Steven Seagal: His 10 Coolest Weapons From His Movies

Content Warning: This article contains descriptions of graphic violence.

Steven Seagal is best known for popularizing the defensive martial art, aikido, in his movies, though critics still disparage its effectiveness in a brawl. Nevertheless, Seagal’s tough-guy persona made up for it, especially when he traded fists for a wide assortment of deadly weapons. Throughout the course of his films, he’d use melee weapons and firearms interchangeably.

The best weapons come from some of his most popular films and they’d often play into his actual characters, who were usually involved in law enforcement or government special ops units. These weapons are responsible for some of the best action scenes in his films.

Steel Pipe (On Deadly Ground)

Seagal directed himself in this critically panned social commentary movie, but it did end with one of his most entertaining fight sequences. His character, Forrest Taft, sabotages a refinery in the final act, forcing the evil Jennings (Michael Caine) to send troops out to stop him.

In one scene, Seagal grabs a steel pipe and goes to town on the bad guys. He uses it to strike, as well as grapple enemies, and throw them through windows. The sequence doesn’t last too long, but it’s an example of Seagal using a melee weapon that isn’t a sword or a knife, which is a trade-up.

Heckler & Koch SR9(T) (Under Siege 2: Dark Territory)

The second Under Siege film may have been one of the worst action films of the ’90s, but it had its fun moments. In the film, a female mercenary in service of the bad guys manages to wound Seagal’s character, Casey Ryback, while on top of a train, where he supposedly falls to his death. Thankfully, Ryback survives the shot and picks up where he left off.

The rifle she uses is a Heckler & Koch SR9(T), which fires 7.62x51mm NATO rounds. It’s a loose variant of the Heckler & Koch G3, a German-made battle rifle that the female mercenary has changed into a sniper rifle. It’s iconic in the fact that it’s one of the few weapons in movie history to actually wound Steven Seagal.

Razor Tipped Credit Card (The Glimmer Man)

The entire concept of Seagal’s character of Jack Cole being some sort of Buddhist pacifist is preposterous, but it does make for some fun action scenes. The first time Cole shows off his lethal skills is near the beginning of the film when he and Detective Campbell are set upon by a group of criminals in a parking lot.

Outnumbered and outgunned, they knock Campbell to the ground, leaving Cole to feign passivity long enough to pull out a credit card with a razor blade hidden inside. With a quick strike, he slashes the throats of several criminals, a hilariously badass moment that could only happen in a Steven Seagal movie.

Lumber (Fire Down Below)

In this 1997 action flick, Seagal played Jack Taggert, an EPA agent sent to a small town on reports that a wealthy developer is dumping toxic waste illegally. He decides to stay awhile, much to the chagrin of the developer, who wants him gone, no matter the cost. He sends a few goons to intimidate Taggert while he’s out shopping for materials to rebuild the roof of the nearby church.

When they push him too far, he shows them what they’re dealing with, beating them all to the ground using a piece of lumber he just purchased. Comically, the wood gets damaged in the fight, which Taggert passes off as a minor inconvenience. Meanwhile, the thugs sent to antagonize him are left dazed in the dirt.

Cloth Cutter (Exit Wounds)

In the final act of Exit Wounds, Orin Boyd (Seagal) goes up against crooked cop Lewis Strutt (Michael Jai White). It’s one of the best fights in the film, especially when they grab the blades of a cloth cutter, and use them as makeshift swords.

It’s an interesting take on the original sword fighting formula, and one that makes a lot of sense, given the nature of the item. When the blade is detached, it makes for a lethal melee weapon that can cleave a head clean off the body. The movie never goes that far, though, with Strutt making a break for it, only to be impaled on a large pipe.

Katana Blades (Machete)

The decision to cast Steven Seagal in Robert Rodriguez’s grindhouse classic, Machete, made it one of Seagal’s best movies according to Metacritic, mostly due to the rest of the ensemble cast, which was nothing short of colorful. In the film, Seagal played completely against type as a villain, rather than a hero and that was worth the price of admission itself.

The final showdown between Seagal’s character, Torrez, and his rival, Machete, is one of the best fights in the entire film, with Torrez wielding twin katana blades. He eventually loses the fight to Machete, but rather than die by his hand, Torrez dies by ritual suicide in complete defiance and typical Seagal fashion.

Fleming HK51K (Marked For Death)

This weapon was featured during the final scene when John Hatcher goes after Screwface on his home turf in Jamaica. He does a bit of a custom job on the weapon in order to make it ready for a cover strike, starting with some machining.

He custom-fits the weapon with a suppressor mechanism and a laser sight for easy targeting and shooting. This, combined with the HK51K’s compact size, made it perfect for the strike mission. To round out the package, Hatcher creates hollow point rounds with an explosive gunpowder mixture for extra impact.

Combat Knife (Under Siege)

The original Under Siege is loaded with a ton of great action scenes and bloody deaths, but the final fight against Tommy Lee Jones’ character, William Strannix, is by far one of the best. It occurs in the final act when Casey Ryback manages to catch Strannix off guard during a conversation, triggering a knife fight.

At first, both men seem to be equal with the weapon, but Ryback starts to gain the upper hand, landing a series of slashes and stabs. The two eventually struggle in a death grapple before Ryback gouges out one of Strannix’s eyes and then jams the blade of his knife straight through the top of his skull.

Screwface’s Sword (Marked For Death)

After taking out Screwface with his own sword and using his severed head as a warning for the Jamaican drug gang to back off, Hatcher is shocked to learn that the villain had an identical twin brother. Vowing vengeance, this second Screwface engages Hatcher and proves to be an even match for him.

The battle is brutal and bloody, with Hatcher and Screwface getting into a swordfight on a club dance floor. Hatcher manages to land a few key strikes, including a perfect vertical cut down the length of Screwface’s actual face, which angers him. Soon, the swords are dropped, and Hatcher mauls Screwface to death in one of the most brutal kills in any Seagal movie.

Corkscrew (Out For Justice)

Out For Justice is one of the bloodiest and most brutal of Seagal’s films, and the final fight against the unhinged villain, Richie, features some of the best fight scenes of Seagal’s career. The two finally square off, with Seagal’s Gino Felino ready to dish out some revenge for the murder of his close friend Bobby.

Gino uses the entire kitchen to beat the living tar out of Richie, hitting him with rolling pins, frying pans, and finally, a stab through the face with a corkscrew. It’s one of the most shockingly inventive kill scenes of any Seagal film, not to mention one of his most ingenious weapons.

About The Author