Bat'leth

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**Bat'leth**
The Bat'leth, a Klingon sword
Created by:	Kahless
Creation Date:	625 A.D.

A bat'leth (in Klingon, betleH, ultimately said to be from batlh 'etlh honour sword) is a traditional Klingon sword in the fictitious Star Trek universe.

1 Details
2 History
3 Trivia
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Details

A standard bat'leth is typically 116 centimeters long and weighs 5.3 kilograms^[1]. It is made from baakonite and has three hand grips (bound with leather or tape) and four sharp tips that makes it resemble a crescent-shaped, two-ended scimitar.

[edit] History

The Bat'leth known as the Sword of Kahless

Klingon oral history holds that the first bat'leth was forged around 625 A.D. by Kahless who dropped a lock of his hair into the lava from the Kri'stak Volcano, then plunged the fiery lock into the lake of Lursor and twisted it to form a blade. After forging the weapon, he used it to defeat the tyrant Molor, and in doing so united the Klingon Homeworld. This first bat'leth was known as the "Sword of Kahless" and was stolen a thousand years ago by the invading Hur'q.

In the real world, both the bat'leth and the Sword of Kahless were designed by Dan Curry, martial arts enthusiast and Visual Effects Producer at Paramount Studios, at the behest of Ronald D. Moore, one of the producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation (Curry also designed the Klingon mek'leth).

[edit] Trivia

In May 2006, a sharpened reproduction was seized by police in Gloucester, England. ^[2]
In an episode of Stargate SG-1, called "The Other Guys", a Bat'leth can be seen above Khonsu's throne.
In an episode of American Dad!, Not Particularly Desperate Housewife, Stan retrieves a bat'leth from above a shrine in a closet to kill a dog, citing that the dog had "Earned a warrior's death".
In the Exalted Second Edition RPG supplement "Scroll of the Monk," a new weapon introduced in the back called the 'Spread-The-Water Knife' is obviously a bat'leth according to the illustration.