Cosmic Knife

The cosmic knife is a weapon in the Fallout: New Vegas add-on Dead Money.

Background
Made from a "space age" Saturnite alloy in the Big Mountain Research and Development Center, cosmic knives were advertised to be super-sharp, all-purpose kitchen knives that would not chip or dull. A surplus of these knives were shipped to the Sierra Madre Casino kitchens in preparation for the Gala Event. Though lightweight and durable, they proved to be too sharp for their own good, able to cut a person's thumb off if they were careless, as stated by terminals claiming that they were running out of rags to mop up the blood, and even slice through cutting boards with no effort. Concerns were raised about the safety and necessity of having so many of these knives lying about, but Frederick Sinclair insisted that only the best equipment be used.

They were also found to have incredible heat retention, able to stay super-hot for hours after being heated over a stove. However, they are much more brittle when heated, and if left on an uninsulated surface, they would melt right through.

Following the Great War and prior to the events of Dead Money, many of these knives found their way into the hands of the ghost people who stalk the streets of the Villa, who use them as weapons against any unfortunate visitors.

Characteristics
Compared to the regular kitchen knife, the cosmic knife deals more damage and has a longer blade stained red with Cloud residue. It is particularly effective against limbs, where it inflicts a 50% damage bonus. Because of their emphasis on limb damage, cosmic knives and their derivatives are preferred close-range weapons against the ghost people since they're best dispatched by cutting off one of their limbs.

Using Abraxo cleaner, one can turn it into a cosmic knife clean, which deals double the limb damage. It's also possible to locate a recipe that super-heats the knives, making them much more likely to inflict critical hits. They glow purple before they are cleaned, most likely due to years of cloud exposure. The name "cosmic knife" is a brand name only, referring to the "space-age" Saturnite material it is made of, not because it originates from outer space.

They are used in the crafting of knife spears, throwing knife spears, clean cosmic knives and super-heated cosmic knives. Aside from the handle and tip, they appear similar to the standard knife.

Special attack
It has a special Back Slash attack, which does 70% damage in V.A.T.S. at the cost of 4 fewer action points (requires a Melee skill of 50).

It is possible to execute Back Slash outside of V.A.T.S. (without the required Melee skill of 50 to perform the move) by initiating a power attack (hold attack button) while moving forward.

Durability
The cosmic knife can successfully strike about 745 times from full condition before breaking.

Variants

 * Cosmic knife clean
 * Cosmic knife super-heated

Locations

 * 1 can be found stabbed into a cutting board in the Villa Police Station.
 * 1 can be found stabbed into a bed next to an assassins suit in the Villa Clinic.
 * There are 3 to 4 on worktops in the kitchen in the Sierra Madre Casino.
 * Many can be found in desks in the rooms on the top floor of the Villa Clinic
 * 1 can be found in the kitchen of the executive suites in the Sierra Madre Casino.
 * 1 can be found right next to the exit from the Villa to the Mojave, next to 1 Sierra Madre chip.
 * 1 can be found in the eastern part of the Villa. It is located in the Gift shop on a display rack next to a cosmic knife advertisement.
 * 1 can be found in a cafe with a radio in Salida del Sol courtyard next to a cutting board.
 * 2 can be found in Cantina Madrid on or next to a cutting board.

Behind the scenes
Shape and texture resources for the cosmic knife, its clean, and super-heated variant are all present in the files of Old World Blues add-on, but not used. Though present, no objects in the add-on use these resources. Curiously the resources are stored within the nvdlc01 folder used by the Dead Money add-on, rather than the nvdlc03 folder allocated to Old World Blues.

Bugs

 * The cosmic knife is not affected by the Cowboy or Super Slam! perks.

Gallery
Cosmic knife Kosmisches Messer