Kal (dagger)

"Crusaders often carried a kal—a dagger made of beskar—in their off hand."

- Tor Vizsla

A kal was a traditional Mandalorian dagger. Forged of beskar iron, Mandalorian Crusaders were known to wield a kal into battle in their off hand, often in addition to another weapon. The prevalence with which kale were used by the ancient Mandalorians led to Mandalorian armor pieces worn on a soldier's left side to be referred to as the kal plates, counter to the right plates which were referred to as the beskad plates, after the traditional Mandalorian iron saber.

In his Death Watch manifesto, Ba'jurne Kyr'sad Mando'ad, the splinter-sect's leader Tor Vizsla describes the kal, its history and use, and provides an illustration of the beskar dagger for the reader.

Behind the scenes
The kal first appeared in Star Wars canon in The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett, a bounty hunter-centric reference guide co-authored by Jason Fry, Daniel Wallace, and Ryder Windham, published October 15, 2013.