Cut paper without laser?

Has anyone done any research on cutting paper, other than with lasers? Like with a small sharp knife, pulsating sharp pin/needle, or anything like that? I'm hoping for something safer, easier to source, cheaper, and more legal than lasers.

Knife cutters were around long before laser cutters.
They are pretty much a reprap body with a razor blade on the head instead of an extruder. And a solid way to hold the paper in place. Look for a DIY cricut machine at instructables.com. I'm pretty sure there are instructions on how to convert an inkjet printer to a cutter there.

Your looking for what they call a drag knife.

You will also need a carrier to hold the paper and not dull the knife too much. There are a few options but what I do on my craftrobo is laminate a piece of cardstock with the cold lamination stuff you can find at any office supply store. To "stick" the paper to the carrier I spray it with quilt basting spray then cover it with a sheet of wax paper until I need it. You'll need to experiment a little on how much spray you need but it's very forgiving. Too much spray and your paper will rip when trying to remove. I find this works as good or better then the really expensive carrier sheets that are available for purchase. If you happen to have a purchased sheet that lost it's stick put some Isopropyl alcohol on it.

Roland and Graphtec make really expensive high quality vinyl cutter, but they also sell replacement parts that happens to include a knife holder. Since both companies are very popular with professionals the replacement blades are fairly easy to order.

Many years ago I built a LOM machine, the sheet material was the stuff they use on kitchen worktops with a thermal glue, the cutter was like a miniature sewing machine with a small pin driven by a DC motor, it worked but the edges were not as smooth as they would be with a blade, the material was to stiff for a blade, and it was omnidirectional.

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Random Precision

I cut vinyl and paper all the time on my cnc router with a drag knife, I use a holder from these guys Drag Knife holder
works well, you will need a fairly straight / level table, as there is very little room for height error,