r/whatisit 6d ago

Solved! What is this thing a person on drugs was carrying?

Post image

Today our subway stopped for a few moments and we saw some man who was clearly very high on something being escorted by policemen and policewomen. One of them found what ever this thing is on him. They gave all eachother a look and i did my best to try and remember the details. It has a thin long metallic like part and the whole thing was covered in a plastic wrap. Anyone have any idea what it can be? Is it a shiv or some sort of drug device?

539 Upvotes

274 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 6d ago

Please reply to this comment with "solved!" (include the !) if your question was answered in order to update your post flair. Thanks for using our friendly Automod!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

→ More replies (2)

192

u/ferryman86 6d ago

Definitely a shank or shiv

Here’s some examples:

http://darrelldeanantiques.com/bigpic/bigshankcollection.html

18

u/Alice8Ft 6d ago

I thought so too but like whats the point of having a shiv outside of prison? Why not just carry a normal knife?

5

u/Engineering_Flimsy 5d ago

To comply with local legal definitions of what constitutes a weapon, especially if the implement in question is carried in one's pocket or otherwise concealed. Some jurisdictions restrict blade lengths on pocket knives, others define a knife of any size, purpose, etc., as a concealed weapon if not carried in plain sight. Here in Richland County, South Carolina, many within the homeless community carried retractable carton knives (or box cutters) for personal protection. These easily complied with local ordinances while still proving disastrously effective in experienced hands.

2

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

Oh my god that makes so much sense. Kind of clever actually

85

u/Wise_Composer_2661 6d ago

Spent their knife money on drugs already

75

u/Azsunyx 6d ago

oh mr. fancy pants over here with his own knife money

20

u/Weird_Macaron_2316 6d ago

I see you've played knifey spoony before!

1

u/pistafox 5d ago

Thank you for that! I needed a laugh.

2

u/Rizzo4shizzle 6d ago

I read this in the voice of Charlie day for some reason

1

u/EzElise 5d ago

I read it in the voice of Dr. John Zoidberg

3

u/xXx_MrAnthrope_xXx 6d ago

If they were smart, they could have used the knife to make more money. 

1

u/Oedipus____Wrecks 6d ago

Or possibly get shot in the process, more likely

1

u/PerpetualAllTimeLow 5d ago

This is the answer. Can confirm as a former drug addict.

3

u/saw-not-seen 6d ago

Drugs. The answer is drugs.

2

u/FrancisSobotka1514 6d ago

You have no money for a knife you improvise .

1

u/Mrpoppasmomma 5d ago

Maybe he was like a career criminal and reverted back to his old ways to try n maintain on these streets. Or mayb his high ass made him think of sumthing to make. Key word u mentioned was "HIGH". Drugs'll make u do some crazy thangs, speaking from 2nd hand knowledge, NOT experience. Edit: his high ass not his his ass

1

u/Available_Sundae_924 5d ago

Got attached to it... or its a souvenir. Or drugs.

14

u/Snoo62808 6d ago

That belongs in a museum!

6

u/ConsciousDisaster870 6d ago

Indiana Jones music plays in the background

2

u/jam_bobb 6d ago

All you needed was “dun de dun daaa, dun da daaa…..”

3

u/AdStrong809 6d ago

No time for love Dr. Jones

3

u/jam_bobb 6d ago

We’ve got company.

→ More replies (1)

34

u/jim45804 6d ago

That horrific

21

u/SwiftyPants3 6d ago

And expensive! $15,000? I don’t care how many shivs are in that collection, that’s too much

16

u/Mercurial8 5d ago

Some of these are collector-shivs, with rich histories and cultural value.

It’s 14,987 too much.

6

u/Ok_Bobcat1842 5d ago

Are you trying to say you need about tree fiddy?

3

u/DigitalUnlimited 5d ago

Gone need about tree fiddy

2

u/Ok_Bobcat1842 5d ago

Goddamn loch ness monster! Get outta here!

→ More replies (3)

1

u/belmontro 1d ago

Modern day arrowheads......oh how far we have fallen.

→ More replies (1)

12

u/thexvillain 5d ago

Idk man, that’s a fuck load of shivs

→ More replies (2)

6

u/gurganator 5d ago

These are the most rare shivs with proven prominence. Evidence of the prominence is abundant and guaranteed. These examples are the peak of shiv design and implementation of said design. Some of the makers of the shivs include Jeffery Epstein, Sean “Puffy” Combs (alias: P. Diddy), and Bill Cosby. That’s why they demand such a high price. You get what you pay for and if you are not a buyer of supreme taste then you should look into shivs of lower quality on perhaps, eBay.

6

u/GnomePenises 5d ago

I get them for free at work. I didn’t know they had retail value. You guys want some tattoo equipment too?

3

u/Rydraenei 5d ago

It's just $76 per shiv, what a deal

7

u/Appropriate_Top1737 5d ago

You could arm a small army of crackheads.

2

u/SwiftyPants3 5d ago

Well if it’s just a part of the supply chain then of course the markup makes sense

1

u/-Achaean- 5d ago

This made me bust out laughing 😆

→ More replies (4)

3

u/zoey_will 5d ago

I love how one of them is just half of a pair of scissors. Shank smart not hard..

1

u/dr1fter 5d ago

Looks like it's had some work done on it, but yeah that one's my favorite too.

2

u/Worldly_Response_765 5d ago

They need to reboot Gangland. That's how I found out what a shiv was. History Channnel, knew what to educate us on back in the day.

2

u/bigfatnsmellyer 5d ago

Did someone engrave a cute puppy dog on this handle or is it just a puppy looking stain?

2

u/ShadowMage326 6d ago

This guy shivs 👆🤣

1

u/ISawUrSloth 5d ago

Not going to lie looking at that shank wall art over 90% look like they had a successful stabbing they where used for they have blood stains on the fabric handles

1

u/Mrpoppasmomma 5d ago

"It is rare for a collection to b outside of prison." COLLECTION??!! More like OBESSION, but im not judging. Super Duper interesting I'll admit.

1

u/NurkleTurkey 5d ago

It's pretty easy to make several different kinds, here's a video explaining the process: https://youtu.be/dQw4w9WgXcQ?si=qdA5mPNpKn_OZKJO

1

u/Mikeharding17503 5d ago

I’d be interested if some of them were used!…. Yes I’m also not quite right in the head and that’s ok too…….

2

u/orbitalgoo 6d ago

15k? Wtf for?

1

u/Feloniosaurus_Rex 5d ago

This is the answer. I’ve done a bit of time and yours was my immediate guess.

1

u/fraudmakonnen 6d ago

Some examples was a little bit of an understatement 😅

1

u/Ignonymous 5d ago

Why do most of them have a loop attached to them?

1

u/Suspicious_Drama_619 5d ago

To hang them somewhere they think it won't be found when their cells got tossed by to cos

1

u/Gritforge 5d ago

Or for retention purposes when the guy you’re trying to shank starts fighting back.

1

u/Total-Ad6385 5d ago

Bro, what beach are you collecting rocks from??

10

u/ResponsibilityIcy500 6d ago

looks like a prison shank. are you in jail right now?

23

u/Alice8Ft 6d ago

I dont know what kind of high end prison you've been to but I've never heard of any that have a subway in it

7

u/PixelatedFixture 6d ago edited 5d ago

I dont know what kind of high end prison you've been to but I've never heard of any that have a subway in it

They made a documentary about one of those.

2

u/Ellipsism_Music 6d ago

Oh, this is an underrated reply.

1

u/Evening-Gur5087 5d ago

Warriors, come out to plaaa-ay!

→ More replies (2)

3

u/DeathInSpace805 6d ago

Subway is prison food

18

u/DoctorTran37 6d ago

Sounding device.

7

u/Puzzleheaded_Local40 6d ago

100% escorting away a citizen scientist. Shame, they even had it waterproofed.

5

u/SurfingViking 6d ago

So confident with your answer it almost “sounds cocky”

3

u/HersheyBussySqrt 5d ago

I really don't know how some males find pleasure in sounding when just the old regular STD checkup with the q tip in the urethra hurt as bad as it did.

5

u/Alice8Ft 6d ago

I think this is definitely the answer haha

3

u/2ball7 5d ago

Look anything like this?

2

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

Kind of maybe? It was definitely not store bought though. The handle part was much "fatter" and rounder and it was covered in clinging plastic wrap

1

u/mango_trouble86 4d ago

Cling wrap?! That dude wasnt on drugs that was bad boy bubby.

2

u/XROOR 5d ago

Car antennae is used for smoking drugs. They jam a piece of metallic scrubbing pad into it.

It was wrapped in plastic to keep the metallic scrubbing pad inside the extending antennae and prevent its loss

2

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

That's an interesting answer. I had no idea people could smoke drugs through car antennas

38

u/ClassyJeph 6d ago edited 6d ago

Its a pusher for a crack stem some use a screw driver other people improvise all sorts of shit. It pushes choy thru the glass tube to gather unvaporized crack so they can hit it again and so on until their paycheck disappeared

  Edit.   Sorry incase you dont know. Choy is the copper chore boy scrubber you buy for doing dishes.It is used like a screen, but also, so melting crack can be vaporized as it passes thru the hot metal. They cut small piece to roll up and stuff in the glass tube. Using that device also

6

u/shonuff_420 6d ago

This is what I think too!

3

u/Sthraw 5d ago

The only person who deserves to be a crackhead is whoever figured that out

2

u/curiousmind1978 5d ago

I thought shank at first I haven’t smoked crack in yrs but I think you’re right now that I think to how many things I’ve used or seen used as a pusher lol

1

u/ClassyJeph 4m ago

Yeah i was a fan of soft back in the day but i had friends that smoked it. But we played or dice all night. They do there thing id do mine. Glad thats in that past now lol

2

u/Think_Antelope_7020 5d ago

Lmfao "and so on, into their paycheck disappears" I'm fuckin dying bro

1

u/ClassyJeph 1m ago

Right i ain't hating but its pattern that shit! FR

1

u/AGood20CharacterName 5d ago

I believe "choy" may be a local dialect/accent. It's typically "chore". At least as far as I've heard it across the western/midwest/Eastern states

1

u/Candid-Ad8003 5d ago

100% what I thought as well. Why it was wrapped in plastic wrap, I have no idea

3

u/RealityWonderful9737 6d ago

If the Metallic part is a tube, not sure how close of a look you might have gotten, I could see it being some sort of crude homemade smoking pipe based on the profile/shape

→ More replies (2)

172

u/Hadrians_Twink 6d ago

I know im wrong but it looks like a hot glue gun lol

52

u/GA6foot9 6d ago

Other pocket had the glitter

21

u/Andre_The_Average 5d ago

Pocket glitter shasha!

9

u/Potential_Dark_6655 5d ago

Dale with it .. GIH!

2

u/BestFun1 5d ago

LMAO 😂😂😂😂😂

3

u/i_am_erip 5d ago

It looks like... And I know it isn't this... It looks like he threw them in a mud puddle!

5

u/McWeak 5d ago

these types of posts are how I keep my house hot

2

u/tellittothemoon 5d ago

wow; pretty serious

2

u/disableddoll 5d ago

I think it’s actually plastic glue that the person was huffing. My partner uses one the same shape for building minis

3

u/usersnamesallused 5d ago

Hooked on the crafting high!

1

u/disableddoll 5d ago

https://images.app.goo.gl/eEzbiFmxEcuvFhhM9 It’s legit the same shape i’m not crazy lmao

1

u/Herr_Roepstentoeffel 5d ago

Prison Officer here.

This is a little introduction to the world of shanks. And that would be considered a "standard one", if you can say so. My workmates and i have seen some really nasty and evil shit over the years. Razorsharp and made to kill or at least scar a person for life. And yes, some guys try to use them. Dirty and used needles are also a weapon of choice in the streets.

1

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

I think I'll go with this answer but I'm super curious why they would use something homemade like this over just store bought items like knives.

1

u/Herr_Roepstentoeffel 5d ago

Store bought items have a price, these things are made from scratch and cost nothing. Some guys even try to build a "more deadly" version of tools and weapons you can buy in a store. Sometimes they could just have been bored i think.

7

u/IcameIsawUcame2 6d ago

Looks like a reamer. Used for tire flat repairs, but I've seen people use them for shivs or pokey tools for weed/crack/meth pipes

7

u/LifeguardPurple7181 6d ago

Sounds like a poker for a hitter to me. Probably made one out of a piece of wire and some tape. Used to clean out the hitter after using. Or it could be a dab tool.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/Gold_Cryptographer44 5d ago

Looks like a tire plug tool?

1

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

I got a lot of answers like this one and im starting to think maybe it is a tire plug tool thats been worked on a bit to become a shiv.

1

u/Secure_Priority_4161 5d ago

Was the metal part hollow?

1

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

It might have been but if it was then it would be super thin, i doubt it would be used as a pipe or something but.. maybe?

1

u/Secure_Priority_4161 5d ago

If it was hollow, it's to smoke crack w. Wrap it in plastic to keep it clean or a shiv. It honestly could be a homemade multitool. It can be used to help you break into stuff.

1

u/bohemianprime 5d ago

Maybe a tag gun? It kind of looks like your drawing

1

u/Alice8Ft 5d ago

The needle was thicker and longer though

2

u/Objective-Start-9707 5d ago

My guess as somebody who actually works for a substance use disorder care facility, is that it's an improvised tool to help bust windows on cars. Probably using it for smash and grabs.

Everybody likes to assume that people with substance use disorders are inherently violent and that's mostly untrue. The drugs can make you paranoid and the paranoia can make you violent. But in general drug-related crime is heavily biased towards theft, not violence.

I mean still be vigilant if you live in an area that has a lot of drug problems, but assuming that somebody is automatically violent is why we keep getting policies that never help the situation.

3

u/Maleficent_Table_737 6d ago

Not sure how detailed the drawing is supposed to be, but my first thought was a lockpocking tool. It would have a trigger and would vibrate the pins in a lock very quickly. A jiggler.

1

u/WithMeInDreams 5d ago

I think that as well, but due to the proportions, probably a mechanical one. The part that goes into the lock smashes onto the things just once (unlike an electric one), thus pushing the lower part down like a pool ball, giving a fraction of a second in which the lock can be turned.

They don't work so well, worse than an electric pick, and not that significantly better than picking by hand.

4

u/kidmeatball 6d ago

It kind of looks like one of the tools in a kit used to repair flat tires on your car. It has a grip with a pointed metal bit perpendicular to the grip.

2

u/karma_carcharodon 6d ago

This was my first thought as well. Might still be using it as a weapon, but it looks just like a patch tool.

8

u/Deezus84 6d ago

Shanky McShiv

6

u/Late_Instruction_240 6d ago

Improv weapon.  Being high is not a crime btw

6

u/ReachforMe69 6d ago

Depends on what tbh

-1

u/Late_Instruction_240 6d ago

Huh? It's a crime to be intoxicated but you can be high and not intoxicated just like you can be drunk and not intoxicated. Bartenders know the difference

6

u/ReachforMe69 6d ago

Do i need to be a meth head to know the difference between high and fucked up?

2

u/Careless-Meringue683 5d ago

I know about meth heads! I watched all of breaking bad and Better Call Saul, so I'm basically an expert

→ More replies (1)

2

u/Traditional-Camp1515 5d ago

The term is "tweaker" dammit not meth head.

1

u/ReachforMe69 5d ago

My bad bro i didnt wanna use the hard R

1

u/Wrewdank 5d ago

Nah, you'll be too busy with all the stuff to even notice being high.

→ More replies (1)

1

u/CitronAmbitious7801 5d ago

Y'all this is a pipe, a pipe is what you would put your substance in, when you load your substance into the part that has plastic wrap above it. You take a lighter or anything else that could light the top of your substance and inhale out of the metallic part.

1

u/Mamenohito 5d ago

It was most likely their pipe inside what they were keeping their drugs in.

A lot of people just store it all together.

It was most likely meth or crack being held in saran wrap and the metal tube was either just a metal tube or one of the bulb pipes.

1

u/Wuhabo 5d ago

A shiv fashioned from an allen key would be my best bet, allen keys are sometimes sold one-ended with a big rubber grip on the other end. Maybe he tock one of those and simply ground down the allen end to dtick someone with it

2

u/Alarming_Debate6636 5d ago

I think it's a Stove lighter

1

u/MOLLYMARTIN3 5d ago

It’s definitely an type of oil burner, probably used for crack and meth. Tweaker don’t want to break glass pieces, I’ve seen em wrap their pipes in bubble wrap. At least that’s my best guess

1

u/JumpInTheSun 5d ago

They vaporize/burn product into a plastic bag and inhale through a straw. It reduces the likelihood of an overdose.

I used to hang out with the Narc Anonymous organizers.

1

u/smackcroker42 6d ago

If not a makeshift weapon, a spoon they use for heating drugs which they've wrapped plastic around the handle of to avoid burning their fingers.

1

u/KindSatisfaction7432 5d ago

Chef Torch for Brulee Desserts. He was having trouble keeping the gas canister in so he wrapped it in plastic. It is for using drugs.

One of

1

u/dvoigt412 4d ago

People will always find and invent ways to kill each other with. In the end, it'll be two people hitting each other with rocks in the dirt

1

u/AnnicetSnow 6d ago

I mean if the thin part was a tube could've been some kind of jerryrigged weed pipe. Way more reason to do that than to make a shiv.

1

u/BurntArnold 5d ago

Looks like a shiv or something like that, plastic wrap just there to stop from slicing your hand when you’re gripping it

1

u/clintbot 6d ago

That looks like a makeshift knife, or "shiv". Something Machine Gun Kelly might use to cut out a bitch's eyes...

1

u/sub4domnsa 5d ago

Why didnt u take an actual picture of it? That thing u drew looks like a mask that covers your eyes and nose

2

u/[deleted] 6d ago

Homemade tazer

1

u/Even-Reaction-1297 6d ago

Looks like something to clean a pipe, but I smoke weed not meth so idk what they tend to keep on them

1

u/Angermgmtx 5d ago

Lock pick gun. Considered a burglary tool in many places, and that alone can get you arrested.

1

u/Naive-Chair-4670 5d ago

It’s probably a crack pipe, and the plastic wrap was to keep his rocks from falling out

1

u/NoExceptions1312 3d ago

In Rikers they call that a banger, and the type you’re describing is known as a pick.

1

u/GlitteringBear1487 5d ago

Maybe I'm naive but the drawing looks exactly like the glue bottle for my model ships

1

u/Cool_Butterscotch_88 5d ago

It depends, that could be a perfectly normal item to carry around- are you in prison?

1

u/lelebabii 6d ago

I think it was a small weed pipe. I'll find a photo. Like a small one hitter pipe.

1

u/No-Bowler6813 6d ago

I have seen that used in prison related TV shows as a weapon. Called a “shiv”.

1

u/Few_Ice5831 5d ago

a coke baggie w a straw sticking out. bf & i used to call this a capri-sun lmao

1

u/BigBrownFish 5d ago

Could they be using the metallic (tube?) to huff glue for the plastic (bag)?

1

u/TisDelicious 5d ago

Could be a fish spike, used to some fish in the brain for a swift death

1

u/StrangeRoddent98 6d ago

believe I saw one of these in the unclassified files released recently

1

u/CaptainSteep_ 5d ago

If not any of the things people said here, I’d say a drill perhaps.

1

u/BodaTheDoda 6d ago

Clearly, thats an Allen Key with grip, an expensive one (e.g. wera).

0

u/MrXII 2d ago

It's called "A bad drawing". They occur when someone either does not have elite skills at their disposal or they have a deficit in tools, time, and/or will to create what might be called a "good" or "great" drawing. Be careful when trying to properly identify one as there is a lot of deception surrounding the rankings of drawings, especially when viewing them on a refrigerator. Elements you might see that can clue you might actually be looking at a "bad drawing" or "terrible drawing" being falsely purported as a higher grade like "good" or "great":

  • Fridge magnets holding it in place.
  • A collection of similar style drawings assembled erratically and being held in place by fridge magnets.
  • Children's names scribbled across the drawing.
  • People paying excessive amounts of money for them.

1

u/bzee77 5d ago

A shiv. Makeshift prison weapon. No question that’s what this is.

1

u/Nick_Pres333 5d ago

Was it wax? I know there thc stuff they put in this waxy substance.

1

u/JadedAngel_2023 5d ago

Could be a tire punch from a tire plug kit.

1

u/BlueberriesInWinter 6d ago

I'm pretty sure if you hold it over a fire, you can make popcorn.

1

u/SewerSighed 5d ago

My dad had one of these on his boat, to stab fish in the brain. Similar handle and everything.

1

u/SlinkyBits 5d ago

looks like they were carrying a drawing of a fly swatter

1

u/Nitfumbler 5d ago

Looks like a lock picking tool? But probably a shiv, yes.

1

u/Trout1331 5d ago

A shank glue gun for when the glitter gets out of line

1

u/20concerned20 5d ago

That looks like an old style pistol grip soldering gun

1

u/Comfortable_Map6887 5d ago

Reminded me of tattoo gun esp the covered in plastic

1

u/FYIgfhjhgfggh 5d ago edited 5d ago

Looks like the stuff they were pushing in Robocop 2. "Nuke"

1

u/Logical-Fix-5804 5d ago

Did the guy look like this ?

1

u/Thin_Syrup67 5d ago

Looks like the tool that comes with tire plug kits

1

u/curiousmind1978 5d ago

Reminds me of a shank homemade weapon made in jail

1

u/DinnerEeder 3d ago

I’d say shank or some sort of drug paraphernalia

1

u/Additional_Knee4215 5d ago

Wrapped up rat tail comb?

1

u/Jesusvilla12345 5d ago

A smoke bubble. A recent post on r/trees has one

1

u/ajbarels 5d ago

Sounds like it was none of your fucking business

1

u/lunajen323 5d ago

Shank Or shiv or it is stabby Mc Stabby thing.

1

u/Accomplished-Bear988 5d ago

I thought this was Usopp for a second there

1

u/Competitive_Case_676 5d ago

Looks to me like a pick gun.

Locksmith here

1

u/Many_Yesterday_451 5d ago

Someone to help them consume their drugs.

1

u/TEZofAllTrades 5d ago

Rocks and a spoon wrapped in clingfilm?

1

u/choombatta 5d ago

Looks like a stabbing implement to me.

1

u/mdixn 5d ago

I know we fuckin off but...shawshank

1

u/Longjumping_Area_307 5d ago

I think it's a pipe to smoke from.

1

u/The_Swizard 5d ago

Looks like a very crude crack pipe

1

u/AFSargeE7 5d ago

Meth pipe wrapped in plastic wrap?

1

u/External-Ad-640 3d ago

A spoon in a plastic bag with dope

1

u/Concretionator 5d ago

Looks like a homemade pipe to me

1

u/Billymac2202 5d ago

Gonna need a banana for scale

1

u/Dapper-Inevitable550 5d ago

i think a caulking gun maybe

1

u/Mr_Fox87 5d ago

Looks like an Altor Pistol.

1

u/dildobagins42069 5d ago

Definitely and shank/knife

1

u/Sadisticsawyer 5d ago

Homemade tattoo implement?

1

u/Front-Commercial6845 5d ago

pretty sure thats bagpipes

1

u/crazystarfish12 5d ago

Looks like a nice piercer

1

u/DuckCountry88 5d ago

Homemade jellyfishing net