Talk:Shiv (weapon)

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what about shiv as a verb. to shiv somone? just wondering. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.135.1.91 (talk) 17:39, 15 April 2008 (UTC) - added photo Dylan Mather 22:25, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

"The character Richard B. Riddick in the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick coined the term "shiv-happy"." Is this line needed? -Drhaggis 01:14, 13 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I think it's a nice bit of trivia. Maybe put it under a Trivia heading? Though an article this short with a trivia heading would look strange...Drago 22:12, Apr 19, 2005 (UTC)

I say leave it, it's an interesting bit of info- anonymous

I agree, since the topic isn't that popular, it's nice, and educational to have this bit of info in Shiv (weapon). LebanonChild 15:40, 25 February 2006 (UTC)

"metal shank of a prison-issued boot" - I looked up shank in the dictionary (m-w) and found "the narrow part of the sole of a shoe beneath the instep". I'm still a little unclear about where or why there would be metal there (I assume for rigidity, but, that's just a guess). If anyone's got some info on that, making a page Shank (Sole) or Shank (Shoe) could be good.

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[edit] Not necessarily improvised

I checked some online sources (m-w.com, about.com, dictionary.com), and they support my understanding that "shiv" is slang for a knife. I agree that it is commonly used to refer to improvised weapons, but it does not mean the same thing as "shank," an improvised stabbing/cutting weapon. All shanks, that is, are shivs, but not all shivs are shanks.

I first came across the term "shiv" in the video game "Shamus," back in the early 1980's. I looked it up in a dictionary, the big paper kind, and it's a slang term for a knife, specifically a knife as a weapon. It's a Raymond Chandler/film-noir kind of word, like calling a gun a "heater."

http://www.videogamehouse.net/cartss.html#Shamus


[edit] Assassination?

The article originally said "Shanking is a popular prison assassination method." The term "assassination" usually refers to important people, especially leaders and other government officials. I changed the sentence to read "Many people have been killed by attackers using shanks while serving time in prison." I think this conveys the right idea.

Actually, "assassination" means murder for political reason. It doesn't matter how important the victim is ( to everyone but the assaliant - to whom the victim is obvsiouly very important ). DigitalEnthusiast 18:21, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
I agree with you."Moving in with the shiv" , "Shiv is closing on him" and such sentences have been used in the mini series "The Prison" 3part storyline in Batman:Shadow of the Bat" comics by DC;where the characters attributed with speaking/narrators are all criminals inside the prison where Batman goes in disguise of a new inmate to investigate a series of murders unaccountable for the suspects have the alibi of being inside the prison during the time the murders took place.Hence,"Killing" is more precise for "Shiv" used as a weapon by inmates of a prison.asydwaters 17:49, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] About the Chopper reference........

in the last paragraph the writer has mentioned chopper stabbing somebody to death in the movie, then wrote "Though it's debatable that this ever happened." well, it didn't happen. the man getting killed, Keith Faure A.K.A Keithy George is alive and kicking, in the past month he has been given a life sentence for carrying out a hit. just thought i'd clear that up —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.164.147.223 (talk • contribs)

This is the case, and there's even a wiki link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Faure which mentions it.

might I also add that Read has made reference in one book to the use of pliers. There's a couple of ways they coudl be used, but the one relevant to this section is that they were 'turned around' and likely with the rubber sleeve 'grips' removed or cut/retracted. Basically it was held by the jaw area of the pliers and became a double shiv of sorts

[edit] Drifting meaning of slangy pop-cultural terms

Look up "shiv" and "shank" in a dictionary (go ahead, I'll wait...) and you'll see that the words don't (originally) mean quite what Wikipedia currently says. They are slangy pop-culture terms to begin with, and it's certainly nothing to get worked up (or shivved, or shanked) about, but in any case, here is what the words were supposed to mean before they became such darlings of the modern pop-culture movie/TV prison show/gamer set:

Shiv means a knife as a weapon; it's a slang term. It could be anything you'd stab and/or cut somebody with; a stiletto, a dagger, a chef's knife, or, not ideally, a sharpened toothbrush.

Shank can mean a lot things; basically, it means something stiff and straight, like a shaft, a haft, or a stem. When it refers to a weapon, it is a slang term for an improvised knife; or for any improvised stabbing or slashing weapon. It usually refers to something that's been prepared or assembled painstakingly from unlikely materials, as opposed to, say, a shard of glass that happens to be handy after you get tossed into a mirror in a barfight. Watch your fingers! Yes, the idea is that the "original shank" was a sharpened shank from a prison-issue shoe or boot; but the meaning is more broad than this.

Contributors seem to think that shiv means "shank" and shank is a specific type of "shiv." It's important, I guess, for everyone to know what 95% of the people who use these terms mean by them, but it's noteworthy (apparently, but maybe only to me) to...note...that the dictionaries of the world say something else.

So...odds are that when you hear someone saying shiv, he means "shank"; remember that when you are walking into the public showers, if it's any comfort to you. And if a character from a Raymond Chandler short-story tells you to bring a shiv with you when you meet him in the alley, don't be surprised if he's dissapointed when you show up with something you fashioned out of a T-square and some duct tape.

[edit] Shank V. Shiv

Shiv is a knife, however according to

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Shank

A "shank" has nothing to do with the shiv, but its a leg, nothing about a knife

1. Anatomy. the part of the lower limb in humans between the knee and the ankle; leg. 2. a corresponding or analogous part in certain animals. 3. the lower limb in humans, including both the leg and the thigh. 4. a cut of meat from the top part of the front (foreshank) or back (hind shank) leg of an animal. 5. a narrow part of various devices, as a tool or bolt, connecting the end by which the object is held or moved with the end that acts upon another object. 6. a straight, usually narrow, shaftlike part of various objects connecting two more important or complex parts, as the stem of a pipe. 7. a knob, small projection, or end of a device for attaching to another object, as a small knob on the back of a solid button, or the end of a drill for gripping in a shaft. 8. the long, straight part of an anchor connecting the crown and the ring. 9. the straight part of a fishhook away from the bent part or prong. 10. Music. crook1 (def. 8). 11. Informal. a. the early part of a period of time: It was just the shank of the evening when the party began. b. the latter part of a period of time: They didn't get started until the shank of the morning. 12. the narrow part of the sole of a shoe, lying beneath the instep. 13. shankpiece. 14. Printing. the body of a type, between the shoulder and the foot. 15. Golf. a shot veering sharply to the right after being hit with the base of a club shaft. 16. the part of a phonograph stylus or needle on which the diamond or sapphire tip is mounted. 17. Jewelry. the part of a ring that surrounds the finger; hoop. –verb (used with object) 18. Golf. to hit (a golf ball) with the base of the shaft of a club just above the club head, causing the ball to go off sharply to the right. –verb (used without object) 19. Chiefly Scot. to travel on foot. Compare shanks' mare.

It does, however say

The part of a tool, such as a drill, that connects the functioning head to the handle.

Could be part of the blade? --Gen. S.T. Shrink *Get to the bunker* 23:40, 30 October 2007 (UTC)