Sharkskin

Sharkskin is made from thick cloth, into which are sewn hundreds of tiny curved and barbed hooks, rather like miniature fishing hooks. These hooks are very sharply curved, and are all sewn with the hooks lying in the same direction. Thus, when stroked in one direction the cloth feels perfectly smooth, but in the other it grips tightly and even tears skin or cloth. Sharkskin is so called, fairly obviously, because it resembles the skin of a shark, which is coated in hooked scales.

Sharkskin can be used as a form of hanging board; a square of the material affixed to a surface with hooks pointing downward can be used to keep tools and such in place. Items can simply be pressed down on the surface of the sharkskin, and they will effectively stick to it. This is most useful for a thief climbing a wall and has utility in other circumstances. Sharkskin-coated gloves can be used to assist in climbing walls, in which case they can be treated as clawed gloves (see above) in all respects.