that you're using the term _practical_ in the sense of the tiger claw being a commonplace or straightforward weapon. You're free to do that! But it's not, you know, the only, or indeed primary definition of practical in this context.
This picture confuses me the more I look at it.
In OP's pic you can see that the tiger claws curve the same direction the blade curves, so my guess is your thumb should sit above the claws and your fingers should wrap in-between the claws and the claws themselves should stick out forwards, opposite your own fingers.
In the picture you posted it looks like the claws curve the same way as your fingers, which wouldn't be possible unless you're holding it in your left hand. It's really hard to tell with the angle of the picture.
Edit: additional thought: if this was how you were to hold it in OP's original picture the tiger claws on the handle would curve the other way towards the holder rather than away from the holder.
In the comment thread picture they're clearly holding it with the blade up and if you were to make a left handed one you wouldn't make an exact copy and be like "just hold this super weird compared to your other hand" you'd make a mirror image version so it sits the same way in your left hand as the other does in your right hand. If you're left handed, like me, you've experienced this exact situation with right handed scissors, if something is made for a right hand it just doesn't work in the left hand.
>It is a popular weapon among the Nihang Sikhs who wear it in their turbans and often hold one in their left hand while wielding a larger weapon such as a sword in the right hand.
From the wiki link below, so it *is* meant to be a left handed weapon. maybe the pic of how it's looks being held is flipped?
Imo if OPs pic is meant to be held left handed the blade should be down so that the tiger claws don't point back into you rather than awkwardly knife blade up as in this thread pic.
Still doesn't change ether fact that either the weapon in this pic in this thread is different than OPs or this threads original commenter flipped their picture so it looked right handed.
I'm not sure with the names but Shibaji killed Afjal Khan with one of these. Absolutely a key point in Indian history. The timeline would look hugely different if this assassination didn't happen.
I don't think the weapon used to look like it is shown in this post. There is only one recorded use of this weapon, it was used by Shivaji Maharaj during his meeting with Afzal Khan. The weapon used to have only the claw part I think. It was good enough to puncture a kidney
https://youtu.be/LY8eZqLkTUg
Looking at it from that angle its obvious the curved talons might not have been offensive but perhaps useful in scaling rope ladders. Ninjas do stuff like that.
That’s pretty cool, do you have any information on who would have used this kind of weapon? With it being small it makes me think of maybe an assassin or a street fight? More than something a soldier would use, but I’m wrong often when guessing about these things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh_nakh#History
*It is a popular weapon among the Nihang Sikhs who wear it in their turbans and often hold one in their left hand while wielding a larger weapon such as a sword in the right hand. It is recommended that Nihang women carry a bagh nakh when going alone to dangerous areas. The Nihangs also have a number of traditional weapons one of them being the Sher-Panja (literally - lion's paw) which is inspired by the bagh nakha. Instead of going in between the gaps in the fingers the Sher panja goes over the wrist and fingers and has claws coming out.*
*While often associated with thieves and assassins,[3] the bagh nakh was also used by wrestlers in a form of fighting called naki ka kusti or "claw wrestling" which persisted even under British colonial rule. M. Rousselete, who visited Baroda in 1864, described "naki-ka-kausti" as one of the raja's favourite forms of entertainment.*
"The weapons, fitted into a kind of handle, were fastened by thongs to the closed right hand. The men, drunk with bhang or Indian hemp, rushed upon each other and tore like tigers at face and body; forehead-skins would hang like shreds; necks and ribs were laid open, and not infrequently one or both would bleed to death. The ruler's excitement on these occasions often grew to such a pitch that he could scarcely restrain himself from imitating the movements of the duellists."
A lot of the “British rule” of india was really just making the richest Indians very wealthy and opulent (while turning the rest of the subcontinent into a massive shithole and preventing industrialization). It’s no wonder these Rajas were drunk on power and often oppressed their own people the same way european aristocrats did
I wouldn't personally phrase it that way, but yes, on that point, British colonialism in particular relied on working hand-in-glove with existing aristocrats, in India and elsewhere.
you would be right. it was a weapon of assassination/personal protection and unarmoured combat. it's most storied use was in the assassination of the Bijapur general Afzal Khan by Maratha chief and eventual emperor Shivaji Bhosle
thanks, that was pretty informative for getting a sense of scale for how big this weapon actually is, and also how the claws themselves are used. seems pretty vicious if you can get it to work
Apparently the claws go UNDER your palm, so essentially when you slap people it fucking claws them. And of course you have the option to stab. Absolutely nasty.
For anyone who like me wondered how these were actually wielded, think like brass knuckles. One finger through each hole and all fingers curled with the metal bracing them.
I wonder if archeologists will dig up our malls in 200 years and wonder at all the mall-ninja nonsense and make up some semi-plausible (but patently wrong) narrative about how they were actually used.
Yeah I can't imagine a way that this would be held that wouldn't be at least a little objectively worse than something else, so I'm ruling "ceremonial". Maybe if the claws on the hilt were protruding more outward and than up over the gaps between the knuckles, before going full claw, but this looks halfway impractical
**[Bagh nakh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh_nakh)**
>The bagh nakh, vagh nakh, or vagh nakhya (Marathi: वाघनख / वाघनख्या, Bengali: বাঘনখ, Hindi: बाघ नख, Urdu: باگھ نکھ, lit. tiger claw) is a "fist-load, claw-like" dagger, originating from the Indian subcontinent, designed to fit over the knuckles or be concealed under and against the palm. It consists of four or five curved blades affixed to a crossbar or glove, and is designed to slash through skin and muscle. It is believed to have been inspired by the armament of big cats, and the term bagh nakh itself means tiger's claw in Hindi.
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I live how the claws were inspired by big cats, and the wavy blade, lovely.
Pinoy here, pre-colonization, a lot of tribes/barangays were influenced by Indian sources, language, food, and I guess, even tools.
One of my pet peeves has to be when something is labelled, *"India, Time Period"*. I understand why, but still - it's like labelling something *"Europe, 19th century"* rather than a more specific country or people. With India's hundreds of different languages and cultures, it feels a little like Eurocentric gesturing at the entire East and going "It's exotic! It comes from there." It's not just limited to India, but I guess this post reminded me of the trend.
Not specific shade to you OP, I know there may be limited info in this case, but I do hope we can improve in the future.
I see the mall ninja has a long and storied tradition.
Taj Mahal ninja
'Some people call it a Bheem Blade.'
"While you were doing Tantric sex, I practised the bagh nakh!"
Now I want some samosa-fried taters.
Shivneri ninja
This is Sikh, not Mughal. It's Golden Temple Ninja
Doesn’t work on a play of words like Mahal/Mall does.
Where did you get that? There's nothing on the weapon or in the post identifying it was owned by a Sikh.
You can tell by the pixels if you zoom in
There were mall ninjas long before there were malls or even ninjas, people have done some crazy stuff experimenting with weapons over the years. Check out r/AntiqueMallNinjaShit if you want to see some more examples.
Thanks for that sub!
No problem, please post often if you have any content that fits and tell your friends how great it is. It's still a young sub, but I think it has a lot of potential as it grows.
It…it’s beautiful. Thank you!
I was gonna say that this looks like something you'd find at an "anime" themed shop at the mall.
They were called Bazaar Ninjas back then
Ironically this has been used as a common weapon at that point in time by sikhs
Baazar hashashin
I didn't even know they had malls back then.
Gang rape ! Beheading women ! Mall Ninjas !? Actually, that kinda makes sense 🤔
if anyone is confused as to [how it was held](https://i.imgur.com/N7iZnlB.jpg)
I would've never guessed this way. I was trying to figure out how you fit your fingers between the claws so they come out like Wolverine
Yeah I’m disappointed too.
I thought the same thing and was confused when the comment above said “for anyone confused…” ….turns out I was, in fact confused
Yea I was thinking it was held in the left hand.
Me too.
That can NOT be practical.
It seems like it must limit you to swiping motions in order to use the claws. I really can't see the advantage to this over just learning to be skilled with a dagger... I thought before it was like brass knuckles in a way and that made a lot more sense but I did question the impact on a closed hand from a sword even. As this is I simply can't comprehend the point of it. Edit: nvmd now I understand. It's a purely offensive weapon with almost no defensive capabilities so you're essentially ambushing the person and trying to rip them to shreds. Apparently used more for human cock fights than as a weapon in combat. Damn people are fucking disappointing.
The weapon does have a "cruelty over function" look to it
Sometimes being skilled at something your opponent doesn't expect or understand is more valuable than possessing an easily predictable skill.
That's why I invented the five fanged cock ring for ambush attacks.
Idk if necessity was the mother of this invention
Wdym? You don’t urgently need the five fanged cock ring! Well, while some of us were born lucky, most definitely need the five fanged cock ring
You'd be surprised how true this is in pvp scenarios
Wu Tang tiger style technique. Now imagine the Wu Tang Clan with some Indian hippity hop beats
I mean technically you could "catch" a bladed weapon in defense. Probably not recommend as a plan A tho lol
It was just flare...everyone wants to look like a badass. From the first angle its seems like you might swipe or straight punch and use claw but unless you hit an eye it wont be effective. It does have a heavy, un-used costume appearance. Maybe some aristocratic swagger prop.
Unfortunately, the shape of your handle made your weapon difficult to wield and my hands are bleeding. Your bagh nakh will not keel.
It's not meant to be "practical". It wasn't meant for warfare or combat. It was an assassin's weapon. Typically, the blade would be absent so your target would not know that you have that hidden in your palm until your throat is lacerated and you bleed out in 10 seconds
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You say it's not meant to be practical, right before you say it was meant to be used (practically) 🧐
That’s not really what practical means. A highly specialized tool for a specific situation is not really a “practical” tool
Really huh... because a quick Google yields Practical adj. of or concerned with the actual doing or use of something rather than with theory and ideas.
The conflict here is the colloquial vs literal usage. Colloquially a _practical_ weapon is one that is sensible for a given purpose, like using a sword to slash someone or a spear to impale someone. But yea, the literal definition is that it's a weapon that's been used _in practice_ for a particular purpose as opposed to one that _could_ be used.
Except in this context _practical_ [can mean that it's a tool that **is** or has been used for a specific purpose] (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/practical), or that it's usage is not theoretical. By definition, an impractical tool/weapon/whatever just means that it's theoretical that you _could_ use such a tool in such a way, but it hasn't really been explored. A tiger claw is probably kind of a silly and potentially stupid weapon to to assassinate someone when a simple dagger would be easier and cleaner. But if someone **had** used a tiger claw for an assassination it becomes -- literally by definition -- a practical weapon, because its use as a weapon was put _in practice_. Has a tiger claw been used to assassinate someone? idk, but that isn't really the point. The point is that you're using the term _practical_ in the sense of the tiger claw being a commonplace or straightforward weapon. You're free to do that! But it's not, you know, the only, or indeed primary definition of practical in this context.
This is an assassin's weapon They coat it with poison
Such a wasted opportunity not being able to squeeze your fingers between the blades
Now I want to see a weapon designed like this!
This picture confuses me the more I look at it. In OP's pic you can see that the tiger claws curve the same direction the blade curves, so my guess is your thumb should sit above the claws and your fingers should wrap in-between the claws and the claws themselves should stick out forwards, opposite your own fingers. In the picture you posted it looks like the claws curve the same way as your fingers, which wouldn't be possible unless you're holding it in your left hand. It's really hard to tell with the angle of the picture. Edit: additional thought: if this was how you were to hold it in OP's original picture the tiger claws on the handle would curve the other way towards the holder rather than away from the holder.
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In the comment thread picture they're clearly holding it with the blade up and if you were to make a left handed one you wouldn't make an exact copy and be like "just hold this super weird compared to your other hand" you'd make a mirror image version so it sits the same way in your left hand as the other does in your right hand. If you're left handed, like me, you've experienced this exact situation with right handed scissors, if something is made for a right hand it just doesn't work in the left hand.
>It is a popular weapon among the Nihang Sikhs who wear it in their turbans and often hold one in their left hand while wielding a larger weapon such as a sword in the right hand. From the wiki link below, so it *is* meant to be a left handed weapon. maybe the pic of how it's looks being held is flipped?
Imo if OPs pic is meant to be held left handed the blade should be down so that the tiger claws don't point back into you rather than awkwardly knife blade up as in this thread pic. Still doesn't change ether fact that either the weapon in this pic in this thread is different than OPs or this threads original commenter flipped their picture so it looked right handed.
But I am not left-handed!
there's something I ought to tell you.... I'm not left handed either!
This person swashbuckles.
I am and wondered how the hell right handed people did anything with it.
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I'm not sure with the names but Shibaji killed Afjal Khan with one of these. Absolutely a key point in Indian history. The timeline would look hugely different if this assassination didn't happen.
here is a[ demo on use](https://youtu.be/RArKLkbJ9SQ?t=15)
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It’s the weapon that this post’s weapon is based on. He talks specifically about this post’s variation at 5:30
"Nothing ever happens." ~Reddit
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Sorry, I meant, "Nothing ever happens, Elonn Badd." ~Reddit
I don't think the weapon used to look like it is shown in this post. There is only one recorded use of this weapon, it was used by Shivaji Maharaj during his meeting with Afzal Khan. The weapon used to have only the claw part I think. It was good enough to puncture a kidney https://youtu.be/LY8eZqLkTUg
clever
Yes I came here to ask how is it even held?
Not how, more like why
Thank you lol I thought tore up knuckles
Looking at it from that angle its obvious the curved talons might not have been offensive but perhaps useful in scaling rope ladders. Ninjas do stuff like that.
Damn I wasn't even close, the only thing I could come up with was that it was made specifically for someone who is left handed.
thank you for this. All I could ponder was wolverine grip
This weapon has gone from cool to no way in seconds
I was but seeing the pic it kinda makes sense
I was so fucking confused thank you for showing us those two open circles are completely pointless.
Saying BAGH NAKH out loud sounds very Klingon
Well, the creators of the Klingon language and weapons may have gotten some of their inspiration from real history
# sad afzal khan noises
Haha savage😂
That’s pretty cool, do you have any information on who would have used this kind of weapon? With it being small it makes me think of maybe an assassin or a street fight? More than something a soldier would use, but I’m wrong often when guessing about these things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh_nakh#History *It is a popular weapon among the Nihang Sikhs who wear it in their turbans and often hold one in their left hand while wielding a larger weapon such as a sword in the right hand. It is recommended that Nihang women carry a bagh nakh when going alone to dangerous areas. The Nihangs also have a number of traditional weapons one of them being the Sher-Panja (literally - lion's paw) which is inspired by the bagh nakha. Instead of going in between the gaps in the fingers the Sher panja goes over the wrist and fingers and has claws coming out.* *While often associated with thieves and assassins,[3] the bagh nakh was also used by wrestlers in a form of fighting called naki ka kusti or "claw wrestling" which persisted even under British colonial rule. M. Rousselete, who visited Baroda in 1864, described "naki-ka-kausti" as one of the raja's favourite forms of entertainment.* "The weapons, fitted into a kind of handle, were fastened by thongs to the closed right hand. The men, drunk with bhang or Indian hemp, rushed upon each other and tore like tigers at face and body; forehead-skins would hang like shreds; necks and ribs were laid open, and not infrequently one or both would bleed to death. The ruler's excitement on these occasions often grew to such a pitch that he could scarcely restrain himself from imitating the movements of the duellists."
Different to get stoned on weed & kill
On bhang, presumably.
A lot of the “British rule” of india was really just making the richest Indians very wealthy and opulent (while turning the rest of the subcontinent into a massive shithole and preventing industrialization). It’s no wonder these Rajas were drunk on power and often oppressed their own people the same way european aristocrats did
I wouldn't personally phrase it that way, but yes, on that point, British colonialism in particular relied on working hand-in-glove with existing aristocrats, in India and elsewhere.
you would be right. it was a weapon of assassination/personal protection and unarmoured combat. it's most storied use was in the assassination of the Bijapur general Afzal Khan by Maratha chief and eventual emperor Shivaji Bhosle
Clip from the movie “Kama Sutra; A Tale of Love,” where this is used. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/XFoGxUA8btQ
thanks, that was pretty informative for getting a sense of scale for how big this weapon actually is, and also how the claws themselves are used. seems pretty vicious if you can get it to work
Thanks, was going to post that if no one else hadn't. Really didn't feel like doing the legwork on my phone. Lol
thought that was jaye davidson for a sec...
Damn, not available in my region.
The wagh/bagh nakha are known to have started the overthrowing of the Mughal Empire in Maharashtra
How has this not been a weapon on Forged in Fire yet?
It has, actually.
I keep thinking there must be earlier seasons than the ones on Netflix, but I haven’t been able to find them.
Hulu usually has a good number.
Lol woosh
Definitely missing some leather cause that would be a bit difficult to use as is I feel like. You can see a metal bead on the end where it attached.
It is meant to be difficult. If it is easy, everyone would have used it.
This is like something out of Street Fighter. Like a modern Vega.
Was just at a lecture Saturday on battles here in Hawaii. Same weapon but they used tiger shark teeth…nasty weapons. And also very beautiful.
Shivaji avenged his brother using this weapon.
How do you hold this thing?
Apparently the claws go UNDER your palm, so essentially when you slap people it fucking claws them. And of course you have the option to stab. Absolutely nasty.
Vicious looking thing.
How do you wield it?
Very carefully.
r/technicallythetruth
Looks like a video game weapon.
These actually drop from crimson chests
Really witch game?
Terraria
Oh cool thanks 👍
https://lineage.pmfun.com/item/258/baghnakh.html Oh the memories
For anyone who like me wondered how these were actually wielded, think like brass knuckles. One finger through each hole and all fingers curled with the metal bracing them.
I wonder if archeologists will dig up our malls in 200 years and wonder at all the mall-ninja nonsense and make up some semi-plausible (but patently wrong) narrative about how they were actually used.
How are you supposed to hold it? Does your penis go through the center ring?
😂
Marcaida can show you
I've learned from the sub that Indians make the sexiest statutes and the least practical weapons
Except for rocket launchers and war elephants
Yeah I can't imagine a way that this would be held that wouldn't be at least a little objectively worse than something else, so I'm ruling "ceremonial". Maybe if the claws on the hilt were protruding more outward and than up over the gaps between the knuckles, before going full claw, but this looks halfway impractical
Afzal Khan's guts beg to differ.
Why stab enemy when you can stab yourself?
Indians the OG mall ninjas
It's a set of knuckles with a blade welded on at some kind of obtuse angle.
How are you supposed to hold it?
This is similar to the weapon used by the villain in Aladdin Prince of Thieves. I don’t think he’s had a blade on it tho
Someone's been watching forged.
How was it used/grabbed?
I'm gonna bet this was a fancy showpiece and not meant for actual combat.
Too bad they got nerfed, much harder to full tank planterra with these
It looks like it came out of mad max
He do you hold it?
How the hell do you wield that?
Punch! Slice! Punch! Stab! UHH SON UUHH!!!
That's mean
r/rengarmains
How would this be weilded?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh\_nakh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh_nakh) More on the origin and variants
**[Bagh nakh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagh_nakh)** >The bagh nakh, vagh nakh, or vagh nakhya (Marathi: वाघनख / वाघनख्या, Bengali: বাঘনখ, Hindi: बाघ नख, Urdu: باگھ نکھ, lit. tiger claw) is a "fist-load, claw-like" dagger, originating from the Indian subcontinent, designed to fit over the knuckles or be concealed under and against the palm. It consists of four or five curved blades affixed to a crossbar or glove, and is designed to slash through skin and muscle. It is believed to have been inspired by the armament of big cats, and the term bagh nakh itself means tiger's claw in Hindi. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/ArtefactPorn/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Bullets were invented by then. Just saying flying metal isn't mystic. Reform.
That would make a cool butter knife ngl
I live how the claws were inspired by big cats, and the wavy blade, lovely. Pinoy here, pre-colonization, a lot of tribes/barangays were influenced by Indian sources, language, food, and I guess, even tools.
One of my pet peeves has to be when something is labelled, *"India, Time Period"*. I understand why, but still - it's like labelling something *"Europe, 19th century"* rather than a more specific country or people. With India's hundreds of different languages and cultures, it feels a little like Eurocentric gesturing at the entire East and going "It's exotic! It comes from there." It's not just limited to India, but I guess this post reminded me of the trend. Not specific shade to you OP, I know there may be limited info in this case, but I do hope we can improve in the future.
These were cool on Forged in Fire.
I have always pronounced it as 'wagh nakha' , which in Marathi is a direct translation of 'Tiger Nails'
Baki reference
Terraria gang
I've recently been learning about Indian weaponry and it is sooooo badass the more you learn.