diff --git a/docs/src/api/clifford.md b/docs/src/api/clifford.md
index e905ccd..f89c405 100644
--- a/docs/src/api/clifford.md
+++ b/docs/src/api/clifford.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 ```@docs
 CliffordNumbers.AbstractCliffordNumber
+CliffordNumbers.nblades
 CliffordNumbers.scalar_type
 CliffordNumbers.similar_type
 ```
diff --git a/src/CliffordNumbers.jl b/src/CliffordNumbers.jl
index 75cbd96..7226608 100644
--- a/src/CliffordNumbers.jl
+++ b/src/CliffordNumbers.jl
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export VGA2D, VGA3D, PGA2D, PGA3D, CGA2D, CGA3D, STA, STAEast, STAWest, STAP, ST
 # Abstract supertype for all Clifford numbers
 include("abstract.jl")
 export AbstractCliffordNumber
-export signature, scalar_type
+export nblades, signature, scalar_type
 # Working with the grades represented by an AbstractCliffordNumber subtype
 include("grades.jl")
 export nonzero_grades, has_grades_of
diff --git a/src/abstract.jl b/src/abstract.jl
index 2290ed2..8fa2e09 100644
--- a/src/abstract.jl
+++ b/src/abstract.jl
@@ -3,22 +3,21 @@
     AbstractCliffordNumber{Q,T} <: Number
 
 An element of a Clifford algebra, often referred to as a multivector, with quadratic form `Q` and
-element type `T`.
+element type `T`. These are statically size and therefore should be able to be stored inline in
+arrays or other data structures,
 
 # Interface
 
 ## Required implementation
 
 All subtypes `C` of `AbstractCliffordNumber{Q}` must implement the following functions:
-  * `Base.length(x::C)` should return the number of nonzero basis elements represented by `x`.
   * `CliffordNumbers.similar_type(::Type{C}, ::Type{T}, ::Type{Q}) where {C,T,Q}` should construct a
 new type similar to `C` which subtypes `AbstractCliffordNumber{Q,T}` that may serve as a
 constructor.
   * `Base.getindex(x::C, b::BitIndex{Q})` should allow one to recover the coefficients associated
 with each basis blade represented by `C`.
-
-## Required implementation for static types
-  * `Base.length(::Type{C})` should be defined, with `Base.length(x::C) = length(typeof(x))`.
+  * `nblades(::Type{C})` should be defined to return the number of basis blades represented by the
+type. By default, `nblades(x::AbstractCliffordNumber) = nblades(typeof(x))`.
   * `Base.Tuple(x::C)` should return the tuple used to construct `x`. The fallback is
 `getfield(x, :data)::Tuple`, so any type declared with a `NTuple` field named `data` should have
 this defined automatically.
@@ -30,6 +29,21 @@ end
 
 (::Type{T})(x::Vararg{BaseNumber}) where {Q,T<:AbstractCliffordNumber{Q}} = T(x)
 
+#---Number of blades-------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
+"""
+    nblades(::Type{<:Number}) -> Int
+    nblades(x::Number)
+
+Returns the number of blades represented by a `Number` subtype or instance. For subtypes of `Number`
+that are not `AbstractCliffordNumber`, this is always 1.
+
+This function is separate from `Base.length` since `AbstractCliffordNumber` is a scalar type for
+which `collect()` returns a zero-dimensional array. For consistency, `length(x)` should always equal
+`length(collect(x))`.
+"""
+nblades(::Type{<:Number}) = 1
+nblades(x::Number) = nblades(typeof(x))
+
 #---Get type parameters----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 """
     signature(T::Type{<:AbstractCliffordNumber{Q}}) = Q
@@ -76,13 +90,13 @@ zero_tuple(::Type{T}, ::Val{L}) where {T,L} = ntuple(Returns(zero(T)), Val(L))
 
 """
     CliffordNumbers.zero_tuple(::Type{C<:AbstractCliffordNumber})
-        -> NTuple{length(C),scalar_type(C)}
+        -> NTuple{nblades(C),scalar_type(C)}
 
 Generates a `Tuple` that can be used to construct `zero(C)`.
 """
-zero_tuple(::Type{C}) where C<:AbstractCliffordNumber = zero_tuple(scalar_type(C), Val(length(C)))
+zero_tuple(::Type{C}) where C<:AbstractCliffordNumber = zero_tuple(scalar_type(C), Val(nblades(C)))
 
-zero(::Type{C}) where C<:AbstractCliffordNumber = C(zero_tuple(Bool, Val(length(C))))
+zero(::Type{C}) where C<:AbstractCliffordNumber = C(zero_tuple(Bool, Val(nblades(C))))
 zero(x::AbstractCliffordNumber) = zero(typeof(x))
 
 # The default defintion assumes oneunit(T) = T(one(x))
@@ -193,11 +207,11 @@ short_typename(::Type{C}) where C<:AbstractCliffordNumber = C
 short_typename(x::AbstractCliffordNumber) = short_typename(typeof(x))
 
 function show(io::IO, x::AbstractCliffordNumber)
-    print(io, short_typename(x), (isone(length(x)) ? string('(', only(Tuple(x)), ')') : Tuple(x)))
+    print(io, short_typename(x), (isone(nblades(x)) ? string('(', only(Tuple(x)), ')') : Tuple(x)))
 end
 
 function summary(io::IO, x::AbstractCliffordNumber)
-    println(io, length(x), "-element ", short_typename(x), ":")
+    println(io, nblades(x), "-element ", short_typename(x), ":")
 end
 
 #---Algebra mismatch errors------------------------------------------------------------------------#
diff --git a/src/bitindices.jl b/src/bitindices.jl
index 09ce6ad..2496fac 100644
--- a/src/bitindices.jl
+++ b/src/bitindices.jl
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ by `C`.
 abstract type AbstractBitIndices{Q,C<:AbstractCliffordNumber{Q}} <: AbstractVector{BitIndex{Q}}
 end
 
-size(::Type{<:AbstractBitIndices{Q,C}}) where {Q,C} = tuple(length(C))
+size(::Type{<:AbstractBitIndices{Q,C}}) where {Q,C} = tuple(nblades(C))
 size(b::AbstractBitIndices) = size(typeof(b))
 
-length(::Type{<:AbstractBitIndices{Q,C}}) where {Q,C} = length(C)
+length(::Type{<:AbstractBitIndices{Q,C}}) where {Q,C} = nblades(C)
 length(::T) where T<:AbstractBitIndices = length(T)
 
 # Conversion to tuple
diff --git a/src/cliffordnumber.jl b/src/cliffordnumber.jl
index 0f865da..5fc87be 100644
--- a/src/cliffordnumber.jl
+++ b/src/cliffordnumber.jl
@@ -27,13 +27,11 @@ CliffordNumber{Q}(x::Tuple{Vararg{T}}) where {Q,T<:BaseNumber} = CliffordNumber{
 CliffordNumber{Q}(x::Tuple{Vararg{BaseNumber}}) where Q = CliffordNumber{Q}(promote(x...))
 
 # Convert real/complex numbers to CliffordNumber
-(::Type{T})(x::BaseNumber) where T<:CliffordNumber = T(ntuple(i -> x*isone(i), Val(length(T))))
+(::Type{T})(x::BaseNumber) where T<:CliffordNumber = T(ntuple(i -> x*isone(i), Val(nblades(T))))
 
 #---Number of elements-----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
-length(::Type{<:CliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = blade_count(Q)
-length(m::CliffordNumber) = length(typeof(m))
-
+nblades(::Type{<:CliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = blade_count(Q)
 nonzero_grades(::Type{<:CliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = 0:dimension(Q)
 
 #---Default BitIndices construction should include all possible BitIndex objects-------------------#
@@ -54,7 +52,7 @@ end
 
 #---Multiplicative identity------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
-one(C::Type{<:CliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = C(ntuple(isone, Val(length(C))))
+one(C::Type{<:CliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = C(ntuple(isone, Val(nblades(C))))
 
 #---Similar types----------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
diff --git a/src/even.jl b/src/even.jl
index 8e18845..21afde3 100644
--- a/src/even.jl
+++ b/src/even.jl
@@ -55,13 +55,11 @@ function Z2CliffordNumber{P,Q}(x::Tuple{Vararg{BaseNumber}}) where {P,Q}
 end
 
 # Convert real/complex numbers to CliffordNumber
-(::Type{T})(x::BaseNumber) where {T<:Z2CliffordNumber} = T(ntuple(i -> x*isone(i), Val(length(T))))
+(::Type{T})(x::BaseNumber) where {T<:Z2CliffordNumber} = T(ntuple(i -> x*isone(i), Val(nblades(T))))
 
 #---Number of elements-----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
-length(::Type{<:Z2CliffordNumber{P,Q}}) where {P,Q} = div(blade_count(Q), 2)
-length(x::Z2CliffordNumber) = length(typeof(x))
-
+nblades(::Type{<:Z2CliffordNumber{P,Q}}) where {P,Q} = div(blade_count(Q), 2)
 nonzero_grades(::Type{<:Z2CliffordNumber{P,Q}}) where {P,Q} = P:2:dimension(Q)
 
 #---Indexing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
@@ -83,7 +81,7 @@ end
 
 #---Multiplicative identity------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
-one(C::Type{<:EvenCliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = C(ntuple(isone, Val(length(C))))
+one(C::Type{<:EvenCliffordNumber{Q}}) where Q = C(ntuple(isone, Val(nblades(C))))
 
 #---Similar types----------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
diff --git a/src/kvector.jl b/src/kvector.jl
index 8917ff0..d7fba94 100644
--- a/src/kvector.jl
+++ b/src/kvector.jl
@@ -25,9 +25,7 @@ KVector{K,Q}(x::Tuple{Vararg{BaseNumber}}) where {K,Q} = KVector{K,Q}(promote(x.
 
 #---Number of elements-----------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
-length(::Type{KVector{K,Q,T,L}}) where {K,Q,T,L} = L
-length(::Type{<:KVector{K,Q}}) where {K,Q} = binomial(dimension(Q), K)
-length(x::KVector) = length(typeof(x))
+nblades(::Type{<:KVector{K,Q}}) where {K,Q} = binomial(dimension(Q), K)
 
 #---Indexing---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#
 
@@ -52,7 +50,7 @@ end
 @inline function to_index(C::Type{<:KVector{K,Q}}, b::BitIndex{Q}) where {K,Q}
     # Default to 1 as a valid index for any KVector instance
     i = 1
-    for n in 1:length(C)
+    for n in 1:nblades(C)
         is_same_blade(b, (@inbounds BitIndices(C)[n])) && (i = n)
     end
     return i
diff --git a/src/math.jl b/src/math.jl
index 0608881..9e511e0 100644
--- a/src/math.jl
+++ b/src/math.jl
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ conj(x::T) where T<:KVector = T(x.data .* Int8(-1)^!iszero((grade(x) + 1) & 2))
 function +(x::AbstractCliffordNumber, y::BaseNumber)
     T = promote_type(typeof(x), typeof(y))
     b = BitIndices(T)
-    data = ntuple(i -> x[b[i]] + (iszero(grade(b[i])) * y), Val(length(T)))
+    data = ntuple(i -> x[b[i]] + (iszero(grade(b[i])) * y), Val(nblades(T)))
     return T(data)
 end
 
@@ -112,14 +112,14 @@ end
 function -(x::AbstractCliffordNumber, y::BaseNumber)
     T = promote_type(typeof(x), typeof(y))
     b = BitIndices(T)
-    data = ntuple(i -> x[b[i]] - (iszero(grade(b[i])) * y), Val(length(T)))
+    data = ntuple(i -> x[b[i]] - (iszero(grade(b[i])) * y), Val(nblades(T)))
     return T(data)
 end
 
 function -(x::BaseNumber, y::AbstractCliffordNumber)
     T = promote_type(typeof(x), typeof(y))
     b = BitIndices(T)
-    data = ntuple(i -> (iszero(grade(b[i])) * x) - y[b[i]], Val(length(T)))
+    data = ntuple(i -> (iszero(grade(b[i])) * x) - y[b[i]], Val(nblades(T)))
     return T(data)
 end
 
diff --git a/src/multiply.jl b/src/multiply.jl
index f037274..1bfe900 100644
--- a/src/multiply.jl
+++ b/src/multiply.jl
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ kernel just returns the geometric product.
         x_mask = mul_mask(F(), a, inds)
         # Filter out indexing operations that automatically go to zero
         # This must be done manually since we want to work directly with tuples
-        y_mask = map(in, grade.(inds), ntuple(Returns(nonzero_grades(y)), Val(length(C))))
+        y_mask = map(in, grade.(inds), ntuple(Returns(nonzero_grades(y)), Val(nblades(C))))
         # Don't append operations that won't actually do anything
         if any(x_mask) && any(y_mask)
             # Resolve BitIndex to an integer here to avoid having to call Base.to_index at runtime
diff --git a/test/indexing.jl b/test/indexing.jl
index 2718bae..85699f9 100644
--- a/test/indexing.jl
+++ b/test/indexing.jl
@@ -123,10 +123,10 @@ end
 end
 
 @testset "Type lengths" begin
-    @test length(KVector{2,STA}) === length(KVector{2,STA,Int,6})
-    @test length(zero(KVector{2,STA})) === length(KVector{2,STA,Int,6})
-    @test length(CliffordNumber{STA}) === length(CliffordNumber{STA,Int,16})
-    @test length(zero(CliffordNumber{STA})) === length(CliffordNumber{STA,Int,16})
-    @test length(EvenCliffordNumber{STA}) === length(EvenCliffordNumber{STA,Int,8})
-    @test length(zero(EvenCliffordNumber{STA})) === length(EvenCliffordNumber{STA,Int,8})
+    @test nblades(KVector{2,STA}) === nblades(KVector{2,STA,Int,6})
+    @test nblades(zero(KVector{2,STA})) === nblades(KVector{2,STA,Int,6})
+    @test nblades(CliffordNumber{STA}) === nblades(CliffordNumber{STA,Int,16})
+    @test nblades(zero(CliffordNumber{STA})) === nblades(CliffordNumber{STA,Int,16})
+    @test nblades(EvenCliffordNumber{STA}) === nblades(EvenCliffordNumber{STA,Int,8})
+    @test nblades(zero(EvenCliffordNumber{STA})) === nblades(EvenCliffordNumber{STA,Int,8})
 end