Kill Tools

Kill Tools are Dexter Morgan's "tools of the trade" in the Showtime series DEXTER.

His brother, Brian Moser, used similar kill tools and dismembered his victims like Dexter (although Brian drained their blood, neatly wrapped up the parts, and left them out in plain sight).

Dexter typically stabs his victims in the heart, but he also uses other methods, such as sawing through a neck, beheading, or slashing / stabbing a carotid artery.

The most common, and some of the uncommon, methods that Dexter has killed his victims are listed below.

Kill Kit[]

Kill knife (Nurse Mary, Juan Ryness, Alex Timmons, Robert Milson, Matt Chambers, Ethan Turner, Lila West, Julio Benes, Roger Hicks, Valerie Castillo, Clemson Galt, Benito Gomez, Zoey Kruger, Boyd Fowler, Stan Liddy, Cole Harmon, Clint McKay, Travis Marshall, Oleg Mickic, Ron Galuzzo)
Boning knife (Hector Estrada).
Chef’s knives (large & small)
Bone saws (large & small)
Fillet knife (frequently used in the Novels)
Poultry shears
Serrated Bread knife
Cleaver (Jamie Jaworski, Ken Olson, Jonathan Farrow, Cal Rooney)
Ice pick
Scalpel

Power Tools[]

Chainsaw (Santos Jimenez) (Cindy Landon (Early Cuts))
Circular saw (Peter Thornton (Early Cuts)).
Reciprocating saw (Mike Donovan, Emmett Meridian, Jorge Castillo, Jose Garza, Stan Beaudry, Anthony Rodrigo)
Drill

Sharpened Tools[]

Hacksaw (Max Lindquist & Coleman Lindquist (Early Cuts))
Pitchfork (Norm) (Octavio, Comics)
Anchor (Rankin)
Boat Hook (Alberto)
Machete (Little Chino)
Bayonet (Oscar Prado, Fred Bowman)
Switchblade (Andrew Briggs)
Shovel handle (Ray Speltzer)
Sword of John the Revelator (Travis Marshall)

Strangulation Aides[]

Wire Garrote (Nathan Marten, Miguel Prado)
Shrink wrap (Lance Robinson)

Blunt Objects[]

Hammer (Arthur Mitchell, Joe Walker)
Fire extinguisher (Viktor Baskov)
Flashlight & Car (Gene Marshall)

Household Items[]

Curtain rod (A.J. Yates)
Pen (Oliver Saxon)
Pillow (Walter Kenney)
Kitchen knife (Steve Dorsey)
Table knife (Brian Moser)

Poison[]

Euthanasia agent (Camilla Figg)
Gas bomb (Beth Dorsey)

Firearms[]

Hand Gun (Teo Famosa) (Darius Starzak & Professor Wilkins, Novels)

Other Methods[]

Defibrillator (Ben, Roger)
Off beach seawater (Nick)
His hands, to snap necks (Esteban Famosa, George King, Dan Mendell, Sergeant Logan)
Fentanyl (Jasper Hodge)

Supplemental Items[]

M99 tranquilizer & syringes
Lock pick set
Luminol
Duct tape
Kill attire
Black gym bag
Blood spatter kit
Bleach
Flashlight
Cotton
Smelling salts
Microscope slides
Plastic sheeting / shrink wrap
Black heavy-duty trash bags
Candles (at times)
Rocks (used for Underwater Graveyard)
Ketamine (used as a replacement for M99 while he was living in Iron Lake)
Metal band (used to protect his neck while acting as bait for Ronald Schmidt)
Camera-shy hoodie (used as a part of Dexter's disguise as the Dark Passenger Killer)
Anesthesia (used as a replacement for M99, taken from Lowell's kill tools)

TV Series[]

Season One[]

"Return to Sender"

Dexter decides to dump his kill tools and his blood slide box into the ocean so there will be no trace of his secret life in case he becomes a suspect in the murder of Valerie Castillo. After he throws his kill tools overboard, he reminisces about his kills as he goes through the blood slides. He notices a smile scratched on Valerie's blood slide (the work of his "new friend" (The Ice Truck Killer) and he chooses to keep his trophies.

Season Two[]

"There's Something About Harry"

Dexter tricks James Doakes into drinking water with a sedative in it, which causes him to pass out. Dexter seizes this opportunity to roll Doakes' fingerprints onto his kill tools, in order to frame him for the Butcher murders.

"Left Turn Ahead"

The kill tools with Doakes' fingerprints are found by a scuba diving class, giving the police and the FBI further evidence of Doakes' guilt.

Season Five[]

"The Big One"

While Jordan Chase is admiring Dexter's knife kit, he notices that a knife is missing. Suddenly, Dexter pulls out the hidden knife out and stabs Jordan's foot, securing it to the floor.

Season Eight[]

"Are We There Yet?"

Dexter takes on an apprentice, Zach Hamilton, who likewise acquires his own set of kill tools, but he's murdered by Oliver Saxon before he has the chance to use them.

"Monkey in a Box"

Dexter abandons his kill tools when he captures Oliver Saxon, and his longing to be with Hannah overpowers his need to kill. He leaves the kill tools behind as evidence against Saxon when he is arrested. This plan fails, however, as Saxon is freed by U.S. Marshal Max Clayton and immediately kills Clayton (with one of Dexter's knives) and shoots Debra, whom Dexter had called to arrest Saxon.

Dexter: New Blood[]

"Cold Snap"

Due to not having killed anyone in ten years, Dexter's kill tools for the murder of Matt Caldwell are improvised from handy objects collected from around Dexter's Cabin.

"Runaway"

After Harrison nearly dies due to bad drugs, Dexter acquires new kill tools to go after Miles O'Flynn and Jasper Hodge. No longer having access to etorphine, Dexter instead visits Dr. Salena Patel and purchases ketamine as a replacement drug, claiming that it's for his goat Vincent van Goat II. Dexter is also able to get rolls of plastic tarps and syringes from Patel.

"The Family Business"

With Harrison's help, Dexter is able to capture Kurt Caldwell and go through a proper kill ritual in Kurt's bunker.

Dexter: Resurrection[]

"Backseat Driver"

After moving to New York City, Dexter acquires new kill tools, ordering M99 using his old Patrick Bateman, M.D. alias and getting the rest such as plastic wrap and a knife kit through the Internet with free shipping. Due to Ronald Schmidt using fiber wire to decapitate his rideshare victims, Dexter adds a metal band to protect his neck from the killer's weapon.

"Call Me Red"

While going after Lowell, Dexter doesn't have his kill tools on him, having to work fast when the other man starts targeting his next victim. However, Dexter is able to use Lowell's own kill tools instead combined with the supplies in a tattoo parlor which proves to be more than enough to get the job done.

"Murder Horny"

Dexter tells Mia Lapierre that he keeps a kill kit in his car. Mia is impressed, calling it "very official" and telling Dexter to get it. However, Dexter decides against killing Mia at the last second as it risks drawing too much attention to him from Leon Prater.

"Cats and Mouse"

While killing Gareth's Twin, Dexter improvises slightly by spiking his drink with M99 rather than injecting it into him.

Dexter later receives a call from Charley telling him to bring his kill tools with him as Prater's Serial Killers are invited on a helicopter trip.

"Course Correction"

Although Dexter brings his kill tools with him on Prater's retreat, Dexter instead uses a broken wine glass to kill Gareth while making it look like self-defense to everyone else.

"Touched by an Angel"

It's revealed that one of Dexter's knives is kept in Prater's vault alongside his first Blood Slide Box. Prater tries to have Dexter use the knife to kill Angel Batista, but Dexter uses it to cut his former friend free instead. Dexter loses the knife in the subsequent struggle with Batista, but picks it back up as he chases after Prater and Charley.

"And Justice For All"

While trapped in Prater's vault, Dexter keeps the knife close to him. After Harrison frees him, Dexter brings the knife and it's sheath along with the files he's stolen from Prater as well as his original blood slide box. When returning to the vault to safe Harrison, Dexter unsheathes the knife but is forced to disarm when Prater refuses to back down or only shoot Dexter. Having previously been given a syringe of M99 by his father, Harrison manages to tranquilize Prater before he can shoot either of them, leaving the billionaire at Dexter's mercy. After having set up Prater on Brian's kill table and having one last conversation with him, Dexter uses his old knife to kill him.