Stab-Resistant Polymers-Recent Developments in Materials and Structures.

Stab-resistant garments have been used for centuries, utilizing metals, paper, or polymeric structures, often inspired by natural structures such as scales. Nowadays, stab-resistant vests or vest inserts are used by police and security personnel, but also by bus drivers, ambulance officers, and other people who are empirically often attacked on duty. Since stab protection garments are often heavy and thus uncomfortable and not well accepted, whether in the form of chain-mail or metal inserts in protective vests, researchers are striving to find lightweight, drapable alternatives, often based on polymeric materials.