Claw? Dull(dogs) or Sharp(talon like)

[Teh_DarkJokerWolf]

I'm sure there is a topic on Claws, but I don't think this was asked..

Would you prefer a werewolf with more dull like claws like I guess a dog or a wolf would have or do you like the werewolves with the talon like claws that you know if you got swiped across the gut ur intestines an everything else would pour out? I personally have always love the idea of talon claws, for any werecreature actually. I know a feline were would def have razor sharp claws..

Obviously the claws would ware down over time, but I have yet to see a werewolf draw with a werewolf with dull (worn) claws I could have missed this..correcting me if I'm wrong...

[chubhound]

Hmmmmm.... Good question. I would say (and this is going on the assumption that the werewolf in question can assume both a full wolf form and a hybrid/gestalt/crinos form) that in a full wolf form, their claws would be....well....wolflike (or dull). And in the hybrid/gestalt/crinos form, they would be sharp. Just my take on it anyway.

[ShadowFang]

Well, canine claws aren't nearly as sharp or as deadly as cat claws. They can do some damage but wolves won't use them as their primary attack. It's safe to say that wolf claws are generally dull.

Now, take a look at human "claws". Our claws (or nails) are very very thin and very brittle. If we tried to grow them out and attempt to seriously slash at someone we'll most likely break our nails. (note how women always complain about a broken nail) Human beings really have no use for their nails other than vanity reasons these days.

Now, take a hybrid of man and wolf. What do you think their claws would be like? Talon like? Razor sharp? Hardly. That's all Hollywood. A wolfman's claws would be blunt with very little use. They may serve for some minor digging and they may draw blood if they attacked someone. But to rip open a person's stomach to like a giant razorblade, that won't happen.

[KittyRose]

Hmm, this is something to think about.
Well, some people usually think of werewolves to have talon-like claws because that's how a werewolf is viewed in films and on tv. A characteristic like that gives them more of a vicious personality and it's more fitting for that monster persona the film tries to create.
As for dull claws, I don't see why not. You could see it as one of the "wolfish" characteristic a werewolf possesse. Than again, it could give the werewolf more of a tame personality or something along the lines of less monstrous.
That's just my opinion.

[Aki]

Well, canine claws aren't nearly as sharp or as deadly as cat claws. They can do some damage but wolves won't use them as their primary attack. It's safe to say that wolf claws are generally dull.

Now, take a look at human "claws". Our claws (or nails) are very very thin and very brittle. If we tried to grow them out and attempt to seriously slash at someone we'll most likely break our nails. (note how women always complain about a broken nail) Human beings really have no use for their nails other than vanity reasons these days.

Now, take a hybrid of man and wolf. What do you think their claws would be like? Talon like? Razor sharp? Hardly. That's all Hollywood. A wolfman's claws would be blunt with very little use. They may serve for some minor digging and they may draw blood if they attacked someone. But to rip open a person's stomach to like a giant razorblade, that won't happen.

Wolves don't use them to attack due to the fact their bodies aren't very flexible. A wolf's leg cannot be used to strike like that of a lion, tiger, etc. This, combined with the fact their jaws put out an adequate amount of force to do a lot more damage a lot quicker, well, it's a no brainer.

Dog/Wolf/etc. claws are generally dull do to being trob upon, wearing themselves out on the ground, where the talons of avian, and retractable claws of felines are kept sharp by being kept out of contact with the ground.

I belief a werewolf would have rather sharp claws immediatly after shift, as they are newly formed, and their sharpness after the fact would depend on the werewolf's actions. Running about on all fours will damage them, but if they stay upright, the claws will stay sharp and with heightened strength a werewolf won't have too much trouble cutting people open.

[Ansuru]

Canine nails generally function as an aid in traction...kind of like how a human might dig his toes into the sand to change direction suddenly during a game of beach volleyball.


Human fingernails (at least on the thumb and primary fingers) do have a purpose beyond vanity (honestly, long nails are dumb and unattractive imo). Trim/file your nails ultra short, well back from the surface, then try to pick up a dime from a tabletop without sliding it to the edge to get something under it. Fingernails = aid to finer grasping ability. They can also function as crude tweezers (where do you think we got the idea for forceps?)

Toenails...not so much.

[Terastas]

Human nails are dull, and wolf claws are dull. I therefore see no real reason why a werewolf would suddenly develop talons in mid transformation.

Personally, I was never a big fan of werewolves having claws capable of splitting someone open with just one swipe. If you check back on the Cliches thread, a handful of werewolf cliches have their origins in the werewolf talon.

[ShadowFang]

Human nails are dull, and wolf claws are dull. I therefore see no real reason why a werewolf would suddenly develop talons in mid transformation.

Personally, I was never a big fan of werewolves having claws capable of splitting someone open with just one swipe. If you check back on the Cliches thread, a handful of werewolf cliches have their origins in the werewolf talon.

Exactly my point. Hollywood just adds the talons in there for dramatization.

[JoshuaMadoc]

Wouldn't werewolves just use nail files if the claws they grow become too sharp anyway? I can't imagine them not realizing for years and years on end that stuff they touch with their fingertips has more holes than a beehive because of how sharp it is.

[RedEye]

Let's assume that Were's had human-like claws; as in thicker and tougher than human, rather than rounded like canid claws.
These claws could be filed to a "point" and possibly even sharpened to a degree.
As weapons, they could be used in a sideways slash, which doesn't require a lot of flexiblity; or in a raking attack, ripping skin and drawing blood. Humans can already do both of these things, and if the nails were heavier and stronger (Wulfen) they could do quite a bit of damage. Filing them to a point would increase this damage potential quite a bit.
Then, if the Wulf either licked or spat on their claws before or during the attack, they could introduce the Viroid into their target's system...perhaps enough to initiate Crossing.
Just a thought...

[Rhuen]

If you just thicken the human fingernail by a mere 20% then they become razersharp blades that can strip flesh very nicely (just look at a chimp's fingernails or other primates that still have strong fingernails for climbing).
Combine primate fingernails with wolf claws on a grasping hand that is not used for tread in the ground and what you get would somewhat resemble talons (short talons).

Canine claws are designed for tread, which means while they may not be razer sharp killing blades like a cat's or the piercing daggers of a Raptor (bird of prey just to clarify) they are still sharp and strong enough to stab into dirt and help propel the animal forward with out massive breaking.

So for a primate canine mix, strong claws crossed with the primitive cutting edge of primate fingernails equals talons pretty much. Especially if they are newly grown.

Design moves to function, and grasping hands of a predator need sharp claws.
The feet I could see being more wolf like, but that is still very sharp, as anyone who has had a canine whose claws having not been trimmed jump on them can testify.

[Silverclaw]

The claws wouldnt be worn down to blunted edges if they just grew. So they could still be quite sharp. Not that I think werewolves should have something like 10 inch talons that can tear through metal like butter But I do think a ww in gestalt form would use claws as a weapon when fighting/hunting.
The claws on their feet would be more dull, as they walk on their hind legs primarily in gestalt form.

I basically agree with Rhuen.

[wolfsangel]

well, my 2 dogs can draw blood and their nails are always being trimmed to a dull edge. with the whole razor cutting someone open bit, i dont know if he could pull a Lecter on them, but it would brong a fair amount of pain and blood
but thats my 2cents about it.

[Aki]

Human nails are dull, and wolf claws are dull. I therefore see no real reason why a werewolf would suddenly develop talons in mid transformation.

Personally, I was never a big fan of werewolves having claws capable of splitting someone open with just one swipe. If you check back on the Cliches thread, a handful of werewolf cliches have their origins in the werewolf talon.

Even a dull claw, backed by alot of force can do some serious damage. But considering that a bipedal were won't be walking on his claws, they're liable to be pretty sharp. Not sharp like a cat's claws, but more than enough to tear open skin.

And, even if that weren't true, I'd still prefer a werewolf who gains sharp claws he shouldn't have over a more realistic one that has to resort to blunt-force blows for fighting - effectively still fighting like a human despite being a big wolf-thing.

[RedEye]

Look: I'm fifty-nine years of age and have "Old Man Toenails"-aka thick, heavy, hard and dull gray in color due to the televised "Dermatophyte" Infection...and I'm reactive to the medicine that can cure the situation.

Why the "Confession"?. Because I can put a very sharp edge on my toenails-or Foot Claws and really do some damage with them!
I have to cut them with Wire-cutters, and use a metal file on them to shape them, and even then, getting four wearings out of a pair of socks is unusual. My feet eat socks!

I let my toe-claws grow enough to point them and edge them and I can gouge plaster out of the walls, scrape deep gouges into pine 2X4's and no doubt could inflict some real damage on someone, should I use them as weapons.

Now, If one human can do this with their nails, imagine what a Werewolf could do with deliberately evolved claws-not thick toenails. I suspect that a Werewolf would have flat-wide human type claws, not the rounded claws you find on canines-simply because it takes less energy to make them that way as opposed to re-shaping the nailbed to form canine claws.
Plus: the flat-wide structure can be pointed (like I've done) and sharpened naturally by growth as opposed to files and wirecutters ( and the occasional Dremel). Additionally- these claws would be bedded far more strongly than canine claws, and thus more capable of doing some real damage.

Human nails (claws, actually-since they're the same stuff, just differently shaped) naturally grow to rounded points and are capable of keeping a cutting edge all on their own. So why would a Werewolf waste energy as they shift remaking their nails, unless there is energy to spare (curse-divinity-or magic) for the task? Seems to me that they'd save that for extra muscles between their ears or longer teeth.

Anyway, that's my two-bit's worth...

[Silverclaw]

Look: I'm fifty-nine years of age and have "Old Man Toenails"-aka thick, heavy, hard and dull gray in color due to the televised "Dermatophyte" Infection...and I'm reactive to the medicine that can cure the situation.

Why the "Confession"?. Because I can put a very sharp edge on my toenails-or Foot Claws and really do some damage with them!
I have to cut them with Wire-cutters, and use a metal file on them to shape them, and even then, getting four wearings out of a pair of socks is unusual. My feet eat socks!

Dude...thats way more than I wanted to know lol

[Wolf22]

I'd have to agree with Aki, if the werewolf is on two feet then the claws on the feet would be dull while the claws on the hands would be able to be sharp.

[outwarddoodles]

Being the claw regrows after every shift, I'd assume they're be sharp.

[vrikasatma]

I tend to waffle back and forth between two physiological configurations when I draw my werewolves.

One is with sharp paw (hand) talons and toe claws that are somewhere between deer hooves and badger claws in sharpness, with razor sharp dewclaws. Not quite velociraptor sharp, but definitely cougar sharp. The paws are five digits, thumb and four fingers. The feet are four-toed with a dewclaw that hangs down and folds back a little, started slightly above the fetlock. This is the toggling of the big toe, and since the big toe can easily flex upward the werewolf can tap the top of the sharp dewclaw on the ground as he's walking. Very creepy and intimidating, a sort of werewolf swashbuckling. Werewolf is stalking towards you, getting ready to rip you up, snarling; then you hear above the "clack-clack" of his toe-claws, a sharp and quicker "click-click-click." Freak out!

The other has forepaws that have three shortened fingers, one thumb that used to be the index finger, and a very vestigial dewclaw that used to be the humanoid thumb that "moved up." It didn't really, but the thumb shortened, the metacarpals lengthened into a fetlock and the wrist became kind of kneelike. So the thumb shortened but the nail lengthened into a <i>nasty</i>, raptor-like dewclaw, kind of like what you see on a cheetah. The claws of the index-thumb and digits are slightly blunted which allows the werewolf to manipulate things easier, while still having an on-deck slashing knife to rip flesh with.

I figure, why not? Werewolves are noble but they're also monsters. Give 'em a couple points where they can <i>be</i> monsters and throw some "freaky-deeky" in there.

[23Jarden]

The feet I could see being more wolf like, but that is still very sharp, as anyone who has had a canine whose claws having not been trimmed jump on them can testify.

My Nada drew blood on me one day. I clipped her claws that very same day.

[punxnotdead]

I believe the forepaws should be five digit fingers, nearly as long and efficent, but padded as well. The feet are comprised of four toes and a fifth toe placed somewhat higher than the first four. As for the claws, just because it looks good, I perfer the long sharp curved talons.

[Scott Gardener]

I think the "razor sharp talons" make more sense on a werecat than a werewolf. I think the claws should be relatively dull--still sharp enough that with a fast swipe, one could still draw blood. But, the teeth should be the main selling point.

[Xiroteus]

More dull than sharp.