Laser pistol A laser pistol , or hand laser , was a directed - energy weapon utilized by the Klingon Empire and . ( ) Specifications . The pistols used by Starfleet in the 2250s and the 2260s were designed with multiple power settings . They had enough power to blast through rocks , security glass and to disintegrate Humanoid - size android s for example . The laser pistol was also capable of being set to overload , resulting in a forced chamber explosion . These weapons were considered " old - style " by the end of the 2260s . ( ) History . The Federation had utilized hand - held laser weaponry for over 100 years as of 2269 . ( ) In 2254 , after having been kidnapped by the Talosian s , Captain Christopher Pike attempted to use laser pistols to blast his way out of his cell , but was distressed to find that the lasers were empty . He correctly deducted , though , that the Talosians had been using their powers of illusion to make Pike believe that the lasers were inoperative , and he had successfully breached the cell he was being kept in . Later , after escaping to the surface , Number One set her laser to overload , informing the Talosian Keeper that Human s would rather die than live in captivity . This , combined with information they had assimilated from the ' s historical records , convinced the Talosians that Humans were too unstable to be held against their will . ( ) In 2261 , laser pistols were standard equipment for the Crater expedition to M - 113 , as well as the Korby expedition to Exo III , both of which were outfitted in the same year . The hand lasers were still in use in 2266 . ( ) In 2265 , Spock and other members of an " Enterprise " landing party were armed with laser pistols when they transported to the planet Delta Vega to maroon a dangerous Gary Mitchell . ( ) In 2268 , Uhura wondered why the Klingon s provided warring factions on Neural with flintlock firearms and not something more advanced such as old - style hand lasers . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In the story outline for " The Cage " , one of the Laser guns was set for a hypo - pellet , whereby " death is instant , painless . " ( " The Making of Star Trek " , p . 63 ) This seems to be a variation on a statement from the series outline " Star Trek is . . . " , which proposed that the pistols in the series ( as well as the series ' rifles ) were to fire " hypodermic pellets which stun or tranquilize . " In the first draft script of " The Cage " , the effect of the Laser pistol firing was described as " a blinding white thin shaft of light from the barrel of the pistol . " In the episode ' s second revised final draft script , however , this wording was changed to " a blinding thin white shaft of light from the pistol . " Evidently , the beam was ultimately colorized red , however . According to " The Making of Star Trek " , Gene Roddenberry was made aware by a technical adviser of the fact that lasers could not do the things he wanted his fictional weapons to do and invented the term " phaser " to use instead . In , the crew of the were equipped with phaser pistol s in 2233 . The ship is also seen using phaser bank s . In , it was also stated that Lieutenant James Kirk manned the phaser station aboard the in 2257 . The laser pistol was seen in use in " The Cage " ( and " The Menagerie " ) , set in 2254 . They were also seen as part of the away team arsenal along with the phaser rifle in set in 2265 . All these appearances indicate that hand - held laser weapons were used simultaneously with hand - held phaser weapons in the 2250s and early 2260s . The original prop was designed and produced by Wah Chang ' s Project Unlimited , Inc . in 1964 for the pilot production , " The Cage " . Close examination reveals the controls on the side are painted typewriter keys . The prop was slightly modified for its later appearances in " Where No Man Has Gone Before " , , and . They contained a tiny flip - up sight on top and the barrel could be extended with a twisting / ratcheting motion for greater power . ( ) This prop was modified by the addition of a wheel - like attachment on the back of the body of the weapon and a textured grip . While no dialogue in any episode after " The Cage " indicates whether the pistols were lasers or phasers , a stage direction on page 18 of the revised final draft of " What Are Little Girls Made Of ? " called for an old - style phaser to be used by Brown . It is noteworthy that this weapon vaporized the android Kirk in a manner more consistent with phaser technology than lasers . Apocrypha . According to the novel " Strangers from the Sky " , laser pistols and rifles were used on Earth already in the mid - 21st century .