100% YAMATAIAN ZESU KATANA QUESTION

[Fian]

Do Zesu blades become blunt from use against lesser materials?

Do Zesu blades become blunt or damaged in Zesu on Zesu action (armor or another blade)?

Can a Zesu blade cut Zesu armor?

If a Zesu blade becomes blunt or damaged due to contact with Aether or Antimatter, or due to reasons above, how are they sharpened, rehoned or repaired?

How widespread is the use of Zesu blades in personal articles and in Power Armor?

Does Yamatai make less-than-zesu swords for practical or ceremonial purposes?

 

[Exhack]

Alright, here's a good question: How easy is it to find zesuaium shards on the market? Zesuaium plates? Aforementioned materials on old battlefields? Debris fields? I'm asking for. . . a friend. Yeah, let's go with that one.

I imagine it might be quite easy if you study Yamataian military history and have a good enough understanding of astrophysics to predict drift patterns for unaccounted or abandoned ships, but I imagine there might actually be a big risk. Zesuaium is non-reactive to many electromagnetic phenomenon, so many forms of navigational shields won't stop or repel Zesuaium shards and its energy absorbent nature might cause small debris to be dismissed as sensor static.

At a fraction-of-light cruising speed or even at a significant hundreds of meters per second, your ship might get ripped apart by flying into the debris cloud of an old Yui-class derelict, as slivers of the material some as large as 10 meters long or as small as 3mm carve their way through your hull like heated needles being dropped into jello.

 

[Fian]

Zesu remains restricted technology, though. So don't get caught.

Gotta imagine the market for the stuff is next to zero, unless the shape is somehow particularly advantageous. It's too unmanageable a material.

I'd imagine Zesu shanks/daggers/knives made out of cut shards would be a pretty hot item in the underworld.

 

[Doshii Jun]

I'd imagine Zesu shanks/daggers/knives made out of cut shards would be a pretty hot item in the underworld.

Sure, but you have to find just the right piece that has sharp edges only where you want them. Otherwise, how are you ever gonna attach it to anything? Hell, how would you attach it anyway ... a Zesuaium sword is all Zesu. Formed from the ground-up to have smooth and sharp edges so the hilts can take wrapping and such.

 

[Fian]

Cut it with Aether or a very precise plasma torch. We're really just looking for a straight piece that is at least 4 inches long. Even if it isnt monomolecular sharp, it is still very and indefinitely sharp, and can be used for prying open things without worrying about damaging the edge.

 

[Doshii Jun]

Hmmmm. True. If you can get good enough plasma for cutting it ... yeah, yeah, I see now.

 

[Fian]

Heck, you can even make a Zesu sword with a bunch of very small shards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl

 

[Wes]

Zesu remains restricted technology, though.

The restriction is actually on the technology for making it. Possession of Zesuaium tools and weapons is legal.

I imagine it might be quite easy if you study Yamataian military history and have a good enough understanding of astrophysics to predict drift patterns for unaccounted or abandoned ships, but I imagine there might actually be a big risk. Zesuaium is non-reactive to many electromagnetic phenomenon, so many forms of navigational shields won't stop or repel Zesuaium shards and its energy absorbent nature might cause small debris to be dismissed as sensor static.

At a fraction-of-light cruising speed or even at a significant hundreds of meters per second, your ship might get ripped apart by flying into the debris cloud of an old Yui-class derelict, as slivers of the material some as large as 10 meters long or as small as 3mm carve their way through your hull like heated needles being dropped into jello.

The danger is very real, especially for people like salvagers who are in the areas of old battlefields regularly.

I'd imagine Zesu shanks/daggers/knives made out of cut shards would be a pretty hot item in the underworld.

They are.

Cut it with Aether or a very precise plasma torch. We're really just looking for a straight piece that is at least 4 inches long. Even if it isnt monomolecular sharp, it is still very and indefinitely sharp, and can be used for prying open things without worrying about damaging the edge.

There are some disadvantages to Zesuaium weapons as well, and the main one is that they're completely inflexible. So if you're using, say, a Zesuaium samurai katana, the force of impact is going to go straight to your wrist.

This thread kind of makes me want to make Zesuaium bayonet for the Star Army, but I'm not sure how much they would be necessary. We've omitted a knife from the standard issue for years now and it doesn't seem to be missed.

 

[Syaoran]

SAoY mostly stays in PAs, at least in areas that are RPed, so most of the standard issue equipment that isn't for PA use gets a lot less attention. And since they have that Aether Saber Rifle a bayonet wouldn't really be of use. Now to unarmored ground forces it might be something worth having, but as it currently is I'm not sure there's a plot for that.

 

[Wes]

Although, if you think about it, in a fight between two soldiers both wearing power armor, the Zesusium bayonet is really the best possible weapon for stabbing between the enemy's armor joints, knight-style, as it's super sharp, super hard, and won't break off in there. Go for the armpit!

 

[Syaoran]

While that's true, it seems, at least in my experience that most PA battles are conducted at high speeds with an emphasis on maneuvering, I think it'd be pretty hard to get it right in the joints with a small bayonet, and that general slashing that would be useful wherever it lands would be more effective. Especially if zesusium penetrates shields, Ume could really use that, but she's not a Ketsurui Samurai.

 

[Yoshi]

Heck, you can even make a Zesu sword with a bunch of very small shards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macuahuitl

ok.. Misato wants a sword like that! Accully Three, to over-sized ones for PA use, and one normal for everyday wear and use

 

[Fred]

There's not much point in zesuaium clubs... except if you want to have a bludgeoning weapon that can also parry a zesuaium blade without taking damage.

Considering how dangerous that proposition would be, you may be better off with a tonfa.

 

[OsakanOne]

I think Fian's onto something.

Man, a zesuaium Macuahuitl would be really badass. Listen to this:

>A macuahuitl (/maːˈkʷawit͡ɬ/ (singular)[1]) is an Aztec weapon shaped like a wooden sword. The name is derived from the Nahuatl language. Its sides are embedded with prismatic blades made from obsidian, a volcanic glass stone, which are sharper than any metal because it is a volcanic ceramic. It was similar to a large woodenclub with grooves in the side to hold the sharpened obsidian. One example of this weapon survived the Conquest of Mexico and it was part of the Royal Armoury of Madrid until it was destroyed by a fire in 1884. Its original design survives in diverse catalogues, among them the one created by the medievalist Achille Jubinal in the 19th century.

tl;dr: The surface is made up of "teeth" of obsidian glass. The "bite" comes when you swing. It is literally the backbone of all modern swords.

You could take shards of zesuaium and shape them using antimatter very very precisely into a sharp cutting surface then mount it into a truss.



If you're a real shit, you could always... You know. Motorize the teeth and do literally the most Nepleslian thing ever.

 

[Wes]

Orange-tinted transparent Zesuaium chainsaw!?

 

[OsakanOne]

Pfft. YES?

Edit:
Oh shit oh shit does transparent zesuaium actually exist? We could literally have an OTC.
If it can't be orange, maybe it uses hot plasma as a lubricant and coolant for the zesuaium to stop it from overheating the rest of the thing, so its also on fire. I like chainsaws that are on fire. And claws made of them. That wrap into mining drills and punch things.

Sorry, getting carried away.

Edit:



>IMPLYING GETTING CARRIED AWAY IS EVEN A THING WHEN YOU HAVE A ZESUAIUM CHAINSAW

The canonical excuse could be as a prototype weapon for boarding huge starships or starbases with really tough hulls. Oh and I guess it has a few other limited tactical uses against other things.

 

[OsakanOne]

Coincidently, do any zesuaium tipped penetrators exist? I can see them being very sought and the tips (which I imagine to be shaped like flachettes) recovered from targets whenever possible.

An ideal weapon would be like a zesuaium flechette, with the rounds on stone-thread so they can be winched back into the gun for another shot.

 

[Fred]

Zesuaium strikes me as inefficient as a projectile weapon. It's quality in weaponry is that it can hold an edge... meaning that it's one of the only weapons that can sport a mono-molecular edge and keep it after more than one strike, where it'd normally be brittle and dull significantly, thus losing the property.

But it doesn't mean other material cannot be manufactured to be that lethal either. Mono-molecular edges are kind of over-hyped - even though zesuaium katanas can probably cut into many materials, a mono-molecular edge isn't always the absolute required to start a cut. Also, while the Ketsurui Samurai zesuaium blades and the KFY saber-rifles may often sport a mono-molecular edge, it's only the edge. It doesn't mean it's mono-molecular "wide". Meaning that at some point, your weapon will drag due to the width of its center and may eventually come to a stop within a target if not enough strength/muscle/momentum is behind it. That's likely why you see the Mindy using aether saber-rifles rely on the aether rather than their zesuaium bladed edges to get around starship-grade armor.

 

[ShotJon]

So I got a question, what would be the price range for Zesu on the black market? Would for example a melee weapon made from piece of hull like let's say... a mace hammer or just rebar that would be usable as staff cost in thousands of KS, hundreds? Do we just use this or not?

 

[Wes]

I would say take the normal price and multiply it by 5-10. The hard part is finding a supplier. The hard part for suppliers is getting the right setup to carve this stuff without killing yourself.

 

[ShotJon]

Right, still the General Melee Weapons wiki already has listed price for Zesu weapons so I was curious...........