Razor Floss: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:kazuki2.jpg|link=GetBackers|frame|
{{quote|"''The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no [substantial] existence enters where there is no crevice.''"|'''[[Laozi|Lao-tzu]]''', '''''Tao Te Ching'''''}}
Razor floss is when any long, thin
Fantasy settings generally have this type of string made of human hair, while in more modern ones it's probably [[Sharpened to a Single Atom|monofilament]] wire. In series less reliant on the [[Rule of Cool]], the wire usually manifests as garrotes or tripwires, with varyingly messy outcomes.
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* [[Bishonen]] Benten from ''[[Cyber City Oedo 808]]'' used this as his weapon of choice, slicing through bad guys quite stylishly.
* Kazuki from ''[[GetBackers]]'' (pictured), who's also known as "Kazuki of the Strings." They're just ordinary koto strings (harp strings in the Tokyopop version) that defy the laws of physics because of the vibrations he applies to them with his fingers. The picture above is actually a relatively tame example; in the last arc of the story, he destroys multiple skyscrapers in seconds with his strings. Other characters who use strings can also create perfect body-doubles of themselves, tigers, and supernatural cocoons attached to the heart.
*
* Nao in ''[[Mai-HiME]]'' and ''[[Mai-Otome]]''.
* The garrotte wire used by Yoji in ''[[Weiss Kreuz]]'' occasionally functions as
* L.A. from ''[[El Cazador de la Bruja]]'' is freakishly efficient with this weapon.
{{quote|'''A random cop''': Get forensics down here ASAP. Uh, someone who's good at puzzles...}}
* Chocolate from ''[[Sorcerer Hunters]]'' is yet another user.
** In the anime, Chocolate's weapon is less the wire and more the long, thin needle attached to it; in the manga, it's straight
* One early case in ''[[Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro]]'' involves a decapitation via wire attached to rubber, making a "guillotine slingshot", as Neuro puts it.
* The main weapon of Elf and Zwolf in ''[[Gunnm|Battle Angel Alita: Last Order]]'' usually in tandem. They've used it for defensive traps,deadly "cat's cradle" attacks,helping with Sechs' [[Fastball Special]] and... knitting a scarf supersonically in the middle of a tournament. ''''.
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* [[Shaman King|Lyserg's]] [[Improbable Weapon User|dowsing pendulum]] functions as this, when the crystal at the tip isn't being used as a homing dagger.
* Evangeline of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' likes to use this like [[People Puppets]]. She says she can control a total of three hundred people simultaneously within a three kilometer radius (long wires!). She of course uses [[Hermetic Magic]] to help.
* As stated above, ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', the Asgardian God Warrior Benetnasch Eta Mime, wears a Cloth reminiscent of [[Musical Assassin|a harp]]. As such, he is prone to laying down
* In the [[Rumiko Takahashi]] story ''[[Mermaid Saga|Mermaid's Scar]]'', [[Creepy Child]] Masato strings up piano wire at knee-height to trip the immortal Youta, and, hopefully, [[Off with His Head|slice his head off]]. Youta receives cuts on his shins and a particularly deep gash on his neck, but is otherwise okay.
* One character in [[Bastard!!]]!! has this as a main weapon
* Triela makes use of one of these to strangle a guard in an episode of ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]''.
* Belphegor of ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'' combines this with [[Knife Nut]] by attaching wires to each of his thrown knives.
* Jenos Hazard from ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'' has a glove with lines of
** Keep in mind, he belongs to an assassin organization whose members all have weapons tailor-made to their abilities, made of an indestructible metal alloy.
* ''[[After War Gundam X|Gundam X]]'' has a [[Monster of the Week|Mecha Of The Week]] named Britova whose weaponry includes a rocket-guided razor wire. The universe's backstory also has a Gundam Belphagor (no relation to the above) which uses several wrist-mounted wires to defend against [[Attack Drone]]-type weapons.
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* The Ordeal of Strings during the Skypeia arc of ''[[One Piece]].''
** This also seems to be an application of whatever power Donquixote Doflamingo has which he used to cut off both [[Our Giants Are Bigger|Oars Jr.'s]] leg and [[Good Thing You Can Heal|Crocodile's head]]. Presumably he uses the same strings for his [[People Puppets]] skill too.
* A frequent murder weapon in ''[[Detective Conan]]''
* The first ''[[Appleseed]]'' movie had a pair of gynoids with cutting whips that did quite a number on Hitomi's car and later on Briareos' [[Hand Cannon]] as well.
* [[Word of God]] for ''[[The Slayers]]'' is that the Crown Princess of Seillune, Amelia and Naga's mother, created a spell called "Chaos String" that allows the caster to manipulate threads. [[Word of God]] also states that Naga used this spell to kill an assassin that murdered her mother, and that Naga has been terrified of blood ever since.
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* In ''[[Final Destination|Final Destination 2]]'' a character is trisected horizontally by a flying wire fence.
* ''[[Men of Honor]]'': In the same vein as many of the listed [[Real Life]] examples, Cuba Gooding Jr's character suffered an accident where a large cable snapped, whipping around and injuring his lower leg.
* ''[[The Three Musketeers (2011 film)|The Three Musketeers 2011]]'' had a trap made out of
* In ''[[Piranha 3D|Piranha 3DD]]'' a character is decapitated by perfectly normal ''bunting'' at neck height when he drives a jeep not particularly fast into it - though given [[Bloody Hilarious|the nature of the film]] the absurdity is certainly intentional.
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* It was used as a spaceship weapon in the ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'' novel ''Objective: Bajor'', where the enemy ships flew out in pairs with a monofilament net between them. The net was so fine it couldn't be seen or blocked by shields, but any ship that was netted simply crumpled to atoms, occupants and all. They also had a net pulled by torpedo, for when the paired ships were split up.
* There's also a scene in ''[[Alex Rider|Stormbreaker]]'' where a pair of ATV's try to slice apart our hero with cheese wire in between the two vehicles.
* There's a [[Chekhov's Gun|Chekhov's]]
* Larry Niven gives us a couple of examples:
** ''[[Ringworld]]'': [http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=930 shadow square wire]
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== Live-Action TV ==
* In one episode of ''[[Dad's Army|Dads Army]]'' Captain Mainwaring describes the use of cheese cutters as a garrotte, causing Private Pike to become ill. Sgt. Wilson suggests it's because Pike hates cheese, rather than Mainwaring's mention of decapitation.
** Also notable as a
*** He just demonstrated the motion in mid-air and ended up pulling too hard.
{{quote|'''Mainwaring:''' Instant decap- * wire snaps* oh.}}
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* [[Dungeons and Dragons]]
** [[Silicon-Based Life|Crystal spiders]] from [[Dark Sun]] make glass webs that are razor sharp, near-invisible, very strong ''and'' entangling (though not sticky as such) at once.
** The spider-like Head Hunter in [[Ravenloft]] spins webs of this
== Video Games ==
* Kurenai, from ''Red Ninja: End of Honor'' uses a tetsugen, or an iron wire.
* Sion's Etherite from ''[[Melty Blood]]'' is not only used as a
* Sima Yi in ''[[Dynasty Warriors]] 6'' uses this as his primary weapon, ostensibly to symbolize his [[Puppet Master]] tendencies.
* Agent 47 from the ''[[Hitman]]'' series has a garrotte wire as his second signature weapon. It does not leave blood unlike knives, and is the best weapon to use as a Silent Assassin.
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** Also a danger in the Florida Everglades and other swampy areas in which barbed wire has been strung across an area. Most of the giant fan-driven swamp boats will have a cutter in the front to prevent unanticipated decapitations.
* Razor wire, a more advanced version of barbed wire, is used in trench warfare to stop infantry movement. It is still in use to prevent people from climbing fences, or to prevent cattle from trying to get through a fence.
* Partial [[Truth in Television]]: British secret agents during WWII were rumored to use so called ''Gigli saw''
** Still, less painful than the movie ''[[Gigli]]''.
*** Arguably. The ''Gigli saw'' wouldn't give you a couple of all-to-brief moments of respite with [[Christopher Walken]] and [[Al Pacino]], though.
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* This is basically the theory behind the rope saw.
* Simple monofilament fishing line, the stronger types in particular, can certainly be used like this (intentionally or otherwise). In addition to the above examples, it can also be used like a rope/wire saw (and can cut through PVC pipe, in fact). And for those fishermen stranded in the wilderness...strong, nearly-invisible line is perfect for making snares to catch a meal. Just don't [[Hilarity Ensues|forget where you left the traps]].
* It's worth mentioning carbon nanotubes. The longest ones are
* The winch cable they use to launch gliders can be quite dangerous: a kilometer long cable moving at high speed, there are stories it cut a cow in two, unlucky enough to wander on the airfield. The cables have a parachute at the end so that they fall gently after being disconnected from the glider after takeoff. If the cable breaks during takeoff, it can snap to the ground with great force, so the winch itself is usually armored or at least has reinforced bars on the windows.
* Executing a man by hanging is actually a tricky procedure. The rope selected for the execution must be carefully calibrated to the weight of the condemned - otherwise, the hanging could accidentally become a decapitation instead. This has infamously happened to the western outlaw Tom Ketchum.
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