Clean Cut: Difference between revisions

* Averted in ''[[Star Wars]]''. The lightsabers do cut through almost anything (they cannot cut through other lightsabers, cortosis blades, Phrik or blades created by sith alchemy, and it can be difficult to make them cut through anything with an electromagnetic field), but are obviously immune from material limitations, what with being plasma and all. Also people don't spend half a minute looking shocked before falling to pieces. Limbs and appendages tend to fly all over the place, although [[Bloodless Carnage|bleeding is very limited]] as the laser cauterizes as it cuts, and leaves a gap due to the width of the blade and the fact that surrounding flesh is heated white hot and thus charred.

** Lightsabers also cannot cut superconductors. Apparently, the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] has room-temperature superconductors that can hold an edge. Combine that with [[Vibroweapon|Vibro Weapons]], and you get the vibro-shields (yes, shields used as swords, contrasted with the lightsaber's status as a sword used as a shield) of the Akk Guards, who fight [[Badass|Mace]] [[Samuel L. Jackson|Windu]] in ''Shatterpoint''. Aside from the cauterizing, [[Vibroweapon|Vibro Weapons]] in general can perform this trope just like lightsabers. Better, maybe, since cauterizing is not strictly part of the trope. However, hold a lightsaber against a superconductor for long enough and the whole thing will melt. Also, vibro weapons have less cutting power than lightsabers.

* ''[[Final Destination]] 2'' features a similar scene, except with two fenceposts with barbed wire spun in between, slicing apart one of the destined to die.

* A [http://youtube.com/watch?v=VX6xsIrZfdo deleted scene] from [[Tom Cruise]]'s ''[[The Last Samurai]]'' has the lead character, Nathan Algren, witness a samurai named Ujio walking along a street, who gets hassled by a pair of businessmen. The samurai takes their insults for a few moments, as they insult his heritage and his swords, but when one of them pokes him with a cane, Ujio slices off the head of the man in a clean, swift fashion, and sheaths his katana in one fluid movement while the other scrambles backwards.

** In ''[[Discworld/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]]'', a rather unimpressive priest completely decapitates a vampire with a simple axe without harming a baby the vampire was holding or even knocking the vampire's head off his shoulders. Said vampire is told not to nod quickly. It's suggested that [[Theory of Narrative Causality|narrative causality]] and/or Granny Weatherwax had something to do with that, though.

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in ''[[Discworld/Interesting Times|Interesting Times]]''. A messenger delivers bad news to Lord Hong. Lord Hong picks up the sword he's working on. The messenger, who can't bear to look, shuts his eyes and hears the swish of the blade. When he opens his eyes, he's still alive. He gingerly touches his neck... "you heard terrible stories about Lord Hong's swords." Turns out he had cut the head off a would-be assassin.

* In the ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' series, the Subtle Knife has two <s>blades</s> edges: one for cutting through ''anything'' tangible, and the other for ''cutting through the fabric separating alternate universes''.

* The ''[[Gears of War]]'' novel ''Aspho Fields'' averts this, as a character's attacking a Locust with the chainsaw bayonet on the game's infamous Lancer Assault Rifle is an extended pushing of the chainsaw into the Locust, and they later found out they had a piece of bone stuck in them that flung off during the altercation.

* Also done in the ''[[Known Space]]'' series of short stories by [[Larry Niven]]. Not by a knife though... In the stories there is a type of thread referred to as "Sinclair molecule chain" -- [[Razor Floss|a thread that is one molecule wide, and can slice through anything with just a gentle tug]]. How they manage to attach handles to it is a different story... This is also used in the "variable-knife" and "variable-sword" from the same series, which is nothing more than Sinclair chain spun out from a handle, with a "stasis field" to support it. Not to mention a red ball at the end, so you can tell where the thread ends.

[[Category:Action Adventure Tropes]]

[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]