Shiv (weapon)

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This article is about the knife-like weapon. For the Hindu God, see Shiva.

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 globe. It is famous 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 used interchangeably, the difference is that a shank is a type of shiv that is fashioned from the metal shank of a prison-issued boot or shoe. Since inmates were able to fashion effective shivs out of metal shanks, most (if not all) prisons no longer issue footwear with metal shanks. Shank is sometimes also used as a verb, meaning "To stab someone, usually with a shiv, multiple times in a quick succession." Many people have been killed by attackers using shanks while serving time in prison.

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.

The character Richard B. Riddick in the films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick coined the term "shiv-happy".

Also in fiction, the many novels based on the Star Wars films mention the use of "vibroshivs", bladed weapons that do additional damage due to vibrations powered by an internal energy source.

In the 2000 movie "Chopper", based on the life of famed Australian serial killer and best-selling author Mark Brandon Read, the legendary crime figure "shivs" a fellow inmate, killing him. Though it's debatable that this ever happened as Chopper himself says "Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn".