Combination weapons were both objects of curiosity and showcases for the ingenuity of the maker. Many combination weapons combined the growing popularity of firearms with an already proven and familiar weapon design, in this case a khanda, one of the most ancient sword designs in India.

In Europe and Asia from the 1500s there was an explosion of innovative and unusual designs produced to incorporate this new technology, often sponsored by heads of state. Henry VIII was an enthusiastic patron of new weapons technologies but their popularity seems to have been universal.

After the conflicts in India between the British and the French during the Seven Years War, new firearms technology was enthusiastically studied and adopted by many Indian rulers. This weapon incorporates two percussion lock mechanisms developed in the early 1800s. Percussion locks were popularly used in sporting weapons because the detonating cap propelled the bullet faster without the delay, noise and smoke of match and flintlock guns which tended to startle the quarry. In Europe, pistol swords were used to hunt wounded wild boar.