Not exactly. They'd still take the bat'leths on the battlefield. But if they found themselves up against an opponent that could effectively counter the bat'leths, they'd sling them and use more effective weaponry of their own, and then use the bat'leths to either corral the survivors, or, if necessary, to challenge the leaders thereof to single combat and make a show of force that the rest will be cowed by. Either way, the bat'leth, or honor sword, would still be used one way or another. Otherwise, they'd have no reason to train with them. And we've seen that they still train heavily with them.
Bat'leth bashing
- Thread starter Laura Cynthia Chambers
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Plus, all energy weapons run out of power sooner or later. Which is possibly why there's no lightsabre bat'leth.
Not necessarily so. I don't think anyone would ever accuse the Klingons of being logical like the Vulcans. The Klingons aren't the sharpest tools (pardon the pun) in the shed.
When the Klingons attempted to take over DS9, they essentially brought a knife to a gun fight. Maybe the thick ridges on their heads had impeded their ability to think right.
No, you are right: they may continue to make the same poor decision time after time. It would show in their combat performance. Indeed, the failure either to take the station or capture the Detapa Council might be directly attributable to the overuse of bat'leths. That continued use, though, does not make it a good weapon of war.
Hold a ten-pound bat'leth or a belt with additional power packs, which were shown to be light and small in Siege of AR-558? Hmm ...
They are going to let a heavy, sharp, unsheathable crescent of metal swing from their bodies as they fight, jabbing their ribs and lacerating their legs and arms.
So they are the billy clubs of the future. Indeed, any steel bar, large wooden dowel, or rock would be a good weapon against someone who is disarmed. Being able to be used so does not make it a good weapon of war.
You know what would make a better weapon? A mek'leth. Perhaps it can't be sheathed easily, but it doesn't have the problem of having another blade on the opposing side. Moreover, it can be more easily used like a traditional sword, held out in front of the body in order to prevent an opponent from coming in close. Being light, it probably can be used in numerous ways to get slashes and stabs. It might not match well against the longest blades, but if the enemy is carrying a traditional sidearm--something like a gladius--a mek'leth might perform reasonably well. The best part is that the user would not need to swing it wildly, which allows one's opponent to get a thrust into one's belly.
When I think about the bat'leth, I can't help but think of that combat scene inside DS9, when the Klingons tried to seize the station. The Klingon invaders materialized in the station armed for combat, not with disruptors, but with their bat'leth, front and center. It was so absurd. If they did bring their disruptors, it was in their holsters.
Not only was it a case of bringing a knife to a gun fight, that made the situation so ridiculous, but the bat'leth required the use of both hands to effectively utilize it.
As a practical matter, a Klingon couldn't efficiently use both a disruptor and bat'leth at the same time. In a close combat situation, you may need to have both the knife and gun at the ready. The bat'leth is too unwieldy of a weapon for modern combat.
Wouldn't it have made more sense for the Klingons to carry with them the kind of knife that was used in TSFS for hand to hand combat? That is the type of knife that was used by one of the Klingons to kill David.
There may still be a place for the bat'leth in the era of phasers and disruptors, that is hanging on a wall. Or it could be used for ceremonial rituals and occasions. Or maybe in a fencing event in the Klingon equivalent of the Olympics, if they have one.
But I guess the Klingons are too stubborn to retire the bat'leth from real combat.
Not only was it a case of bringing a knife to a gun fight, that made the situation so ridiculous, but the bat'leth required the use of both hands to effectively utilize it.
As a practical matter, a Klingon couldn't efficiently use both a disruptor and bat'leth at the same time. In a close combat situation, you may need to have both the knife and gun at the ready. The bat'leth is too unwieldy of a weapon for modern combat.
Wouldn't it have made more sense for the Klingons to carry with them the kind of knife that was used in TSFS for hand to hand combat? That is the type of knife that was used by one of the Klingons to kill David.
There may still be a place for the bat'leth in the era of phasers and disruptors, that is hanging on a wall. Or it could be used for ceremonial rituals and occasions. Or maybe in a fencing event in the Klingon equivalent of the Olympics, if they have one.
But I guess the Klingons are too stubborn to retire the bat'leth from real combat.
I just rewatched Blood Oath yesterday and noticed something that seemed relevant here. Dax's mention of 5.3 km and 116 cm wasn't a description of 'normal bat'leth parameters', it was her own personal specifications given to the computer (she was replicating one so she could fight). That level of specificity would seem to suggest that bat'leths maybe don't have any standard weight or length, so while Dax herself fighting with that heavy of a weapon may strain credibility, it doesn't necessarily say anything about other scenes where non-Klingons picked up random bat'leths.
Though Kang did praise her specifications as 'A warrior's configuration'. Perhaps that means any real self-respecting Klingon would use a 5kilo, 116cm bat'leth, or perhaps it means only great warriors are capable of handling them. Hard to tell.
Probably the most logical thing would've been to have disruptors and mek'leths at the ready. The dak'tagh knives are very small and don't seem like they'd be that great an asset in combat, except as a last resort. Mek'leths have reach, are large enough to block attacks, and I seem to recall Worf being able to throw one with accuracy, which would be very useful.
Did the Klingons have a sleeve/gauntlet blade too? Then they could swing the blade with their dominant arm and shoot with their weaker one. (Assuming they have a weaker arm.)
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Yet.
What color light would they choose?
Or maybe it's because they haven't figured out a way to make light stop at one meter of its source...
Yet.
Depends on which color Klingon blood they want it to look like. That pink stuff (which I still say looks like that because of radiation from Praxis), or the almost black red stuff we see on TNG.
Yeah, probably blood. Or a deep purple?
I did not know that existed. Possibly lilac? (That explains Worf's "aroma".) 
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