The problem, as I see it, with razor wire is that a good pair of dikes (jargon for wire-cutters) is all it takes to get through it. Hell, if it's deployed in helix loops on the ground (which is quite common pratice with razor wire) you can get through it just by stepping on certain areas of it, which flattens it and allows you to walk right over it (I've done it). That's why some inmates still manage to escape from prison.
I think it would be much more difficult to cross a wrought-iron fence with razor blades individually spot-welded to the bars. In order to cross, you would have to individually cut each blade (and unless you get the whole blade it still leaves a sharp edge) and still somehow make it over the top without being seen.-- 21 Quest, Mar 19 2006 19th Century Technology http://www.markrice...010_GlassInWall.jpg [DrCurry, Mar 19 2006] 20th Century City Ordinance http://barbkerr.hom...com/RT_Milpitas.htmScroll down to Section V-500-2.01 Unlawful Property Nuisance- Private Property, Sub-Section (d) Fences and Gates, Paragraph (2). This language prohibiting the use of embedded broken glass or other sharp objects into the top of walls or fences is standard for many cities in the United States, Canada and Britain. This is just one example. [jurist, Mar 20 2006] The advantage (I thought) of razor wire is that it is very easy to deploy. Your system is anything but. Which, of course, is just fine for a prison system.
But at the four or five prisons I have seen over the past few years, the razor wire has been at the top of a tall fence, which I presume to be electrified. Not particularly easy to step over.
And are you familiar with the older technology of setting broken glass into tops of walls? That has the advantage of never rusting.-- DrCurry, Mar 19 2006 This will get you a citation and a fine for creating a public nuisance in a lot of municipalities. Many, if not most, cities now have public nuisance ordinances for private properties which specifically prohibit any fences or walls with broken glass or other sharp objects (not including barbed wire) embedded or affixed to the top thereof. (See Link for existing example)-- jurist, Mar 20 2006 A rubber-backed picnic blanket can be thrown over barbed wire or razor wire fence -- and in a range of colors for a fashionable and comfortable escape.-- not_only_but_also, Mar 21 2006 Why not just top the fence with a razor-sharp spear heads? Make then long enough so you couldn't climb over them and they'd puncture any blanket/rug too.
To get around ordanances, just plant really thorny, thick bushes - no intruder can complain about your choice of plants!-- Texbinder, Mar 21 2006 Why do you think there is so much bougainvillea planted adjacent to the walls of Spanish mission compounds in Mexico and the American Southwest? It's an excellent first line of perimeter defense.-- jurist, Mar 22 2006 random, halfbakery