D'k tahg

thumb|A d'k tahg bearing Kaybok's family crest
The d'k tahg (or Daqtagh) was the traditional Klingon warrior's knife. It consisted of a single, straight-edged primary blade and two curved secondary blades, which could be either fixed or hinged. It was commonly used in hand-to-hand combat, and had great ceremonial value in Klingon culture. The handle featured a rounded, spiked pommel and sometimes bore an emblem representing the members of its owner's house near the hilt of the blade. ()
Doctor Joseph M'Benga, with the aid of the Protocol 12 drug, used a d'k tahg taken from Lieutenant Va'Al Trask on J'Gal to kill Klingon General Gra'val, Commander Kiff and Captain Ruh'lis during the Battle of J'Gal in of 2256-57. However, General Dak'Rah escaped and took credit for killing his own officers, becoming known as the Butcher of J'Gal for it amongst his own people. ()
In 2259, during a visit by now Ambassador Dak'Rah to the , M'Benga confronted him with truth and his d'k tahg. M'Benga killed the former Klingon General with the same d'k tahg that he had killed his officers with years before, supposedly in self-defense. Analysis of the knife by the Enterprise computer found the blood of the three Klingon warlords killed by the Butcher of J'Gal still on it along with both Dak'Rah and M'Benga's fingerprints. ()
The design of the d'k tahg, illustrated in the Paq'batlh, had changed little between its writing and the 23rd century. ()
David Marcus was killed on the by a Klingon with a d'k tahg in 2285. ()
A d'k tahg was part of a Klingon ritual that Worf performed after Marla Aster's death. The ritual included extinguishing a candle with the knife in 2366. ()
Captain Jean-Luc Picard kept a sheathed d'k tahg in his quarters aboard the . Jono used this dagger to wound the captain in 2367. ()
A d'k tahg was one of multiple objects that Berlinghoff Rasmussen tried to steal from the crew of the Enterprise-D when he was visiting the ship in 2368. ()
Kang killed the Albino in battle with a d'k tahg on Secarus IV in 2370. ()
Stealing a warrior's d'k tahg was considered a grave insult to his honor. Worf took Drex's in 2372, to attract the attention of Drex's father, . Previously, Martok had brought Kaybok's d'k tahg into Captain Sisko's office. Jadzia Dax explained that Kaybok was killed because of his disobedience. ()
Major Kira Nerys was stabbed in her side with a d'k tahg by a Klingon warrior during a subsequent battle in the operations center on board Deep Space 9. ()
In 2380, General K'orin carried a d'k tahg that had shorter secondary blades and lacked the curves on the tips. ()
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=== Background information ===
Although the d'k tahg first appeared in , it wasn't officially named until years later. The knife was known as the lev'ek in FASA's The Klingons sourcebook. The weapon finally received its canonical name in . According to the script for that episode, its name was pronounced as "dock-TAWG". 
In the scripts for Star Trek III, the weapon was described as "a distinctive Klingon dagger, frightening to behold." For the same film, the d'k tahg was designed by Phil Norwood. (; text commentary, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) DVD special features) Associate Producer Ralph Winter recalled, "We worked on [it from] the premise that Klingons clean their daggers by using them." The makers of the film also gave the knife a particularly angular design so it looked as if it fit with the rest of the Klingon aesthetic as portrayed in the movie. (Enterprise Incidents, issue 28, p. 63) Two versions of the knife prop were manufactured; one had an aluminum blade and was polished and sharpened like a real knife, whereas the other, used for filming the murder of David Marcus, was a rubber dummy to avoid risking injury to the actors. (text commentary, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Special Edition) DVD special features) All of these props were designed and manufactured by Industrial Light & Magic. (Enterprise Incidents, issue 28, p. 63)
According to the , "When it was used for the The Next Generation, the original prop was not available, so Rick Sternbach duplicated the design for the show's prop makers, using a Star Trek trading card for reference."
=== External link ===
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de:D'k tahg
es:D'k tahg
Category:Qo'noS
Category:Klingonese
Category:Hand-held weapons