SH-B1 Plasma Saw
Hand-portable mining cutter turned weapon
The SH-B1 Plasma Saw was a hand-portable mining tool built for excavation and ore extraction, cutting through rock and metal with a sheath of plasma riding on rotating superconducting teeth. On the Sprawl the agent Vandal turned one on the Necromorphs.
The SH-B1 Plasma Saw was a hand-portable mining tool built for excavation, ore extraction, and mining work, able to cut through ore, metal, and the flesh of Necromorphs with a sheath of plasma riding on rotating superconducting teeth. Like the Plasma Cutter and other industrial implements, it became a weapon when the agent known as Vandal turned one on the creatures during the outbreak on the Sprawl. (Dead Space (2011 mobile))
Design and operation#
The SH-B1 model of plasma saw was a hand-portable cutter capable of chopping through ore, metal, and even the flesh of Necromorphs. It used a variable-output rotary system of superconducting teeth, with hundreds of joules of electrical energy per second flowing through a plasma sheath riding on magnetic fields. On contact with solid matter, electro-thermal disruption caused intense localized warping and heating, so that the saw cleaved with a touch. To prevent the binding or dangerous vaporization that could occur during prolonged cutting with a single blade, the SH-B1 used a series of moving teeth that scooped out the burning material to make room for further cutting until the saw broke through. The same motion cooled the superconductors and reduced wear. (Dead Space (2011 mobile))
Use on the Sprawl#
During her time on the Sprawl, the Unitology operative known as Vandal was given one of these tools to complete a project for the Church. After that project failed, Vandal kept the saw and used it in combat against the Necromorphs, relying on it mostly in close encounters, when she was tackled, grabbed, or cornered. Many of her counterattacks turned on the saw: she would push back a Slasher that grabbed her and slice off its arm, or pull a Lurker's tentacles free of her body, dismember all three, and throw the creature aside. (Dead Space (2011 mobile))
Frequently asked questions
- What was the SH-B1 Plasma Saw?
- The SH-B1 Plasma Saw was a hand-portable mining tool used during excavation, ore extraction, and mining work. It could chop through ore, metal, and Necromorph flesh using a variable-output rotary system of superconducting teeth riding a sheath of plasma on magnetic fields.
- How did the Plasma Saw cut?
- Hundreds of joules of electrical energy per second flowed through a plasma sheath. On contact with solid matter, electro-thermal disruption caused intense localized heating and warping, cleaving with a touch. Its moving teeth scooped out burning material to keep cutting and to cool the superconductors, preventing the binding or vaporization that could occur with a single fixed blade.
- Who used the SH-B1 Plasma Saw?
- During her time on the Sprawl, the agent known as Vandal was given one of these saws to complete a project for the Church of Unitology. After that project failed, she kept the tool and used it against Necromorphs in close encounters, severing limbs and tentacles when she was grabbed or cornered.
Sources
- GameDead Space (2011 mobile), IronMonkey Studios, 2011
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Plasma Cutter
The Plasma Cutter was a family of handheld mining tools built to cut through ore and rock with a focused bolt of ionized plasma. Compact and precise, it became the most common improvised weapon of survivors during the Necromorph outbreaks.
Lurker
The Lurker was a small Necromorph specialized for ranged attacks, usually reanimated from human infants or, in later outbreaks, from infected dogs. It stalked walls and ceilings on sticky tentacles and fired barbs of sharpened bone at its prey from a distance.
Necromorph
Necromorphs were aggressive creatures formed when the Markers' electromagnetic signal reshaped dead tissue into monstrous new forms. Driven to kill the living and gather corpses for Convergence, they were the recurring plague that destroyed the Aegis VII colony, the USG Ishimura, and Titan Station.
Slasher
The Slasher was the most common form of Necromorph, reanimated from a single human corpse and named for the blade-like protrusions of bone that grew from its arms. Weak alone but lethal in numbers, it was the form survivors encountered most often in every major outbreak.
The Sprawl
Titan Station, known informally as the Sprawl, was an EarthGov metropolis built around the last fragment of Saturn's moon Titan. Home to over a million people, it housed the secret Project Telomere and the Site 12 Marker, and fell to a Necromorph outbreak in 2511 that destroyed the station entirely.
Church of Unitology
The Church of Unitology was the most influential religion in human space, born from the death of Michael Altman and built on the belief that the Markers promised rebirth and unity in death. Its faith in Convergence ultimately served the very forces that meant to consume humanity.
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