Gang members fought with a variety of weapons, but they all carried knives and wore heavy buckled belts, often decorated with pictures such as serpents, scorpions, hearts pierced with arrows or women's names. The thick leather belts were their most prized possessions and were wrapped tightly around the wrist at the onset of a "scuttle", so that the buckle could be used to strike at opponents. The use of knives and belts was designed to maim and disfigure rather than to kill.