History Main / RazorFloss

* The low-tech "wire strung across the road" trick was a means of guerrilla warfare in times when most officers and messengers went about at high speeds on horseback. In many versions of the Headless Horseman myth, this is how the Hessian mercenary that became the Horseman originally lost his head. Later it would find use in World War 2 on soldiers of both sides riding either motorcycles or open-top vehicles like Jeeps. This trick was also taken up by the IRA during UsefulNotes/TheTroubles.

** Barbed wire or razor wire is nearly harmless when tightened properly into a fence - farm animals will stop against it, but any man with reasonable agility can push the wires aside and sneak through. Wire used in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne trench warfare]] was differently deployed, in large loose coils, like on top of modern prison walls. Most people trying to sneak through would get entwined, their thick uniforms and loose gear being easily caught in the wire, and if razor wire was used, they cut themselves trying to escape.

* Shows up in, of all things, the Website/YouTube cooking channel ''WebVideo/FoodWishes'', in which Chef John [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkzz9dW9Yms&t=321s uses a piece of kitchen twine to slice a wheel of brie in half in preparation for stuffing]]. He refers to this as the "James Bond Villain Technique" because of its resemblance to what "it seemed like someone wanted to do" this to Bond's neck with a piece of piano wire in every Bond film.

* ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'': In "Ivan the Terrible vs. Alexander the Great" Ivan tries to murder his second opponent, Frederick the Great, with a wire garrote after offering him a seat, but he dies of old age first. Then the next one up, Pompey the Great, gets decapitated by Catherine the Great with a garrote that has dildo-shaped handles.

* In ''Skate or Die'' colliding with a fence during the Downhill Jam causes the skater to be diced into cubical chunks.

* The infamous kite string known as "hilo curado" ("charged string") in Chile and "cerol" in Brazil, used to have kites fly and cut each other's strings. Basically, it's normal kite thread covered in liquid glue and pulverized glass. It's ''dangerous as hell.'' People die: onlookers, participants, people who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time will get [[OffWithHisHead their throats slit]] by a kite with strings like these passing by. This style of kite combat is actually fairly common all over the world, but especially popular in the two aforementioned countries.

* A frequent murder weapon in ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' -- in fact, the first case solved involved a ''beheading'' on a roller coaster using a wire.

* Gein from the ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' manga.

* A famous scene in the Australian cult classic ''Stone'' involves the murder of a biker by a high-tension wire, followed by his head rolling along the road.

!!Examples:

* The Disaster Armor from ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'' had this as one of the powers it could grant its bewitched user. Used to horrifying effect with the Seventh Chrome Disaster attacks Yellow Radio's hunting party and apparently can pull players right to him before devouring them, as well as being able to change his trajectory mid-jump. This proves to be his undoing when he attaches the filaments to the far more maneuverable Silver Crow, who uses their unbreakable nature to slam Chrome Disaster into a building and weaken him enough to defeat him.

** John Byrne loves this idea, he did the exact same thing with the invulnerable Hardbody from ''ComicBook/NextMen''.
*** And if memory serves he did an issue of ComicBook/FantasticFour where Doctor Doom trapped ComicBook/SheHulk in a cage, the "bars" of which were so thin they sliced into her arm when she tried to push against them.

* References abound in ''Literature/TheExecutioner'' series to guards having their throats cut open with piano wire garrotes, while monofilament trip wires (not for RazorFloss but so they won't stand out) were often mentioned in the ''Literature/AbleTeam'' series.

* ''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.

* Nao in ''Anime/MyHime'' and ''Anime/MaiOtome''.

* Creator/PoulAnderson's story "Thin Edge" (written under the pseudonym "Winston P. Sanders") appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction Magazine'' in 1963, possibly making it the UrExample.

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

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E9RealtyBites Realty Bites]], Snake [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofFzdOZ2K18&t=1m27s tries to kill Homer]] by setting up piano wire across the road as Homer drives past in his convertible. [[TheFool Needless to say, this doesn't take.]]

* Belphegor of ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'' combines this with KnifeNut by attaching wires to each of his thrown knives.
* Chiaki from ''Manga/KamikazeKaitouJeanne'' uses this near the end.

* Evangeline of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' likes to use this like PeoplePuppets. She says she can control a total of three hundred people simultaneously within a three-kilometer radius (long wires!). She, of course, uses HermeticMagic to help.
* Nao in ''Anime/MaiHime'' and ''Anime/MaiOtome''.

* The main weapon of Elf and Zwolf in ''[[Manga/{{Gunnm}} Battle Angel Alita: Last Order]]''. They've used it for defensive traps, deadly "cat's cradle" attacks, helping with Sechs' {{fastball special}} and... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking knitting a scarf supersonically in the middle of a tournament]].

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* 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.

** Donquixote Doflamingo ate the String-String Fruit, which allows him to generate razor floss for various purposes. He can cleanly slice through the leg of [[OurGiantsAreBigger Little Oars Jr.]], attach the wire to his victim's limbs and do PeoplePuppets, and attach it to clouds to swing around like Spider-Man. Considering his vast empire, which spans both halves of the Grand Line and includes [[spoiler:many top-ranking Marines, a lot of World Government officials, a fellow Warlord of the Sea, and even an Emperor]], he is a VisualPun--the man pulling the strings on both the figurative and literal level.

** 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 Razor Floss, with some attention paid to its physics in a few chapters-- it can stretch to incredible lengths and is highly conductive to electricity. Tira has a ''spool'' of it, and at one point uses it to marionette an entire ''casino hall'', resulting in Tira winning a fortune in cheated winnings and the pit boss ending up as party cubes.

* 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.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** During ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency Battle Tendency]]'', Joseph Joestar uses ropes doused in oil to trap his vampire enemies and burn them using Hamon. This is foreseen by Esidisi (who also uses this trope via [[BodyHorror 1000 degree blood vessels]]), who cuts the ropes during their battle. Unfortunately for him, Joseph had employed the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_and_restore_rope_trick cut and restore rope trick]]'' to catch him off guard.
** In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', Joseph gains the Hermit Purple Stand that allows him to create vines out of his hand. However, in this arc it is Kakyoin who best uses the trope with his Hierophant Green Stand, setting countless wires around DIO during their final showdown.
** In ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'', Jolyne ''becomes'' this with her Stand, Stone Free. It unravels parts of her own body into durable strings, which are used in increasingly clever strategies. It further helps that the Stand itself is free to fight off enemies at close range with brute force while Jolyne handles the TrapMaster work.
* The twins Raiga and Fuga from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'' have this as the basis of their fighting style ''Nishin Furai Ken'' (Dual Gods Wind and Thunder Fist). [[WonderTwinPowers It can only be learned by identical twins]].
** In the anime, their master Sojin uses a style very similar called ''Furai Jukkyoku Ken'' (Wind and Thunder Ten Extremities Fist).
* 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.
* In ''Manga/MissionYozakuraFamily,'', Kyoichiro's preferred weapon is Steel Spider, a pair of gloves that produce seemingly endless amounts of wire that can rip apart an entire mansion. In addition to tearing things to ribbons, Kyoichiro also has enough precision with them to interfere with the wiring of a bomb, catch people who are falling to their deaths, and fling said bomb to another building with pinpoint accuracy.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/SpyXFamily'' when we see Yor try her hand at tennis. She has such incredible speed and strength, she sometimes accidentally shreds the tennis ball into little cubes with her racket's net when she swings it too hard. She has to deliberately [[DoWellButNotPerfect hold back]] so she can serve or return while keeping the ball in one piece.

* In ''ComicBook/TopTen'', the Libra Killer has hundreds of monofilament tentacles, which were even capable of cutting through a phased Jack Phantom.
* [[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.

* 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]].
* 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.
--> ''[[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/buckcomic.php?date=20080717 Um, that really big threat where I come from.]]''

* The ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' employs this on one of the Predator weapons.
** This first appeared in ''Film/{{Predator 2}}''. Basically, the net is made of thin wire and it tightens, cubing the person it captures.
** One of the Predators from ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'' used a weapon that fires a net that cuts into a xenomorph's head before being dissolved by the [[AlienBlood acidic blood]], leaving a net patterned scar through the rest of the movie.

* In the first ''Film/TheSantaClause'', the magic tinsel employed by the elves to break Tim Allen out of jail.
--> '''E.L.F.S. Leader''': ''Tinsel. Not just for decoration.''

* Mentioned and seen in ''Film/DieHardWithAVengeance''. As the two heroes are attempting to get from a bridge to a ship passing under it, Zeus says they should jump to the attached crane. John [=McClane=] says the cables would cut them in half. Then when they use the winch on an SUV to climb down, the ship pulls the car off the bridge, leaving the hook and cable attached to the crane. As it swings, it hits a henchman. Zeus and John are then seen dragging him by his arms and legs. About eight feet apart...
* A famous scene in the Australian cult classic ''Stone'' involves the murder of a biker by a high-tension wire, followed by his head rolling along the road.
* ''Film/{{Audition}}''. [[{{Yandere}} Asami Yamazaki]] uses piano wire to horrific effect during [[spoiler:the twenty-minute torture sequence that ends the movie]].
* In ''Film/FinalDestination2'' a character is trisected horizontally by a flying wire fence.

* ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers2011'' had a trap made out of Razor Floss that effortlessly sliced a dropped ribbon into several pieces, filling the dramatic purpose of a LaserHallway.
* In ''[[Film/Piranha3D 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 [[BloodyHilarious the nature of the film]] the absurdity is certainly intentional.

* Poor [[spoiler:Aimee]] in ''Film/YoureNext'' falls prey to the clothesline version. No decapitation, but the wire cuts deep enough to bleed [[spoiler:her]] to death.
* ''Film/{{Blade}}'' uses this to finally kill TheDragon by decapitation. Of course, the wire in question is silver-lined, as a regular wire would probably not be enough to decapitate a vampire.
* In ''Film/XChange'', Stuart is given a security package at a store that caters to executives and other "corpies". One of the items he isn't yet familiar with is a roll of monomolecular wire held together by a magnetic field. It becomes useful later when he's tied up with his LoveInterest. He has her pull out the roll and use it to cut his bonds. She accidentally slices off a few of his fingers, but it's ok since he's [[BodySurf in the body]] of a clone about to die.

* Henchman Patty O'Brien from the first ''Film/AustinPowers'' film attempts to use this on Austin during an ambush in a casino bathroom. [[{{Swirlie}} Patty fails.]]
** Lampooned in the same film, in which Austin is issued an oral hygiene product. When Austin sees dental floss, he immediately believes it's a disguised garrote wire, but it really wasn't [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin anything more than regular dental floss]].
* Used fairly realistically in ''Film/TheCounselor'' by a cartel hitman to kill [[spoiler:Creator/BradPitt]]'s character. The weapon takes the form of a noose made from strong wire that's 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.
* In the UsefulNotes/ColdWar action movie ''Film/TheSoldier'', a GratuitousNinja tries to sneak up and garrotte the title character. The Soldier grabs the wire before he can get it around his neck, but it's seen cutting into his arm. The weird thing is this turns out to be just an AttackHello from one of his own men, who just injured his boss before a crucial mission.
* The 2002 Resident Evil provides a scene in a hallway, where three villains are annihilated by laser cuts. The last of the three is chopped up by a diamond-like mesh of laser beams.
* In ''Film/EvilBreedTheLegendOfSamhain'', while fleeing from the cannibals, Steve runs into a length of piano wire strung between two trees with enough speed and force to [[OffWithHisHead decapitate himself]].
* ''Film/NakedKiller''. One of their hits 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.

* Creator/PoulAnderson's story "Thin Edge" (written under the pseudonym "Winston P. Sanders") appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction Magazine'' in 1963, possibly making it the UrExample.

* 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.

* It's used instead of barbed wire around the robotic nursery in the novel version of ''Literature/LogansRun''.
* It was used as a spaceship weapon in the ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine 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 ''[[Literature/AlexRider Stormbreaker]]'' where a pair of ATV's try to slice apart our hero with cheese wire in between the two vehicles.

* Featured in the Literature/TomSwift ''IV'' novel ''The Microbots''; Tom wore diamond-coated gloves to handle it. In the novel, the characters are miniaturised, at which point the monofilament is thick enough to be safely used as a rope.
* Creator/CarlHiaasen's ''Skin Tight'' features another low-tech implementation of this method, in this case using two trees and some fishing wire.
* The early Creator/OrsonScottCard novel ''Wyrms'' has the heroine keeping a strand of this in her hair for use as a weapon in case of an assassination attempt.

* In one of L.E. Modesitt's Literature/SagaOfRecluce novels, the heroes set up defenses involving razor floss strung along paths down which the enemy cavalry would charge.

* In ''Literature/TheCityWhoFought'' by Creator/AnneMcCaffrey and Creator/SMStirling, 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!'"
* The third episode of Dan Simmons' ''Literature/HyperionCantos'', ''Endymion'', features monofilament wire used as a tripwire in an ambush. It was also conveniently hidden in a spool of sewing thread.
* The short story "[[Literature/OutboundFlight Mist Encounter]]" has Thrawn running rings around the Imperials sent to investigate his place of exile, then calmly explaining exactly how and what he did to the captain. One of the many things he did was cause a TIE fighter to crash.
-->'''Mitth'raw'nuruodo''': I knew the spacecraft would come to search. In preparation, I had strung some of my monofilament line between two of the taller treetops. One of the spacecraft hit it.

* ''Brotherhood of the Rose'' by David Morrell. As one of the protagonists is being garroted by an assassin, it's mentioned that such wires are embedded with diamond so it can saw through fingers if the mark is able to get them in the way in time. This is what begins to happen, but fortunately he's able to break free before then.
* Combat Drones deployed by Literature/TheCulture occasionally use ''monofilament warps'' stretched between two remote-controlled projectiles. The filaments seem capable of cutting through most conventional materials with no effort.
* References abound in Literature/TheExecutioner series to guards having their throats cut open with piano wire garrotes, while monofilament trip wires (not for RazorFloss but so they won't stand out) were often mentioned in the ''Literature/AbleTeam'' series.
* In Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts novel ''Salvation's Reach'', the assassin used wire as a garotte.
* In Creator/DianeDuane's ''Literature/TheRomulanWay'', [=McCoy=]'s Romulan captors bind his hands with a ribbon with a monofilament at the center. It's perfectly safe if he doesn't fight it...and if he does, his hands fall off.
* 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.
* Isabelle Lightwood from ''Literature/TheMortalInstruments'', edges her whip. [[spoiler:She uses it to take off Sebastian's hand in ''City of Glass'']].
* Jessamine Lovelace from ''Literature/TheInfernalDevices'', edges her parasol, turning it into an effective weapon.
* Alex Fierro's signature weapon in ''Literature/MagnusChaseAndTheGodsOfAsgard'' is an enchanted pottery wire. It's magically extendable and can cut through boulders, but not always magical beings. [[CombatPragmatist Still makes an excellent garrotte in those cases]].

* In one ''Series/{{Bones}}'' episode, the murderer was a sculptor who, driven to rage by his neighbour's singing, garotted him with a sharp wire he used to cut clay.

* An episode of ''Series/DarkAngel'' had a police officer recount how some firemen got their throats slit by piano wire strung across doorways.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}'' had Angel and Spike pull this trick on a supposedly-unbeatable guardian.

* ''Series/{{Andromeda}}'' had the M-lash, a molecule thin whip that was so sharp if you tried to set it down without turning it off first, it would cut through the table, then the floor, etc.
** Dylan even comments on this questioning the intelligence of an opponent who would use such a weapon onboard a spaceship
* The first episode of ''Series/FoylesWar'', "The German Woman", involves a particularly cruel case of this. While out riding her horse, the titular German woman hits a length of wire strung between two trees at neck height. Foyle kindly explains to us later that - unfortunately for her - it doesn't result in complete decapitation, and she is simply left to bleed to death on the ground.
* In ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' [[spoiler:Ward uses this to kill Eric Koenig. While not actually seen, when Simmons does the autopsy she notes that it was a struggle and the killer must have been both physically strong and significantly taller than the victim, so this is a fairly realistic portrayal.]]
* Renge in Series/KamenRiderKabuto uses this as her signature weapon.
* In ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'', [[Creator/CharlieCox Owen]] garrotes Del Grogan with a wire cutter. While Owen has to use much more force than usual for this trope, he ''does'' manage to garrotte Del through his fingers, leaving them severed on the floor.
* An episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' had a killer who used a [[ImprobableWeaponUser motorized garrote]]; just start the motor and the wire would tighten over whatever it was placed on. Yes, ''what''ever--at one point she set the device [[MundaneUtility on the handles of a pair of double doors]] in order to keep Gibbs in a room long enough to make her escape.
* The ''Series/CSIMiami'' episode "High Octane" begins with young adults performing automobile stunts in a beach parking lot. One driver, who's sitting on the roof of his car as he uses his feet on the steering wheel, [[OffWithHisHead gets decapitated]] when[[spoiler:, after a saboteur remotely elevates his car high enough,]] an electrical wire (connected to a string of lights) cuts clean through his neck at 40 miles per hour.

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

* In Creator/{{TSR}}'s short-lived RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Alternity}}'', there was a particular type of villain named the "kroath" who made use of monofilament wire to set up traps. On a good roll, the material was capable of killing [=PCs=] in one attack.
* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' finds a bunch of clever uses for monowire from whips to swords to fences to bullets. There's also a superior version called nanothorn which is like monowire but doesn't cut things so much as it ''dissolves'' them by slicing their molecular bonds.
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
** [[SiliconBasedLife Crystal spiders]] from TabletopGame/DarkSun 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 TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}} spins webs of this stuff--usually right at neck level. Being so thin, they're near-invisible...
* R. Talsorian Games' ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}'', supplement ''Chromebook 2''.
** The Kendachi Monowhip is extended from a handle, with a weight at one end for so it can be swung. It can be extended up to 4 meters and reeled back in by pushing a button. It cuts through all organic materials and most plastics and reduces armor to 1/3 its normal value.
** The Kendachi Monowire is similar but has a weight at each end. It can be used for setting up traps and as a garrote.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Traveller}}'', ''Megatraveller Journal'' #3 adventure "Rapid Repo". The {{PC}} team can requisition monomolecular garottes which are really good at slicing through victims (and their armor).
* Blade (Flying Buffalo)'s original ''TabletopGame/GrimtoothsTraps'' (1981). The Delvermatic Dicer trap pushed a door-opening {{PC}} through a fine monofilament mesh, which was described as having a "cheese grater" effect on the {{PC}}'s body (i.e. it left them lying on the ground in chunks).
* ''TabletopGame/{{Dragonstar}}'' has monofilament axes (and dwarven urgroshes).
* Judges Guild magazine ''The Dungeoneer Journal'' #23, article "Magic Item Generator". One of the possible magic items is a Monomolecular Wire that's a [[SharpenedToASingleAtom single molecule thick]]. It can cut through any substance but must be anchored at each end to be used as a weapon (e.g. as a garotte).

* 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.

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

* [[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Reginald Jeeves]] (yes, you read that right) in ''Webcomic/AndShineHeavenNow'': in fact, he was the one that taught [[Anime/{{Hellsing}} Walter]] how to use them.

* 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.

** 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 [[ElectricTorture 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''.

* In the ColdWar action movie ''Film/TheSoldier'', a GratuitousNinja tries to sneak up and garrotte the title character. The Soldier grabs the wire before he can get it around his neck, but it's seen cutting into his arm. The weird thing is this turns out to be just an AttackHello from one of his own men, who just injured his boss before a crucial mission.

* In Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba, there is Rui, Lower Rank-5 of the Twelve Kizuki. His Blood Demon Art allows him to manipulate razor-sharp threads to slice people with. He can also wrap them around people's bodies and use them as PeoplePuppets.