Razor wire

Barbed tape or razor wire is a mesh of metal strips with sharp edges whose purpose is to prevent trespassing by humans or to secure facilities such as prisons where there is a risk of escape.

Razor wire—long-barb type on top of a chain link privacy-fence surrounding a utility power sub-station

Use

 

Short barb razor wire at Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Cambodia

The first use of barbed wire for warfare was in 1898 during the Spanish American War, thirty-one years after the first patents were issued in 1867. One of the most notable examples during the Spanish American War is the defense provided by the Moron-Jucardo Trocha. The trocha (or trench) stretched for fifty miles between the cities of Moron and Jucardo. Within this trench, and in addition to fallen trees, barbed wire was used. The barbed wire was arranged in a cat’s cradle formation that for every 12 yards of barbed fence built, 420 yards of barbed wire was strung (or 35 yards of wire per yard of fence).^[1]

Later versions of this type of barbed wire were manufactured by Germany during the First World War. The reason for this was a wartime shortage of wire to make conventional barbed wire. Therefore, flat wire with triangular cutting edges began to be punched out of steel strips ("band barbed wire"). A welcome side effect was that a comparable length of barbed wire of this new type could be produced in less time. These precursors to NATO wire did not yet have an inner wire for stabilization, were therefore easy to cut with tin snips, and were also not as robust as normal barbed wire. However, they withstood the wire cutters used at the time to cut normal barbed wire, as was common at the front.^[2][3][4][5]

An article in a 1918 issue of The Hardware Trade Journal tells the story under the headline: "This Cruel War’s Abuse of Our Old Friend ‘Bob Wire.'" After telling a little about Glidden and his invention, the article goes on as follows: "Quite naturally some animals enclosed by Glidden’s fencing gashed themselves on the barbs. Just as naturally, men and boys tried to climb over or under those fences and had their clothes and flesh torn...These wounds upon man and beast and the suddenness with which Glidden’s barbs halted all living things came to the attention of military men, and the barbed wire entanglement of which we now read almost every day in the war news was born...And it may be said right here that soldiers who have been halted by wire entanglements while making a charge say the devil never invented anything nastier."^[6][7]

Due to its dangerous nature, razor wire/barbed tape and similar fencing/barrier materials are prohibited in some locales. Norway prohibits any barbed wire except in combination with other fencing, in order to protect domesticated animals from exposure.^[8]

Construction

Razor wire has a central strand of high tensile strength wire, and a steel tape punched into a shape with barbs. The steel tape is then cold-crimped tightly to the wire everywhere except for the barbs. Flat barbed tape is very similar, but has no central reinforcement wire. The process of combining the two is called roll forming.

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  Barbed tape on a fence
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  Short barb razor wire with central reinforcement
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  Medium barb razor wire
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  Long barb razor wire on a fence. At the bottom there is some barbed wire.

See also

• Access control
• Environmental design
• Physical security
• Wire obstacle
• Concertina wire

References

1. Carlson, Benjamin John (2013-02-01). "Barbed Wire Museum" (PDF). core.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
2. "Barbed Wire War – How One Farmer's Innovation Changed The Battlefield". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
3. "Barbed Wire". National Museum of the United States Air Force™. Retrieved 2023-06-07.^{[dead link]}
4. "World War I Centenary: 100 Legacies of the Great War". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
5. Vučković, History Nerds, Aleksa. World War 1: The Sacrifice of a Generation. History Nerds.
6. Moore, Sam (2018-04-12). "Barbed wire's history entangled in war". Farm and Dairy. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
7. Zaretsky, Robert (September 27, 2015). "The tangled history of barbed wire". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
8. § 15 in Lov om dyrevelferd (Animal welfare law). Accessed November 5th, 2018, at https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2009-06-19-97/KAPITTEL_1#%C2%A715

External links

•   Media related to Barbed tapes at Wikimedia Commons