Introduction: Samurai Armor and Tools

In this manual, you will learn how to create a set of samurai armor along with the tools used in that time.

The materials that you will need:

Armor

  1. A Drill with an 11/64 Drill Bit
  2. Boxcutter Knife
  3. 20 Square Feet of Sintra or a Material Similar to Sintra
  4. Heat Gun
  5. Spray Paint of Any Color you want
  6. 550 Paracord of Any Color
  7. A Lighter or Candles
  8. Braided Elastic Bands
  9. Canvas
  10. Scissors
  11. A workspace

Weapons

  1. Heat Gun
  2. Saw
  3. Tin Foil
  4. Pvc Pipe
  5. A flat, heavy surface to Flatten PVC
  6. Spray Paint

Warning: For some parts of this project, I used a bandsaw for more accurate cutting, but all cutting can be done with a carpet knife.

Step 1: The Weapons

The first, and easiest part of the construction is the creation of the weapons.

The weapons include a Jumonji Yari, Nodachi, Katana, and Wakizashi.

1. Jumonji Yari

  1. 8ft of 3/4in PVC
  2. A Silver or Steel Color Spray Paint with Primer
  3. A Brown Color Spray Paint
  4. PVC Cross Fitting
  5. PVC Cement
  6. Duct Tape
  7. Heat Gun

Instructions:

Cut the PVC into four pieces. Three one foot pieces and one five foot piece. Afterwards, use the PVC cement to secure all 4 pieces into the cross fitting and duct tape the connection for extra security. Use the heat gun to bend the one foot pieces slightly for a boar-head spear look. Spray paint the shaft of the spear brown, and paint the "blades" of the spear silver.

2. Nodachi

  1. 4ft of 3/4in PVC
  2. Silver Color Spray Paint with Primer
  3. Heat gun
  4. Duct Tape
  5. Something to Flatten the PVC
  6. Aluminium Foil

Instructions

Lay out Aluminium foil in a way that three feet of pvc can be held inside. Turn heat gun settings to the highest possible, and heat three feet of the pipe until it is flexible enough to be pushed down by a finger. Once you are done heating it, press down on the whole three feet. Try to make the handle curve into the flatness evenly on both sides. Spray paint the entire pipe silver, and let it dry for one day. Afterwards, wrap duct tape around the unaltered section of the pipe.

3. Katana

  1. 4ft of 3/4in PVC
  2. Silver Color Spray Paint with Primer
  3. Heat Gun
  4. Duct Tape
  5. Something to Flatten the PVC
  6. Aluminium Foil
  7. Boxcutter Knife

Instructions

First, you must make sure that the length of the pvc is correct for your height. Hold your hands out and have the pvc reach from the bottom of your hand to the floor. If it does not, cut and try again. Once you have the correct length, heat the blade until you can push down and flatten it. Make sure to curve the pipe so that the blade ends up being curved. When the pipe is cooling, take the section that you cut off and cut it length wise so that you can flatten the pipe into a sheet. Cut a hole large enough for the blade to fit in. This will be your guard. Paint both the guard and and the pipe silver and put the guard onto the blade. Finish by wrapping duct tape around the handle of the katana.

4. Wakizashi

  1. 2ft of 3/4in PVC
  2. Silver Color Spray Paint
  3. Heat Gun
  4. Duct Tape
  5. Something to Flatten the PVC
  6. Aluminium Foil

Instructions

Make a mark 6in into the pipe. The remaining 18 inches will be heated up, flattened, and spray painted. Afterwards, use duct tape and wrap the remaining 6 inches of pipe.

5. Yumi Hankyu

  1. 5ft of 3/4in PVC
  2. Brown Spray Paint
  3. Heat Gun
  4. 550 Paracord

Instructions

I was not able to create the Hankyu without some help. Backyard Bowyer created a tutorial that I followed in order to create the bow.

Step 2: The Shoulders

What You Need:

  1. A Sheet of Sintra or Sintra-like Material
  2. A Boxcutter Knife
  3. A drill with 11/64 Drill Bit
  4. 550 Paracord
  5. A Lighter or candle
  6. Red Spray Paint
  7. Hot glue gun
  8. Braided Elastic Band

Instructions

Cut 6 rectangles for each shoulder about 6 inches long and 2 inches wide. Drill 2 columns of holes with on each end of the rectangle, spacing the holes equally. Once you have cut and drilled, spray paint the rectangles and wait for them to dry. While waiting for the paint to dry, burn the tips of the Paracord so that the ends will fit through the holes. Connect the shoulders with the Paracord in a way that the rectangles become layered upon each other. Tie up the Paracord so that it looks presentable and then use hot glue to glue on the elastic band. This band will be used to keep the armor on your shoulders, so make sure that the band is not too long otherwise you may have to cut it.

Step 3: The Wrists and the Bottom Legs

What You Need:

  1. Sintra or Sintra-Like Material
  2. A Boxcutter Knife
  3. Spray Paint
  4. Drill with 11/64 Drill Bit
  5. Heat Gun
  6. Lighter or Candle

Instructions

Wrists:

Cut 2 rectangles 8 inches long and 4 inches wide. Drill holes through the corners. Afterwards, use the heat gun to heat up the rectangle and shape the rectangle around your wrist. Keep it there for a while to let the sheet cool down and harden. Afterwards, spray paint the wrist armor and wait. While waiting, use a lighter to melt the ends of the Paracord to make it easier to thread the Paracord through. Once that is done, thread the paracord through, and the wrist armor is completed.

Bottom Legs:

Cut 2 trapezoids that are 8 inches long vertically with slants that are 9 inches long. On the shortest side, make the length of the end 2.5 inches wide and make the other end 10 inches wide. Make sure to drill holes in each corner of the armor. Once your are done cutting, heat up the trapezoids and fit them to your shins and let them cool and harden. Afterwards, spray paint the bottom legs and use a lighter to melt the ends of the Paracord to make it easier to thread the Paracord through. Then, thread the paracord through and the armor is finished.

Step 4: The Torso

What You Need:

  1. Boxcutter Knife
  2. Sintra or Sintra-like Material
  3. 550 Paracord
  4. Heat Gun
  5. Spray Paint
  6. Lighter or Candle
  7. Drill with 11/64 Drill Bit

Instructions by Section

Shoulders:

Cut 2 rectangles that are 10 inches long and 2.5 inches wide. Drill in the middle at each end of the rectangle. Afterwards, use the heat gun and fit the rectangles right next to your neck. This section will be used to hold up the entire set of armor. Once you have fit the armor to your body, let it cool down and spray paint. The Paracord from the back armor will go through the holes drilled in the shoulder part.

Back:

Measure from one side of your stomach behind your back to the other side. Once you have this measurement, measure the length from your lower back to your armpits. Afterwards, divide the measurements equally and cut 5 pieces that are equal in length and width. Drill 4 columns of holes in the Sintra. The outer 2 columns should be about 2 inches from the closes edge. The inner 2 should be about 8 inches from the closest edge. Also, you should drill one hole each at the bottom rectangle. This hole will be used to connect the chest piece to the back piece. Once you have cut and drilled, heat up the rectangles. Fit the rectangles to your body and make sure to bend the ends so that the connection point will be easy to find. Heat up the paracord and connect the rectangles using the paracord. Make sure to layer the armor so that 1 out of 4 holes will be covered up by the hole of another rectangle. Spray paint, and then weave the armor together. Once you have done all of that, connect the remaining paracord from the middle holes to the shoulders. Have the paracord go through both holes of the shoulders. Cut another piece of paracord and set that aside as you will use it to connect the front and back pieces together.

Chest:

Measure from one side of your stomach across your stomach to the other side of your stomach. Measure from your waist to the top of your stomach. Cut 3 rectangles that divide this area equally and cut another three pieces that lose 2 inches in length for each piece. This will result in a large rectangle area that will protect your stomach and a blocky pyramid of sorts that will protect your chest. Once you have cut the rectangles, the 3 largest ones will be drilled. There will be four double columns. The outer columns will be about an inch away from the edges and the inner columns will be about 6 inches from the closest edge. Stack the rectangles that are different in length and drill through all of them at once. Make sure to align the inner 2 columns of the chest area with the inner 2 of the stomach. Heat up all the parts and fit them to the respective areas they will go to. Make sure to bend at the ends of the stomach section to easily connect the back with the stomach. While you are waiting for them to cool down, cut 2 trapezoids and align them with the top holes of the chest armor. Drill holes that will match the chest armor and drill one hole at the center top. This part will connect to the shoulder straps to hold the armor. Spray paint the armor and weave it all together.

Step 5: The Thigh and Groin Armor

What You Need:

  1. Canvas
  2. Scissors
  3. Hot Glue Gun
  4. Sintra or Sintra-like Material

Instructions:

Take the plaster that you have and cut 3 pieces that are 3 times the length from your knee to your stomach. Fold these pieces three times over. When folding the pieces, hot glue the inside of the edges so that the fabric does not fall apart. Cut another piece from your plaster and make the piece long enough for it to wrap around your waist and tie. Make sure to fold the piece over some times for extra strength. Cut three squares each for the three pieces that will go down to your knees. Make sure that these squares fit into the width and length of the pieces. Make them wide enough to reach the ends of the cloth and long enough to divide the length of the piece with a half inch of space between each square. Glue the pieces of cloth to the belt and let it dry. Once that is done, glue the squares to the pieces of cloth so that there is a half inch of space between each square. Try on the thigh armor.

Note: When putting this armor on, put the belt on backwards, and turn in backwards so that it is tighter and will not fall off.

Step 6: The Final Product

How it came out:

When I put on the armor and look in the mirror, I can say to myself that I built a set of samurai armor. There were a couple hiccups in the way, such as the front armor being a little less uniform than the back, but it was well done overall.

The project itself took a long time, but if you spend more time working on the project per day, such as working on the project an hour a day, you could finish this project in 5 weeks.

Final Thoughts:

I had a lot of fun doing this project, and I hope that anyone using this instructable can be proud of their final product.