History Main / RazorFloss

* In ''Literature/{{Frieren}}'', a demon tries to use magical razor-wire to try to hang and decapitate Frieren. Unfortunately for him, Frieren knows just how to counter this, both using mana to protect herself from being decapitated, and then using her magic to sever both of his hands before putting him down.

* In the VideoGame/{{Touhou}} [[{{Hentai}} H]]-[[{{Doujinshi}} doujin]] ''Ningyou Kakumei'', [[{{Yandere}} Alice]] manages to trick the naive [[LivingToys doll Medicine]] into consenting to helping her in her ''[[UnusualEuphemism research]]'' to make a self-capable Doll. As soon as Medicine said that she'd help, Alice traps her with puppeteer's threads:
-->'''Alice:''' It's puppeteer's thread... you'll only cut yourself if you try to struggle... so please be a good doll and stay still...

Compare KnowsTheRopes, WhipSword, and KillerYoyo.

* The "wire strung across the road" trick was used in a ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode to decapitate a motorcycle rider.
** And in a ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' episode, "Golden Die-Angle", a drug enforcer is decapitated in the same way while riding an ATV.

 * Jessamine Lovelace from ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'' edges her parasol, turning it into an effective weapon.

* The [[ComicBook/TwoThousandAD Indigo Prime]] story ''Killing Time'' featured one of the protagonists [[spoiler:executing UsefulNotes/JackTheRipper]] using a harp - however, the strings weren't sharp enough to slice effortlessly through the flesh and needed him to be forced through face first. The fact that harp strings could be strong enough to not only resist breaking but also slowly carve through flesh and bone can be handwaved by the fact that [[spoiler:the harp was from a reality created by an insane omnicidal extra-dimensional monster]].
* Diamond Lil, from ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight'', sometimes plucked a hair from her head and used it as a slicing garrotte. Justified by her being NighInvulnerable, over six feet tall, and very, very strong (though not superhumanly so). Since it can't be cut, her hair is also very long.

* The Franchise/{{Batman}} villain [=KGBeast=] kills a key member of the "Star Wars" missile program this way, hanging wire across the street down which the victim motorcycles. The victim's head is sliced clean off.
* Subverted in ''ComicBook/BuckGodotZapGunForHire'', an alien ninja threatens the chief of security with what he assumes is a mono-molecular garrote but is really just floss.

* In the Creator/AndrewVachss series ''Cross'', Cross and his crew escape from a juvenile detention center using dental floss to cut the bars on one window. They also dipped to floss in comet cleanser to provide an abrasive. This took some time, with strong guy Rhino chugging away at the floss and Cross reading him poetry to keep him motivated.

* [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Super-Skrull]] pulled this off in the [[CrisisCrossover Annihilation Mini]] he received, stretching his body like Reed Richards, but keeping it Thing durability. Razor wire.
* In one issue of ''ComicBook/TheFlash'', Doctor Alchemy strung fine wires of pure molybdenum across the shortest path to reach him. Flash realized what was going on and veered off in time, but if he hadn't, he likely would have sliced himself to pieces at the speed he was running at.
* During the ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper'' flashback story, "Cinnabar", Rogue uses a monofilament wire to cut through parts of Charybdis after his using his rifle only results in the creature's internal defences to [[BlownAcrossTheRoom react violently to gunfire]]. This is ''inside'' the creature. It's noted that a laser would have been more effective, but Rogue's has been confiscated and he was thrown in as part of a BloodSport with minimal equipment.
* In ''ComicBook/TopTen'', the Libra Killer has hundreds of monofilament tentacles, which were even capable of cutting through a phased Jack Phantom.

Fantasy settings generally have this type of string made of human hair, while in more modern and future ones it's probably [[SharpenedToASingleAtom monomolecular]] wire. Spider thread is used in both. In series less reliant on the RuleOfCool, the wires usually manifests as garrotes or tripwires, with varyingly messy outcomes.

In reality, cables and metal wires ''can'' be used to inflict not so clean but still pretty nasty wounds, provided they are of the right material and/or sufficient force is applied. Cheese slicers frequently use thin metal wires stretched in a metal frame to accomplish this trope, for instance. The monomolecular form is an eternal dream of materials engineering: any material with enough tensile strength to be used as razor floss could be woven into cables of the sort needed to build a SpaceElevator. [[note]]Carbon nanotubes could fit the bill if some hitches can be solved: production defects involving single atoms out of place can [[{{Pun}} cut]] their strength by up to 85%[[/note]]

A rarely addressed aspect of the trope occurs when the razor floss breaks or is cut. In such situations it may [[HoistByHisOwnPetard snap back at the user like a rubber band]].

Compare KnowsTheRopes, WhipSword and KillerYoyo.

** A similar trick is used by the villainous character Rust Jigsaw, who can set near-invisible jigsaw blade traps in the air around him. His preference for hunting close quarter or melee Burst Linkers made him a dangerous threat when they inevitably tried to get close to him to deal some damage. Again, this strategy proved bad when he faced a Disaster Armor controlled Silver Crow, who cut the distance between them by applying his own wires to Rust Jigsaw and yanking.

* Showed up once in the manga version of ''Manga/CityHunter'', when Ryo had to deal with a killer dosed with [[PsychoSerum Angel Dust]]: due the drug the killer stood back up after getting shot ''three times'' with a ''[[HandCannon Colt Python .357 Magnum]]'', at which point Ryo pulled out a wire and beheaded him.

* Kazuki from ''Manga/GetBackers'', 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 [[{{Vibroweapon}} vibrations he applies to them with his fingers]]. 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.

* In ''Manga/HunterXHunter'', Machi a member of the Phantom Troupe, is this. She spins her aura into threads in which she uses in a variety of ways, including seaming together dislodged limbs, attaching strands to people in order to track their movement, and as a weapon.

* ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'': During the '''D of D''' tournament, one of the participants (known as Captain K) sets up a steel wire trap for the Shinpaku Alliance team and forces Freya to fight one on one against him. At first it seems he has the upper hand when she gets superficial cuts on her thighs, but it turns out she was the one playing him and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard ends up trapping him in his own wire maze]].

* Jubei of ''Anime/NinjaScroll'' keeps his sword wired, so that he can retrieve it quickly. One of the villains also uses wire, mainly as a communication device (similar to a cup-and-string getup), as well as a means to electrocute people.

** The Asgardian God Warrior Benetnasch Eta Mime, wears a Cloth reminiscent of [[MusicalAssassin a harp]]. As such, he is prone to laying down Razor Floss around the environment as traps, as well as send them flying towards his opponents to entangle them. Note that his harp's strings are strong, and sharp enough, to crack and cut through solid rock, as well as Bronze Cloths and the very human skin of the Saints wearing them.

** Two minor movie villains: Lyra Orpheus, the Ghost Saint appearing in the first Saint Seiya movie (Lyra Orphee has inspired by him) and one of Abel Saints, Berenice, from third movie, that has the ability to launch several strands of hair. These hairs Berenices throws are able to trap and disrupt the enemy.

* WordofGod for ''Literature/{{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. WordofGod 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.

* In the anime ''Manga/SpaceAdventureCobra'', the Guild pirate Sandra sets a trap inside of a maze for Cobra. The trap was a web of piano wire sharp enough to cut Cobra to limit his movement, while she took pot-shots at him with a lightning gun.

* ''Fanfic/TheArithmancer'': Once Hermione learns how to rearrange any source of carbon into nanotubes, she can fill an area with strands too thin to easily see, but strong enough and sharp enough to cut a man to ribbons. It requires additional magic to be held in enough tension to allow it to cut. It works especially well on [[AttackAttackAttack mindlessly attacking]] enemies like Inferi, but can inflict horrific wounds at a touch on anyone. Unfortunately it's easily burned by a prepared opponent.

* ''Fanfic/TheDresdenFillies'': In Strange Friends the Mane Six plus Harry Dresden found themselves in a trap of high tension invisible razor wires. It ended up backfiring when they just snapped a wire causing a chain reaction that wipes out all the other wires.

* Used fairly realistically in ''Film/TheCounselor'' by a cartel hitman to kill [[spoiler:Westray]]. The weapon takes the form of a noose made from strong wire and quickly tightened by a small electric motor. The hitman approaches the victim from behind, throws the noose around his neck, pulls it tight, activates the motor and bolts before anyone can react. It takes only a few agonizing and very bloody seconds for the device to cut through the victim's [[{{Fingore}} fingers]], then his jugular, before all but [[OffWithHisHead decapitating him]] as the noose continues to close. Gets all the more horrifying by the hit being carried out in broad daylight on a busy street with countless civilians to witness it, kids included.

* In "Film/DragonBallZBojackUnbound", Bujin, a member of Bojack's gang and [[DepravedDwarf Depraved Dwarf]], uses wires throughout the film. They're completely devastating until Gohan's third act power up.

* ''Film/NakedKiller'': One hit involves the two female assassins dancing intimately around their target in a nightclub, when they're actually wrapping razor floss around his body. Then they pull away from him in opposite directions, tightening the wire and decapitating their target.

* In Eric Nylund's ''Mortal Coils'', Fiona Post's special ability is the power to cut through anything with she is holding at the time provided it's thin enough. She uses a rubber band, yo-yo string and her own hair throughout the novel to do this. Supposedly her mother was possessed of the same ability.

* ''Literature/{{RCN}}'': Daniel Leary's retainer, Hogg, experienced poacher, uses lead weights on the end of monofilament fishing line for striking and restraints -- he once severed a hand from a wrist.

* ''Literature/TheShipWho'': In ''The City Who Fought'', Joat -- a young girl -- sets up several strands of monofilament wire across a corridor than baits a Kolnari patrol to chase her, running into the trap. The Kolnari are literally sliced to pieces by the molecule-thick wire, making for a gruesome, bloody scene. As Joat says, it "...gives a new meaning to 'cut off at the knees!'"

* Trent the Uncatchable uses "fine-line" multiple times in Creator/DanielKeysMoran's "Tales of the Continuing Time". One of his more creative uses was to string it across the hatches of missile bays in a space station that he was about to escape from. When the space station fired the missiles at his ship, they were to be cut in half by the fine-line before it melted due to the rocket exhaust, causing the missiles to explode and destroying that wing of the space station, in an attempt to prevent future launches against him. In order to prevent any deaths (even of his enemies, since Trent is a pacifist), he told the commander of the space station what he had done prior to launch. Unfortunately, the bad guy is extremely smart, and ripple-fired all of the missiles at once. Most were destroyed, but enough got through to damage Trent's ship.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' had Angel and Spike pull this trick on a supposedly-unbeatable guardian.

* ''TabletopGame/AnimaBeyondFantasy'' sourcebook ''Dominus Exxet'' features legendary weapons corresponding to the zodiac. Cancer's weaopn is a large array of razor floss.

* ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' makes use of monofilament garrotes as a very effective hand to hand weapon, but they break after one use. In the opening fiction, one of the Firewall Sentinels unknowingly puts her hand right through a web of monomolecular wire strung across a hallway by TITAN self-replicating nanoswarms; she doesn't even notice it has happened until her hand falls apart in front of her eyes.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' had monofilament swords and whips and used monofilament in traps. Judging from the hacker chatter in some of the {{Sourcebook}}, though, the monofilament whip is looked at as something of a fool's weapon, since an untrained user is as likely to decapitate himself as his enemy. This never gets reflected in-game rules, of course, although it does suggest a truly evil result when the "[[CriticalFailure Rule of Ones]]" comes into play.

* The Eldar of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' are fond of monofilament wire. Their jump troops, the Warp Spiders, are armed with a gun that fires it, and their artillery is armed a much larger version of this gun that fires a cloud of the stuff, which then drops down on enemy troops and shreds them. Most notably are the Harlequins, who use a weapon called the "Harlequin's Kiss", a device that inserts a single monofilament wire down your throat and whips around at incredible velocity, which is effective, needless to say. The Eldar are [[BlackAndGrayMorality still considered one of the more noble races in the setting]], [[CrapsackWorld which says a lot about what kind of universe this is]].

** Supposedly it was named for [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Dorothy's]] magic slippers. She would click her heels together and say "there's no place like home." With this weapon you need not say anything, although users do tend to say things like [[BloodyHilarious "eewww"]].

* The ''Website/OrionsArm'' universe has [[AppliedPhlebotinum magmatter filaments]], useful for making things like Ringworlds due to their vast strength to weight ratio. They're actually thinner than single atoms of normal matter and can trigger subatomic particle decay if they intersect an atomic nucleus. Yep, it can cut ''protons'' into pieces.

* Especially to the first time user. No warranty for lost limbs or heads while learning to use this device.

* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', the Flying Mind episode, where everyone in the sentient ship is paralysed by a diamond-mesh laser shock-beams, kinda like a net that fills-up every open space, so there is no escaping it.

* Any wire, or even occasionally rope on a ship is a potential case of this. Get your arm tangled in a spool of wire attached to something heavy (say, a sail or fishing net), lose control of it and ''rrrrip''. This can strip flesh from bone - or even in some cases, tear limb from body. Either make sure whatever connects the wire to the heavy thing will snap before you do, or know exactly what you're doing when handling wire.

** Even worse, high tension cables, chains, and ropes that snap in industrial accidents. Since they're designed to withstand many thousands of pounds of stress, all that energy goes directly into both halves of the line, which can also weigh hundreds of pounds by themselves, whipping chaotically to strike or slice clean through anything within the arc circumscribed by their unspooled length around their anchoring points.

** Same goes to lassos carelessly used by cowboys, charros, huasos, etc.
* That's why archers' equipment includes bracers (and protection for fingers, in some styles): no one wants to lose the skin of their arms, palms, fingers or wrists to a misbehaving bowstring.

** It was so bad in Brazil a few years ago, that the electricity company had some ads against it because it can cut through power cables and kill the kite flyer [[HighVoltageDeath by electrocution.]] Same goes to Chile: since kite flying/fighting is very common in September (during the national holidays), ''every'' September new ads against "hilo curado" are released on Chilean TV, and ''many'' kite vendors are detained for making it. It's gotten to the point that getting caught with a roll of this kind of string will net you a bigger fine than getting caught with ''drugs''.

* 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 [[HilarityEnsues forget where you left the traps]]...

* The winch cable they use to launch gliders can be quite dangerous. It's a kilometer long cable moving at high speed, and there are stories of it slicing cows in two when the unlucky beasts wander onto airfields. 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.

* Not a rope or a cable, but in terms of skinny floppy slicey things [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_cut it's entirely possible you've witnessed or inflicted a paper cut]]. Though rarely intentional or even close to lethal, they ''are'' painful, since the cuts are shallow and on the fingers or palms (meaning they encounter a lot of nerves). High-quality paper for color laser printers is the worst, as it is both unusually rigid and thinner than photo paper, writing paper or cardboard.

* In "Film/DragonBallZ:BojackUnbound", Bujin, a member of Bojack's gang and [[DepravedDwarf]], uses wires throughout the film. They're completely devastating until Gohan's third act power up.

* Jessamine Lovelace from ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'' edges her parasol, turning it into an effective weapon.

* Triela makes use of one of these to strangle a guard in an episode of ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''.

* ''Fanfic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'': [[spoiler:Harry]] uses it to finish off several enemies.

* Like its tabletop predecessor, ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' has Monowire as a cyberweapon, and if you've leveled in Blades, it is one of the most lethal melee weapons in the game.

* The ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'' universe has [[AppliedPhlebotinum magmatter filaments]], useful for making things like Ringworlds due to their vast strength to weight ratio. They're actually thinner than single atoms of normal matter and can trigger subatomic particle decay if they intersect an atomic nucleus. Yep, it can cut ''protons'' into pieces.

* Used fairly realistically in ''Film/TheCounselor'' by a cartel hitman to kill [[spoiler:Westray]]. The weapon takes the form of a noose made from strong wire and quickly tightened by a small electric motor. The hitman approaches the victim from behind, throws the noose around his neck, pulls it tight, activates the motor and bolts before anyone can react. It takes only a few agonizing and very bloody seconds for the device to cut through the victim's [[{{Fingore}} fingers]], then his jugular, before all but [[OffWithHisHead decapitating him]] as the noose continues to close. Gets all the more horrifying by the hit being carried out [[DaylightHorror in broad daylight]] on a busy street with countless civilians to witness it, kids included.

* Belphegor of ''Manga/Reborn2004'' [[BladeOnAStick attaches sharp wires to each of his thrown knives]].

* ''{{VideoGame/Dishonored}}'''s Spring Razors are basically spring-loaded razor wire landmines.
* Sima Yi uses "wired gloves" –- gauntlets fitted with razor floss -– as his primary weapon in ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 6'', ostensibly to symbolize his [[TheChessmaster puppet master]] tendencies. He abandons them from the 7th game onwards, but ''8'' passes them on to his wife Zhang Chunhua.
* Agent 47 from the ''VideoGame/{{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.

* [[VideoGame/MegaManStarForce Harp Note]] has this as one of her attacks. After binding you with her guitar strings, she [[MusicalAssassin riffs a few times]]. [[ThePowerOfRock It hurts]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}} Wars''. Being the classic monofilament stuff, Razor Wire is really hard to spot and is laid down as traps in alleys to hamstring unsuspecting runners. Its badder brother Trigger Wire is as difficult to notice and supposedly adds explosions.

[[folder:Web Video]]

Razor floss is when any long, thin material -- string, thread, fine wire, etc -- is used as a weapon with AbsurdCuttingPower (for which it is a subtrope). Odd as it may sound, strings can become deadly weapons in the [[ImprobableWeaponUser right hands]]. Besides restraining enemies and even [[PeoplePuppets controlling other people's bodies against their will]], or triggering traps, they can be pretty handy for cutting. In many works of fiction, one skilled enough can use strings to cut opponents or even boulders, without hurting themselves. Naturally, monsters of the humanoid arachnid variety can usually be counted on to be using this trope.

* Like its tabletop predecessor, ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'' will have this as an equitable weapon.

* Marco Adriano from ''[[Manga/{{Gangsta}} GANGSTA.]]'' uses impossibly long garotte wires that he stores in his specialised watch. With them, he's able to [[CleanCut cleanly slice through]] flesh and bone with seemingly little effort.

* The garrotte wire used by Yoji in ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' occasionally functions as Razor Floss, although much more often he simply strangles or restrains people with it.
* In ''Manga/{{X1999}}'', [[spoiler:after Kotori dies by being stabbed in the chest, her body is gruesomely dismembered with this]]. Particularly egregious since it's done with electrical wires taken from a street post, which are considerably thick... but since the killer was [[spoiler:Fuuma the DarkMessiah]], [[spoiler:he]] probably imbued said wires with [[spoiler:his]] own power.

* The titular character of the ''LightNovel/BoogiepopSeries'' wields this quite efficiently and lethally.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Kaori Kanzaki uses this to simulate super fast sword strikes. Her old student Itsuwa can do it too, but she's not as skilled.

* During one of the most badass moments from Volume 2 of ''LightNovel/GoblinSlayer'', Goblin Slayer uses the hair of one of the goblins' previous victims as a makeshift garrote to strangle the living crap out of [[spoiler:the Goblin Champion of Water Town]], completely turning a near-hopeless situation around for the rest of his party. He holds on so tightly that the hair is actually cutting through his heavy gloves and lacerating the skin beneath.
* A brief murder mystery in ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' involved a motorcyclist who was beheaded by a strand of wire stretched across the road.

* WordofGod for ''LightNovel/{{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. WordofGod 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.

* Both Rimuru Tempest and the kijin Souei from ''LightNovel/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'' can pull this trope to devastating effect with the skill Sticky Steel Thread.

* In ''LightNovel/ALullabySinister'', the Occult Club encounters deadly strands of black hair trying to enter the Surrogate School. Simply touching a strand causes deep lacerations.