History Main / SinisterShiv

* Breaking Bad: One episode features a montage of prisoners shiving each other set to rather upbeat music.

* A regular occurence (almost to the point of being OnceAnEpisode) on ''Series/{{Oz}}''.
* One episode of ''{{CSI}}'' featured a shanking a juvenile detention facility with a shiv made from a razorblade melted into the handle of a toothbrush.
* One of the ''MyNameIsEarl'' episodes set in prison centres around Earl attempting to make a shiv for one of his fellow inmates. He takes inspiration from a display of shivs in the warden's office that has a sign reading "Do Not Make Any of These".

* ''TheWalkingDead'': Several of the inmates in "Sick" are armed with shivs made from various materials and use them in trying to dispatch the walkers in cell block D. They quickly find out that standard prison riot tactics are of no use to them now, and they have to adapt to the tactics of the Atlanta survivors.

* AnInnocentMan: Shanking happens a lot in the movie, once witnessed by TomSelleck's character Jimmie and once carried out by Jimmie.
* LetsGoToPrison: Extensive shiving and shanking is featured, but considering the subject of the movie it's often played for laughs.
* OnTheYard: An inmate gets stabbed in the armpit while pumping iron, meaning he also gets crushed by the weights he's lifting.

* VideoGame/TeamFortress2: There's a wooden weapon known as the Tribalman's Shiv. It does less damage than a metal weapon but causes a longer bleeding time.

* TeamFortress2: There's a wooden weapon known as the Tribalman's Shiv. It does less damage than a metal weapon but causes a longer bleeding time.

Congratulation you just witnessed your first shiving.

* Let'sGoToPrison: Extensive shiving and shanking is featured, but considering the subject of the movie it's often played for laughs.

[[caption-width-right:350:Handy for either brushing your teeth or killing a snitch!]]

* ''{{Predators}}'': Inmate Stans finds himself armed only with his shiv on the alien planet on which he's been dropped for the purpose of sport. He doesn't let that stop him from trying to kill several of the villains.

Because of the restrictive nature of prisons, shivs tend to be made of just about anything, ranging from the simple (such as a sharpened toothbrush) to the elaborate (a 6-foot-long pole made from tightly wrapped paper equipped with a sharpened steel tip) to the truly disturbing (two razor blades taped side by side and capable of making grievous wounds that are notoriously hard to stitch up). The construction of shivs remains a constant tug of war between the prisons attempting to stop the behavior with newer and greater restrictions, and the ingenuity of prisoners finding ways around said restrictions to continue their deadly art. See MacGuyvering.

Because of the restrictive nature of prisons, shivs tend to be made of just about anything, ranging from the simple (such as a sharpened toothbrush) to the elaborate (a 6-foot-long pole made from tightly wrapped paper equipped with a sharpened steel tip) to the truly disturbing (two razor blades taped side by side and capable of making grievous wounds that are notoriously hard to stitch up).

* ''{{Predators}}'' Inmate Stans finds himself armed only with his shiv on the alien planet on which he's been dropped for the purpose of sport. He doesn't let that stop him from trying to kill several of the villains.

* Predators: Inmate Stans finds himself armed only with his shiv on the alien planet on which he's been dropped for the purpose of sport. He doesn't let that stop him from trying to kill several of the villains.

* Inmate Stans finds himself armed only with his shiv on the alien planet on which he's been dropped for the purpose of sport. He doesn't let that stop him from trying to kill several of the villains.

* EscapeFromButcherBay: One of the story elements in the game is Riddick trying to get his hands on a shiv in the Butcher Bay prison and the difficulties in doing just that.

Shivs (sometimes referred to as shanks as the name is interchangeable) are a common staple of most shows relating to the goings on inside a prison, most often used for the purpose of trying to kill another inmate, either as an ordered hit for someone that's high up, or as retribution for something that the designated target did at a prior point. Bonus points if they come out during a PrisonRiot. Some inmates construct and carry shivs for the purpose of protecting themselves from violence, however this is rarely shown, and even if it was the punishment is the same no matter what the reason it was made.

Because of the restrictive nature of prisons shivs tend to be made of just about anything ranging from the simple (such as a sharpened toothbrush) to the elaborate (a six foot long pole made from tightly wrapped paper equipped with a sharpened steel tip) to the truly disturbing (two razor blades taped side by side and capable of making grievous wounds that are notoriously hard to stitch up).

This is a case of TruthInTelevision however it's drastically under portrayed as real prisons have displays showcasing hundreds of ImprovisedWeapon made from the most unsuspecting of everyday materials.

* PitchBlack: Riddick uses a sharpened piece of metal obtained from a crashed spaceship as his shiv of choice, both for killing and personal grooming.
* TheShawshankRedemption: Andy Dufresne is threatened with having a shiv shoved through his ear if he doesn't submit to the rape-happy gang known as The Sisters. He manages to escape being raped by bluffing about the biting force of a dying man. ItMakesSenseInContext.
* Inmate Stans finds himself armed only with his shiv on the alien homeworld he's been dropped on for the purpose of sport. He doesn't let that stop him from trying to kill several of the antagonists.

* BurnNotice: During season five Fiona is stuck in prison and several attempts are made on her life by inmates, some hired to kill her, others simply for her not following the established hierarchy amongst the prisoners.
* Law&Order: One episode deals with an inmate that was shanked in the hallway during a prison riot.
* Law&OrderSVU: The suspect of the week in one episode was stabbed with a shiv due to the politics involved, however he lived to testify regardless.
* Monk: While trying to find out why a death row inmate was murdered before his execution Monk is accosted several times by prisoners armed with shivs. Of course being Monk he can't help but aid one prisoner is better concealing and constructing his shiv.
* NCIS: "Caged" deals with a prison guard being stabbed at a women's prison and McGee having the diffuse the situation.
* TheWalkingDead: Several of the inmates in "Sick" are armed with shivs made from various materials and use them in trying to dispatch the walkers in cell block D. They quickly find out that standard prison riot tactics are of no use to them now and have to adapt to the tactics of the Atlanta survivors.