Xena: Warrior Princess, the epic adventure show set in mythical Ancient Greece, is set for a comeback run on NBC, which means the “mighty princess forged in the heat of battle,” is returning to television to whoop some Godly behind. But in order to do that, she’ll need some trusty chakrams, like those in the above video, which are forged in the heat of…fire.
The forging of the chakramsâcircular blades used as throwing or hand-to-hand weapons originating in India as far back as the 2nd centuryâcomes to us thanks to Man at Arms, the web series that proves once again that fictional weapons really belong here in reality where we can use them to mercilessly cut through watermelons, milk jugs, and anything else that explodes nicely in super slow-mo.
Both of Xena’s chakrams are tackled in this episode, although the one from the beginning of the series is forged, while the other is plasma cut.
Plasma cutting, for those unfamiliar with the crazy cool way of slicing up metallic objects, uses an electrode with a high-frequency charge placed inside of a tube that’s filled with a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. The electrode, which shoots a direct current from itself to the metallic object it’s cutting, heats up the gas mixture as it spirals in a vortex out of the hole in the tip of the cutter, thusly becoming a plasma ( a.k.a. ionized gas). That plasma is then used to cut through the metal object.
Toward the end of the video, after showing off the plasma cutter and some thorough pounding of molten metal, the team takes the chakrams out back and tries them out on everything from soda cans to a very very bloody human bust. Sam, who pulls off a J. Walter Weatherman from Arrested Development, also cuts off his “hand” at around 1:48 to make sure viewers remember that safety always matters. Although for anybody who dares to challenge Xena and her chakrams, that’s going to be a tough warning to heed.
What did you think about the forging and cutting of these chakrams? Give us your thoughts with the gusto of a Xena war cry in the comments section below!
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HT: Sploid
Images:Â AWE Me