User:The C of E/bat

The Bat'leth is a ceremonial longsword, designed by martial arts enthusiast and Star Trek: The Next Generation effects producer Dan Curry. It is mainly used in Star Trek canon by the Klingons. The bat'leth is a curved blade with spiked protrusions and handholds along the middle of the blade's back and is approximately 5 foot long. In battle, the handholds are used to twirl and spin the blade rapidly.

Canon History
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 by the invading Hur'q. The name bat'leth itself means "Sword of Honour" in the Klingon language.

Outside Star Trek
A replica bat'leth was among the blades surrendered to British police as part of the 2006 knife amnesty. Another bat'leth was also seized in 2009 in Accrington, Lancashire, England. A "replica bat'leth" was used in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in two 7-Eleven armed-robberies in 2009. This sword is sometimes reported by the media to be a double-pointed Klingon crescent-shaped sword or a double-pointed scimitar.

Legality
In the United Kingdom, bat'leths are not illegal to possess however they are liable to be seized if they are considered to be "potential evidence of a criminal lifestyle"

Due to the way that the definition of weapons are worded in their respective laws, Bat'leths are illegal to carry in Latvia