Dabireh Collective is proud to announce the launch of Dabireh Weblog, a platform for Persian-Arabic typography news, projects and events.
Visit our weblog for weekly updates and share your comments and ideas!
In Persian-Arabic manuscripts, calligraphy and typefaces there is often a small mark on top of the "final form" of letter Kaaf. To understand the necessity of this mark we can refer to Habibolah Fazaeli's widely read Atlas of Script (Atlas of Khat). "Mohaghagh (Mohaqaq) is a majestic and sturdy script. All the letters have distinct forms and can not be mistaken for one another except for Kaaf and Laam that are differentiated with the little Kaaf (Kaafche)." Based on this description in Mohaqaq the final forms of Laam and Kaaf are identical. Instead of the "stroke" on top of Kaaf the calligrapher pens in a little mark in the negative space inside of Kaaf.
This tradition exists in all of the six calligraphic scripts. In earlier specimens the mark resembles the Kufic rendition of Kaaf.
Another popular form resembles a half drawn letter Ya and appears more polished and smaller in size.
In Ketabat Script it resembles a complete Ya. In some instances specially in Thuluth, Reyhan and Muhaqqaq the "medial forms" of Laam and Kaaf lose their stroke for the Kaafche. 
In some calligraphic pieces Kaafche is used to balance the negative space inside the Kaaf.
This tradition has continued with Nastaʿlīq, where the extended Kaaf displays both the stroke and a Kaafche. Evidently Kaafche in Nastaʿlīq serves as an ornament and does not affect the legibility of the letters.
When designing typefaces Kaafche is used both with and without the stroke. Some contemporary calligraphers and designers mistakenly use a Hamza for its similarities in form.
