Shiv (weapon)

A shiv confiscated in a South African prison.

Shivs hidden in a book, Hong Kong.

Shiv (possibly from the Romani word chivomengro, "knife"^[1]), also chiv, is a slang term for any sharp or pointed implement used as a knife-like weapon. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests shive, a razor, documented in 1915, as the root word.^[2] In the 1920s, "shiv" was also a common slang term for a bladed weapon, mostly a knife.^[3] In the United States, an improvised prison knife is also often called a shank.

Usage

The word in practical usage is frequently used when referring to an improvised bladed weapon. Shivs are commonly made by inmates in prisons across the world. A shiv can be anything from a glass shard with fabric wrapped around one end to form a handle, to a razor blade stuck in the end of a toothbrush. Synonyms include shank,^[4] chiv, and chib^[5]^[6] (from Scottish slang, as exemplified in the novel Trainspotting). These terms, along with "shiv", can be used either as a noun or a transitive verb, referring to the weapon or the act of attacking with such a weapon respectively.

In the 1950s, British criminal Billy Hill described his use of the shiv:

"I was always careful to draw my knife down on the face, never across or upwards. Always down. So that if the knife slips you don't cut an artery. After all, chivving is chivving, but cutting an artery is usually murder. Only mugs do murder."^[7]

References

↑ Johns Hopkins University; JSTOR (Organization) (1934). Modern Language Notes. 49. Johns Hopkins Press. p. 99. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
↑ Oxford English Dictionary (Second edition), 1989; online version December 2011. shiv, n. Retrieved on 2012-01-30 from http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/178342.
↑ "Slang of the 1920". Local.aaca.org. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
↑ Rader, Walter (2011). Definition of shank. Online Slang Dictionary, Retrieved on 2012-11-26 from http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/shank.
↑ "Dictionary of the Scots Language :: SND :: Chib n". Dsl.ac.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
↑ "Dictionary of the Scots Language :: SND :: Chib n., v". Dsl.ac.uk. 2003-08-23. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
↑ Campbell, Duncan (2008-07-30). "When crime grabbed the limelight". The Guardian, 30 July 2008. Retrieved on 2012-01-29 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jul/30/biography.billyhill.

External links

Look up shiv or shank in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Knives and daggers

List of daggers List of blade materials

Types of knives	Aircrew Survival Egress Knife Athame Balisong/Butterfly Ballistic Ballpoint pen knife Bayonet Boline Bolo Boning Boot knife Bowie Bread knife Cane knife Cheese knife Chef's knife Cleaver Clip point Combat knife Commander Corvo CQC-6 Deba bōchō Diving knife Drop point Electric knife Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife Gerber Mark II Ginsu Grapefruit knife Gravity knife Gunong Hunting knife Jacob's ladder Karambit Kīla Kirpan Kitchen knife Kukri Laguiole knife Machete Mandau Mezzaluna Misericorde Mora knife Multi-tool Nakiri bōchō Navaja Neck knife Nontron knife Opinel knife Palette knife Pantographic knife Parang Penknife Penny knife Pocket knife Putty knife Puukko Rampuri Resolza Sabatier Sami knife Santoku SARK Scalpel Seax Sgian dubh Sharpfinger Shiv Sliding knife Smatchet SOG Knife Straight razor Strider SMF Survival knife Swiss Army knife Switchblade Taping knife Throwing knife Tomato knife Trench knife Tumi Ulu Utility knife Warrior knife X-Acto Yanagi ba Yatagan

Types of daggers	Anelace Applegate–Fairbairn fighting knife Arkansas toothpick BC-41 Bagh naka Baselard Bichuwa Bollock dagger Cinquedea Dirk Ear dagger Emeici Facón French Nail Hachiwara Hunting dagger Janbiya Kaiken Kalis Kard Katar Khanjali Khanjar Kris Mark I trench knife Ocean Edge Knife Parrying dagger Poignard Push dagger Rondel dagger Seme Shobo Sica Stiletto Tantō Marine Raider stiletto V-42 stiletto Yarará Parachute Knife Yoroidōshi

Knife manufacturers	Aitor Al Mar Knives American Tomahawk Company Bear MCG Benchmade Böker Buck Knives Caber Camillus Cutlery Company Cattaraugus Cutlery Company Chris Reeve Knives Cold Steel Columbia River Knife & Tool Cuisinart Cutco Cutlery DOVO Solingen Dexter-Russell Dirte Knives Eikhorn Ek Commando Knife Co. Emerson Knives Erizo F. Dick Fällkniven FAMAE Fiskars Füritechnics Gerber Legendary Blades Global Golok Hanwei Imperial Schrade J. A. Henckels Ka-Bar Kershaw Knives KitchenAid Korin Japanese Trading Company Kyocera Leatherman Mad Dog Knives MercWorx Microtech Knives Morseth Murphy Knives Ontario Knife Company Opinel Pro-Tech Knives Randall Made Knives Ranz Rigid Knives Rösle SOG Specialty Knives Sabatier Aîné & Perrier Spyderco Strider Knives Survival Aids TEKNA Thiers Issard Tramontina Victorinox Vox Knives W. R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co. Walther arms Wenger Western Knife Company Wilkinson Sword Windlass Steelcrafts Wüsthof Yarara Ltd

Knifemakers	A.G. Russell American Bladesmith Society Rex Applegate James Black Blackie Collins John Nelson Cooper Ernest Emerson Jerry Fisk Phill Hartsfield Bill Harsey Jr. Gil Hibben Knifemakers' Guild Zanjan Knifemakers Jimmy Lile Bob Loveless Bob Lum William F. Moran Ken Onion Ralph Osterhout Bo Randall Chris Reeve Jody Samson William Scagel Mike Snody Robert Terzuola Michael Walker Buster Warenski Daniel Winkler

Book:Knives and daggers Category:Knives / Daggers

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.