Energy whip The energy whip was a hand - held weapon used by the Ferengi . When lashed , it fired a pulse of energy that stunned the target . The Ferengi marauder Ulis , who attempted to raid the Earth starship in 2151 , was armed with an energy whip . ( ) The Ferengi landing party encountered by a away team in the Delphi Ardu system in 2364 were also armed with energy whips . ( ) Marauder Mo , a line of Ferengi action figures , usually had a toy energy whip as an accessory . ( ) Background information . The Ferengi energy whips made their debut appearance in . The whip was designed by props master Alan Sims , who noted , " " It was a variation of the " Star Wars " light saber . " " ( " " , p . 102 ) The energy whip was one of the most challenging props Alan Sims had to deal with in the first season of . This was largely because it was meant to easily transform from a coiled position to an unfolded , hardened one . Sims later explained , " " It had to work mechanically on the set [ . . . ] I initially intended it to be something extremely magical , but I was never able to do that because of the time pressures . I had maybe 10 days in which to get it designed and made [ . . . ] My first idea was to create a basic skeleton of linkage – think of it like a bicycle chain – so that it could coil up . Then ideally I wanted to be able to release some sort of a tension spring that would send it out forward . Then all these links would lock themselves , and it would stay straight . Remember , we ' re talking about something that was about six feet long . That would have to be coated with a latex form that looked sort of like a boney structure ; basically like a spine . The other dream I had , " " Sims laughed , " " was that I wanted to see this thing coil back up automatically too ! " " ( ) However , Sims clarified , " " I realized that even if I had to have the Ferengi coil it by hand I wanted the whip to snap out automatically . That was the " sine qua non " of the prop : automatic snap . " " After being sketched by Andrew Probert , the whip was submitted to be assembled , one week before the prop was to be used on - stage . " " I brought the Andy Probert sketches to the < nowiki > [ < / nowiki > Paramount prop < nowiki > ] < / nowiki > shop to have them manufacture the device , " " Alan Sims reflected . " " And with a seven - day lead time , we all thought this was feasible . As the week passed and I checked in with the shop , I was getting uneasy with the progress being made . " " The night before a morning when the whips were needed for their first on - camera usage , Alan Sims learned that they had to be redesigned , news he received from the prop shop . " " They called me and told me I ' d have to take it somewhere else , " " Sims stated , " " because they couldn ' t produce it . I thought I would die . How could I take this outside in one night when the cameras roll tomorrow ? " " ( " " , p . 102 ) He reasoned , " " We just couldn ' t get the mechanical effect down , so we had to start from scratch . " " ( ) Alan Sims thereafter issued new instructions to the manufacturers . " " Now knowing that there would be no automatic function from the grip of the whip , I talked with the studio prop shop about making the whip end out of a band of flexible coiled spring steel that would automatically snap out to its full length when released . The characters would hold it coiled up and then release it , so that it would snap out . Then we ' d coat the spring steel with latex to make it sort of organic - looking . But , nonetheless , the effect of the prop had to be that it would snap out and look like an electronically controlled menacing device . " " ( " " , pp . 102 - 103 ) The prop was then made in such a way . " " We took a six - foot length of spring steel and the molded casting went over that , " " said Sims . " " It became really simple . We coiled it up , and , of course , there was a ton of tension on it , so all the actor had to do was release the tip part , and the thing would just uncoil ; boing ! But it had a recoil effect to it ; so instead of snapping out like a stiff salute it would move like a springboard ! " " ( ) The fact that the whip reverberated in the air upon Alan Sims first trying out its extension function made him extremely nervous , and further frustrations regarding its uncoiling were to follow , Sims later noting , " " It looked kind of funny , actually , like a kid ' s toy [ . . . ] Rick Berman saw me walking up to the set and saw me holding the whips . He stopped me and said , ' How ' s our Ferengi whip ? ' I simply showed it to him and uncoiled it . You could tell he was disappointed . This wasn ' t the way I ' d described it . I told him what problems I had with the manufacturer and promised him I ' d never let this happen again . " " Berman accepted the explanation Sims had given him . ( " " , p . 103 ) Sims himself remembered , " " I learned from that prop that I ' d always give myself more time to scout around for just the right material and not rely on the promises of others that they could deliver . " " ( " " , p . 103 ) He also admitted about the uncoiling of the whips , " " In the dailies it didn ' t look that great . " " ( ) This was despite him believing that smoke on the set was one of two elements that helped cover up the release of the whips . ( " " , p . 103 ) Alan Sims noted that , while the energy whip was undergoing the design process , the decision had been made that " visual effects in post would create this bolt of energy that it fired . " ( ) For " The Last Outpost " , the blue glow of the energy whips was indeed generated in post - production , by Visual Effects Animator Steve Price and associate Helen Davis . ( " Cinefex " , No . 37 , p . 14 ) Sims concluded , " " That bolt of energy covered a million sins . " " ( ) He cited the visual effects as the second of the two aspects that helped hide the uncoiling of the whips . ( " " , p . 103 ) Along with the fur sash , the energy whip was envisioned as a staple of the Ferengi ensemble . However , the producers felt both contributed to the unintended " silliness " of the Ferengi , and dropped both after the first season of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " in favor of more militaristic uniforms and weapons . ( " Star Trek Universe " )