Worf's Sash/Baldric.

[Red Ranger]

People:

One of the unique attributes of Worf's character is the fact that he wears a sash or baldric to honor his Klingon heritage. At first, he wore a golden sash, a replica of the baldrics worn by Kor and Kang in TOS.

Then, when Worf switched from a command red uniform to a services gold one, they gave him a new, original silver sash. It was of a kind never seen on any Klingon before.

From what little I've been able to determine from Memory Alpha, it's supposed to represent the noble house one belongs to, and I seem to recall that the medallions on the upper part of Worf's baldric were replaced with different ones when he joined the House of Martok.

What do you all think of the silver baldric which Worf wore the longest? What's your speculation about what the symbols mean on the upper part of the sash?

Red Ranger

 

[Christopher]

One of the unique attributes of Worf's character is the fact that he wears a sash or baldric to honor his Klingon heritage. At first, he wore a golden sash, a replica of the baldrics worn by Kor and Kang in TOS.

I have the impression of reading somewhere that it wasn't a replica, but one of the actual costume pieces left over from TOS. That's possible, since studios do tend to save old wardrobe items for decades so they can be reused in later productions. On the other hand, this is a vague memory of something I read over 20 years ago, so it could be wrong.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

You're right that one of the medallions was replaced with the emblem of the House of Martok, so I think we've got that part solved, at least...

 

[RaymondJames]

House of Mogh out of respect fro his father and they got changed in Ds9 when he joined the House of Martok.

I personally loved the Gold Baldric, but i doubt it would of looked good with the Gold unifourm, so purhaps like how Data was supposed to have a teal uniform, the Gold and gold didn't blend well so they gave him a silver one?

Also I loved how his head changed over the years.

 

[Cid Highwind]

I have the impression of reading somewhere that it wasn't a replica, but one of the actual costume pieces left over from TOS. That's possible, since studios do tend to save old wardrobe items for decades so they can be reused in later productions. On the other hand, this is a vague memory of something I read over 20 years ago, so it could be wrong.

I'm sure I read the same, years ago. Not sure where, though...

In any case, we've got this piece of information: Memory Alpha / Errand of Mercy costumes. Someone with access to the TNG Companion might want to check that.

 

[Christopher]

The TNG Companion says the following on p. 20 (of the second edition):

The sash he would initially wear on the new series was the original Trek Klingon prop, explained as an heirloom.

 

[Red Ranger]

People:

Thanks, all, for your input. Yes, I agree that the original golden Klingon baldric woud've looked poor with Worf's later color scheme -- gold on gold, yechh! I would've preferred they created a silver version of the original golden one as an homage to TOS.

Red Ranger

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Did anybody ever explain where Worf obtained the baldric, considering he was raised on Earth and (to the best of my knowledge) had little contact with the Klingon homeworld when he was younger?

 

[Christopher]

Did anybody ever explain where Worf obtained the baldric, considering he was raised on Earth and (to the best of my knowledge) had little contact with the Klingon homeworld when he was younger?

He could've simply called up the Klingon cultural database and had a replicator produce either or both baldrics to those specifications. In a replicator-based society, it's easy to "obtain" anything so long as you have the pattern, and finding a replicator pattern in the computer networks of the 24th century is probably as easy as Googling a photo today.

Although if the first-season one was an "heirloom" from a century earlier, it could've been either a House of Mogh heirloom salvaged after the Khitomer attack or a Rozhenko heirloom obtained by an ancestor during some 23rd-century conflict with the Klingons.

 

[Timo]

...Who knows, perhaps the recently orphaned Worf was found wrapped in this very baldric? (Wrapped tight, in order to keep him from joining the fight against the Romulans and perishing there, of course!)

I could well see Worf originally clinging onto whatever Klingon material he could find, including military regalia that are a century out of date. Once he got more direct access to materials from the current Klingon Empire, though, he would quickly discard the outdated piece and adopt a modern Klingon military sash instead.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Doug Otte]

Did anybody ever explain where Worf obtained the baldric, considering he was raised on Earth and (to the best of my knowledge) had little contact with the Klingon homeworld when he was younger?

Well, he ordered from Amazon.kl, of course!

Doug

 

[Therin of Andor]

Thanks, all, for your input. Yes, I agree that the original golden Klingon baldric woud've looked poor with Worf's later color scheme -- gold on gold, yechh! I would've preferred they created a silver version of the original golden one as an homage to TOS.

Yes, as explained to me (and a convention) by Richard Arnold early in TNG's run, Worf's first sash was the same item worn by Kang (Michael Ansara) in TOS. (Presumably the same one also worn by Kor.) It was suggested that perhaps Worf would someday be revealed as a descendant of Kang's House, but this never happened.

When created for TOS, the sash was for brief on-camera appearances. After continual use in Season One of TNG, the fabric was fraying badly and had to be replaced. The Writers' Guide for Season Two specifies that Worf's new baldric was perhaps also a weapon (building on "Heart of Glory" where the Klingons built weaponry from parts of their costume), but no script ever developed that.

The blinking liquid crystal devices used for some of the badges on the baldric are from the same commercial supplier who created key Borg pieces. For example "the eye of Crosis" (in "Descent") is another of the company's liquid crystal badges.

 

[JoeZhang]

Maybe it's a studio light thing but didn't Worf get em.. blacker as the years went on?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Maybe it's a studio light thing but didn't Worf get em.. blacker as the years went on?

Nah, probably just the lighting and general film quality got better.

 

[Vasquez Rocks]

On the extras disc of the second season dvds, the wardrobe lady says she made the silver sash out of bicycle chains and wove leather through them. I always thought that was kind of an interesting little fact. It never occured to me it was made from that.

 

[Christopher]

Maybe it's a studio light thing but didn't Worf get em.. blacker as the years went on?

Michael Westmore was constantly refining Worf's makeup and added more texture and shading to it over time. Maybe that's what you mean.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Maybe it's a studio light thing but didn't Worf get em.. blacker as the years went on?

What do you mean? The liquid crystal badges? They were constantly changing patterns.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

I've always wondered what the (in-universe) explanation was for the symbols on Worf's silver sash changing between All Good Things... and Generations.

I'm mostly positive it was just a "We can show more detail on the big screen, so why not?" sort of thing.

But it is quite a big difference. And then it changed again when he changed houses. That one was explained.

 

[Red Ranger]

On the extras disc of the second season dvds, the wardrobe lady says she made the silver sash out of bicycle chains and wove leather through them. I always thought that was kind of an interesting little fact. It never occured to me it was made from that.

That's a great little detail! Thanks for sharing! -- RR