Bat ' leth The bat ' leth , or " sword of honor " , was a traditional Klingon blade d weapon . While Klingons often carried disruptor s , they prefered to use bladed weapons in combat , with the two most common ones being the " bat ' leth " and the " mek ' leth " . ( ) Design . According to T ' Pol , the " bat ' leth " was described as " a curved , bilateral sword " that " can decapitate its victim with one stroke . " ( ) A " warrior ' s configuration " for a " bat ' leth " was " " tip to tip 116 centimeter s , weight five point three kilos with an exterior handgripping diameter of five centimeters [ with ] blades composite " baakonite . " ( ) When Tuvok and B ' Elanna Torres were exploring her Klingon heritage , he presented her with a " bat ' leth " and told her to describe the first thoughts that came to mind . According to Torres , " " It ' s a clumsy weapon . Awkward and overstated like everything else Klingon . " " Tuvok , however , felt that she could not " " see the elegance of its design " " because of her hatred , further describing it himself , as " " A warrior ' s blade . Crafted for balance and precision . " " ( ) History . According to Klingon mythology , the first " bat ' leth " was forged by Kahless the Unforgettable in the 9th century . Kahless cut a lock of his hair and dropped it into the lava of the Kri ' stak volcano , then plunged the burning lock into the Lake of Lusor and twisted it into a blade . After forging the weapon , he used it to fight the tyrant Molor , and then gave it its name . This story was not recorded in public texts , but was passed down verbally by the Klingon cleric s as a test of Kahless ' return . ( ) ( " See also : " The Story of the Promise ) The Sword of Kahless was preserved by the Klingons following Kahless ' death , until it was stolen by the Hur ' q when they plundered Qo ' noS about five hundred years after his death . ( ) Bat ' leth were among the weapons collected by Captain aboard in 2256 , as part of his mission to find means to help win the Federation - Klingon War . ( ) Worf owned a " bat ' leth " that had been in his family for ten generation s . After his mate K ' Ehleyr was murder ed by Duras , Worf used this weapon to kill Duras in honorable combat . ( ) During his time aboard the , Worf trained both William T . Riker and Beverly Crusher in the use of the " bat ' leth " . ( ) Alternate realities . A " bat ' leth " was displayed , among other trophies , in a mountain cabin where James T . Kirk resided in the early - 2280s , as re - created by the Nexus . ( ) " In the alternate reality , at least two Klingon warriors wielded " bat ' leths " in a battle between a Klingon patrol , a away team led by , and " John Harrison " , in the Ketha Province . " ( ) Appendices . Background information . Name . Although this weapon has become known as a " bat ' leth " , it was initially to be named a " bat ' telh " , which the pronunciation guide from the final - draft script for recommended be pronounced " BAT - telth " . The scripts which referred to it with this name included not only that for " Reunion " but also those of , , , and . However , in the script for , the name " " bat ' leth " " was notated to be pronounced as " BAT - ' leth " . In non - canon Klingonese devised by Marc Okrand , the Klingon word for this weapon is " " betleH " " , etymologically derived from " " batlh ' etlh " " ( literally translated as " glory blade " ) . Stated " Reunion " co - writer Ronald D . Moore , " " I think I pulled " bat ' leth " from the dictionary by combining , like , the word for ' sword ' and the word for ' honor , ' and I think I literally combined them into " bat ' leth . " So , I think that was kinda rooted in Marc ' s language . " " ( " Reunion " audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu - ray ) Design . Introduced in " Reunion " , the " bat ' leth " was originally inspired by comments from Worf actor Michael Dorn , as he wanted his character ' s fighting style to be more martial arts than barbarian , which synced well with writer Ronald D . Moore thinking of the Klingons as akin to samurai . ( ) " " You know , there was this desire to have a particular , cool Klingon sword for Worf to use , that would become his , sort of , signature weapon , " " remembered Moore , " " and Michael Dorn had actually always asked for this . He would always , like , say that he wanted a cool weapon that was just Worf ' s . " " ( " Reunion " audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu - ray ) Dorn ' s remarks led Moore to think up the " bat ' leth " , which he later described as " a more distinct , stylized weapon . " After conceiving of such a prop , Moore consulted Dan Curry , who not only worked on the series full - time but was also a martial arts expert . ( ) Curry himself recollected , " " The script for ' Reunion ' called for a special Klingon bladed weapon . " " ( " " , p . 178 ) Dan Curry wanted the new Klingon weapon to look relatively unique . " " I looked at some of the designs that were proposed and they were wonderful , but there was a degree of familiarity about them . And I thought to myself , ' Well , you know , it ' s not really my job to get in people ' s faces about this , but because I care passionately about martial arts , and I have a strong feeling for the ergonomics of bladed weapons , let ' s have something that we ' ve never seen before . " " ( " " , p . 179 ) 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 . ( " " , p . 178 ; " " , p . 179 ) Explained Curry , " " I ' d been imagining a curved weapon partially influenced by Himalayan weapons like the kukri [ the wickedly curved knife of the Gurkhas of Nepal , arguably the most renowned fighting knife in the world ] . 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 . " " ( " " , p . 178 ) It was also important to Curry that the " bat ' leth " could be held with either two hands or one hand . " " He wanted a weapon that you could hold , you know , in a variety of ways , " " offered Ron Moore , " " and have some interesting angles , on camera . " " ( " Reunion " audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu - ray ) Dan Curry then began to put his ideas for the weapon into practice , sketching it out on a Postit note . ( ) A small pencil drawing matching the eventual shape of the weapon but with very minor differences , this illustration was " on the back of a Paramount phone message note , " in Ron Moore ' s words , and was sketched in Moore ' s office . ( " Reunion " audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu - ray ) As such , the note ended up in his possession . ( ; " Reunion " audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu - ray ) Once at his own home , Curry crafted a foam - core mock - up of how he envisioned the weapon . He proceeded by showing this item to Executive Producer Rick Berman . ( " " , p . 179 ) The foam - core version of Curry ' s design was an admittedly flimsy prototype but was granted approval . " " And Rick liked it , " " Curry recalled . ( " " , p . 178 ) The final draft of the " Reunion " script described the weapon by saying , " " It is [ a ] semi - circular curved blade that branches to four points . It is about three feet wide . There is a terrible beauty about the blade [ . . . ] The bat ' telh is held by two handles on the mid - exterior of the blade [ . . . ] The bat ' telh can be used as either shield or sword . " " The stage directions in the script of described the bat ' leth in a similar way to the script of " Reunion " : " " A semicircular curved blade which branches to four points . About three feet wide . It is held by two handles on the mid - exterior of the blade . It can be used as either a shield or a sword - - see TNG episode ' The Reunion " " . ( " " ) During at least one production meeting , Dan Curry became extremely animated with demonstrating how the " bat ' leth " could be held , swung and used to disembowel someone . Michael Okuda , who was another of the meeting ' s participants , noted with a laugh , " " We were all a little taken aback . " " ( " Reunion " audio commentary , TNG Season 4 Blu - ray ) Even so , Curry not only designed the " bat ' leth " but also helped develop the intricate moves performed in its use . ( " " , p . 178 ) Director and Elim Garak actor Andrew Robinson noted , " " Dan is the " bat ' leth " specialist . " " ( " " , p . 377 ) Trivia . At the time of its creation , nobody knew that the " bat ' leth " was to later become a type of symbol for the Klingon species . ( " " , p . 178 ) Over the years between its introduction in " Reunion " and its appearance in , however , the " bat ' leth " has become very well established . " " There ' s a lot of history about the Bat ' leth , " " commented Andrew Siegel . " " It ' s a prop that " Trekkies " really like . " " ( ) With a smile , Dan Curry observed , " " Now you seldom see a picture of a Klingon without a " bat ' leth " in his hands . " " ( " " , p . 178 ) For DS9 Season 4 premiere , Jadzia Dax actress Terry Farrell learned how to use a " bat ' leth " prop , which she didn ' t find difficult . " " I thought it was great , " " she enthused . " " In fact , I wish I would have gotten to do more of it ! " " More opportunities for Farrell to use a " bat ' leth " were given to her later in the fourth season and onwards . ( " " , No . 1 ) After Quark actor Armin Shimerman trained with Dan Curry for a fight sequence in DS9 Season 5 episode , the " bat ' leth " became useful for Shimerman rehearsing the scene . " " I borrowed a " bat ' leth " , " " he said , " " took it home for ten days , and worked on the maneuvers that he ' d practiced with me [ . . . ] I got pretty good with the " bat ' leth " , actually . " " Because Worf puppeteers Quark while the Ferengi is using the Klingon weapon , Shimerman even hired a mime artist to help him in his practicing with the prop . " " I [ . . . ] worked with him on how to make it look as though the " bat ' leth " had a mind of its own , " " concluded Shimerman . ( " " , p . 377 ) In , a " bat ' leth " belonging to a particular Klingon crewman was scripted ( as evidenced by the episode ' s final draft script ) to be a " mek ' leth " instead . The " bat ' leth " appeared in the background in the " " sixth season episode " " . John Billingsley , who played Dr . Phlox on " " , also appears in the episode , as a scientist obsessed with " Star Trek " . A " bat ' leth " strap from the episode " Marauders " was sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay .