People generally get uncomfortable when topics involve the study of violence. Violence has been an unfortunately necessary part of human history. It shapes how the world works and was once a heavily studied subject.
Many times violence’s basic tactics transfer over to the rest of the world. Today we’re going to be working with methodologies or mindsets of the shiv.
What caused me to want to talk about this methodology today? Well I’ve been playing a game called Mad Max and one of the weapons available to you is a shiv.
Now in the game this initially takes the visual form of a large knife, similar to a bowie knife or seax. However it can only be used once, so you have to keep getting shivs in order to use them.
This confused me a bit until I looked past the initial visuals of the weapon and started thinking about what it actually was.
Shivs take up an interesting place on the list of weapons. Now shivs are a type of weapon, sometimes confused with shanks. But the term shank can apply to shivs all the way up to high end knives and creates a different mental picture than the term shiv.
Shivs are improvised weapons that are not spur of the moment. They are manufactured in adverse conditions, particularly prison. They are generally point driven designs. This means they are designed with stabbing in mind. They might have an edge to help with slashing or piercing, but they are generally going to have a point.
Each shiv is different. sometimes they are modified implements like a broken pair of scissors or even straight razors. Others may feature a razor blade, a hand ground piece of metal, wood, plastic, or any other rigid material that will hold a point/edge.
Because of the manner of their manufacture they are not going to be as sturdy as a production knife or even a cheap kitchen knife. This means that shivs are generally “In/out” in their uses. There’s no fancy twists or cuts out. This could break the shiv and prevent them from delivering multiple blows (which are common).
The other option is to leave the shiv in the opponent. This seems to be the method employed in Mad Max. It’s unclear if there are any blacksmiths or bladesmiths in the area, so most knives are going to be scrap metal with an edge. It’s probably no going to be tempered so it might end up bending, chipping, or fracturing. This obviously can make the shiv unusable after it’s broken severely.
But how does this help us with our day to day lives and our work? It reminds us that no matter what we have the raw material to make tools to help us even in the most austere environments.
A little ingenuity, some creativity, and we can make what we need to get by. They absolutely aren’t as good as a properly made tool, but you will still have a tool. Sometimes we’re denied access to our normal resources. However we always have our mind or brain with us. That’s why I try to develop my mental tools. The tools I have in my head can help me make tools out in the real world and how to most effectively use them.
Have you ever had to make a new tool because you couldn’t find the ones you brought?
Think about it.
Sincerely,
The Irreverent Gentleman
gentlemansuniversityofmanliness 