Shiv (weapon)

This article is about the knife-like weapon. For the location in Magic: The Gathering, see Dominaria.

File:Prisonshiv.jpg

A prison shiv christened the "Throat cutter"

A shiv (from the Romani word chiv) is a slang term for a sharp or pointed implement used as an improvised knife-like weapon. The shiv is the favored weapon of inmates in prisons across the world. It is infamous for its versatility - a shiv can be anything from a glass shard with cloth wrapped around one end to form a handle, to a razorblade stuck in the end of a toothbrush, to a sharpened spoon. Some inmates have even sharpened the ends of pork chop bones to make them into weapons.

A related term is shank. While the words are often used interchangeably, shank can specifically refer to a weapon fashioned from the metal shank of a prison-issued boot or shoe. Since inmates were able to fashion effective shivs out of metal shanks, many prisons no longer issue footwear with metal shanks. Another related term is the Scottish slang word, chib. To chib is to stab or slash with a sharp weapon. The weapon can also be called a chib, as noted in the Irvine Welsh novel Trainspotting.

Popular culture

• In Truman Capote's nonfiction novel In Cold Blood, Dick Hickock fashioned a shiv out of a toilet brush while imprisoned in the hopes of stabbing the undersheriff and escaping to Colorado. However, it was soon discovered under his mattress and confiscated.

• The character Riddick in the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick coined the term "shiv-happy". Shivs are a frequently used form of weapon in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay

• In the 2000 movie Chopper, based on the life of famed Australian criminal and best-selling author Mark Brandon Read, the legendary crime figure stabs a fellow inmate (a character based on Keith Faure), killing him. It is unclear whether or not this actually took place as portrayed on screen.

• In the 2005/2006 Television show Prison Break shivs make various appearances throughout. In the HBO series Oz, shivs are used frequently to commit murders, attack inmates, or for other uses.

• In the final episode of the series Seinfeld, Jerry is doing a stand-up routine in prison and makes the joke "I mean when I was a kid my mother wanted me to play in the yard. But of course she didn't have to worry about my next door neighbor Tommy sticking a shiv in my thigh."

• The Daily Show made light of the Cynthia McKinney's assault of a Capitol Policeman, part of which involved her throwing a cellphone at an officer, by saying that she was just showing off her new phone: The SHIV, by Motorola, in parody of the RAZR which was new at the time.

• In episode two of season three of the American TV show My Name Is Earl Earl creates a shiv for another inmate, only to be stabbed by the person he gives it to.

External links

• Dangerous Beauty: The Art of the Shiv Photos of 11 shivs.