by Adeniyi Abdul

Sun Jifa of the Guanmashan, Jilin province, northern China lost both his arms 8 years ago when a homemade bomb he built himself exploded. It turns out bombs aren’t the only thing he knows how to make, as he’s built himself new prosthetic arms.

Sun was building the bomb to use during a fishing trip but the contraption exploded, not long after which he realised he could not afford the prosthetic hands recommended by the hospital.

That was when he decided to take matters into his own hands, and began working on a prototype.

“I survived, but I had no hands and I couldn’t afford to buy the false hands the hospital wanted me to have,” he said. “So I decided to make my own.”

He has finally succeeded in creating a working prototype, which allows him to perform all necessary arm movements with a system of pulleys and wires.

“I control them with movements from my elbows and I can work, love normally and feed myself just like anyone else,” he said. “The only drawback is that steel is quite heavy so they’re tiring to wear and get hot or cold in the extremes of summer and winter.”

He also revealed that the creation cost him little, saying, “I made this from scrap metal for virtually nothing. There is no need to pay hospitals a fortune.”