7

Many Klingon weapons are featured during the Star Trek television series, and the characters display a reverence for them, much like a Japanese sword master would have for a fine piece of craftsmanship.

A good traditional Japanese sword will slice right through you if you bump into it lightly, but the Bat'leth is casually strapped to the back or hung to the wall. In "Ethics", Worf's son Alexander is seen walking down the corridors casually flipping around the dreaded Hegh'bat ceremonial knife.

Klingons value courage, but they are not stupid. So what gives?

Improve this question
17
  • 7
    And if you want to bring real-life into it, stopping blades with another blade is plain stupid. That's something Hollywood started because it looks cool.
    – Izkata
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 12:27
  • 15
    I'm pretty sure the Japanese sword sharpness is mythological anyway, and mostly involved the technique of the user. It's said to come in part from folding the metal thousands of times, but that was only done to remove impurities - something we have far more efficient ways to do in modern times.
    – Izkata
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 12:33
  • 4
    Because a Klingon is always ready for battle.
    – Valorum
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 12:41
  • 4
    @Angew The idea of a parry is to deflect the blow, not to block and hold it against your blade. That, I suspect, is what Izkata meant.
    – Zibbobz
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 13:45
  • 7
    Sheath? Only a weakling P'TACH would need a sheath for his blade. <spits on the ground>
    – Omegacron
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 3:24

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
9

From the Memory Alpha page on Bat'leth:

Having always been irritated that films seemed to keep portraying weapons that were meant to look appealing but actually couldn't be handled practically, Dan Curry had been envisioning a pragmatic style of weapon for a long time, thinking of it as basically a staff weapon infused with Oriental influence. (Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, p. 178; Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission, p. 179)

...

I was also thinking about the Chinese double ax, Chinese fighting crescents, and the Tai Chi sword. I combined elements of all those things in order to come up with an ergonomically sound weapon." (Star Trek: The Next Generation 365, p. 178)

(Emphasis Mine)

The Bat'leth draws numerous reference points from weapons that go unsheathed - so it would make sense that the Bat'leth as well would go unsheathed.

Or from a more pragmatic standpoint...well just look at the thing!

enter image description here

It's got four curved points and three hand grips. How would you even design a sheath for a weapon like that? Not to mention the badass resilience of Klingons likely makes self-injury a less worrying prospect.

Improve this answer
4
  • 3
    I can certainly envision an effective cover for use in peace-tying a bat'leth, but coming up with a sheath from which you could quickly draw the weapon is difficult.
    – Brian S
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 14:12
  • 2
    "How would you even design a sheath for a weapon like that" A rectangular fold of leather.
    – cmc
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 14:39
  • 3
    @cmc Either the Bat'leth would pierce the leather, or it would dull the blades considerably, or both. Neither is desireable for a Klingon weapon.
    – Zibbobz
    Commented Mar 14, 2014 at 15:31
  • 5
    "Having always been irritated that films seemed to keep portraying weapons that were meant to look appealing but actually couldn't be handled practically, Dan Curry" decided to design a weapon that makes many real-world martial-artists, myself included, laugh at the idea that it could ever be useful in combat. The bat'leth may actually be worse than just fighting with your hands and feet. It certainly has nothing on a sword, even a two-handed one, or the very bladed weapons Curry mentions. And that only counting bladed weapons, ignoring arguably more effective clubbing weapons.
    – James Sheridan
    Commented Mar 15, 2014 at 4:14
4

In addition to Klingons valuing courage, they also value honor, bravery and skill with weapons. They are not ones to coddle their children, they won't coddle their warriors.

A Klingon sheathing their blade would be seen as weak and afraid. Other Klingons would assume that they were foolish and/or clumsy, and if that Klingon had any honor to speak of they would face constant challenges to their ability.

And while a sheathe has a place in human combat, to a Klingon it would be seen as just one more thing in the way of delivering the killing blow. Take the Kill Bill trailer fight scene as an example. Although used primarily for comedic effect, Black Mamba is unable to unsheathe her sword due to the close quarters.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Your second paragraph is demonstrably false. Klingons have been shown with sheathed blades - not to mention holstered firearms - on many occasions. In fact, most Klingons seem to carry a small sheathed dagger at all times.
    – James Sheridan
    Commented Mar 15, 2014 at 4:15

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.