A shiv, or shank, is a short piece of sharpened metal. They are typically used as concealed weapons.
Due to their light and simple construction, they have a short lifetime and are prone to breaking. There is a 50% chance after every successful strike to be rendered useless as metal scrap.
A clip of uniform or machined shivs make great alternative ammunition of rail guns. Shivs used in this manner behave much like other ammunition. Shivs can be conservatively (1/shot) to rapidly (10/shot) expended when fired through a rail gun. Each shiv has a 90% chance of breaking when used in this manner. Unbroken shivs can be retrieved from the metal-addled corpse at the other end of the rail gun barrel.