PRISON SHANK 017

Private collection
PRISON SHANK 017
Private collection

Collection

  • American Prison System
  • Weapons

Origin

Arthur Kill Correctional Facility
Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA

Medium

Steel and cord

Association

Manufactured by an incarcerated individual for close-quarters combat within a correctional facility.

Description

Improvised prison weapon fabricated from a single cylindrical steel rod sharpened to a tapered point. The lower portion of the rod is flattened to form an integral handle, eliminating the need for a separate grip. The steel exhibits extensive corrosion and oxidation across its surface. A short length of light-colored cord is tightly wrapped around the transition between the blade and handle, with loose ends extending outward, likely serving as a retention lanyard or suspension loop.

PRISON SHANK 017

1/2

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550BC is an independent publishing house based in Amsterdam, founded in 2018. Specializing in the complex realities of organized crime and conflict, we explore these subjects through the lens of visual anthropology. Our photo books provide rare, first-person perspectives from within otherwise inaccessible worlds, often created in direct collaboration with those involved. 550BC is also home to a private collection of over 2,000 unique physical items, preserved artifacts from the worlds we document. A selection is presented in our online archive.

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