>like they use kitchen knives
If you read around reddit much, you're going to run across /r's dedicated to knife-building and/or collecting. I can't say I've ever seen a kitchen knife in there, hhh.
>shoplifting
OR -for those cynics among us- public relations. Makes for good press by sacrificing minor sales of a problem item.
We have a high-security prison on the outskirts of town. A few years ago, the warden gave a presentation to the public displaying just some of the DIY weaponry they've found. There were plenty of knives made from truly imaginative sources --but knives weren't the only weapons. The one that *really* impressed me was the very lethal bolas made from the saran wrap that cover their meals.
