Suni-ate are the shin and knee guards. Samurai armor was made to cover the front of the knee, but not the top. This violates SCA armor and safety regulations. To give the armor the correct appearance, use European knee armor which has been attached to a knee pad and wear them under your fighting pants. The following suni-ate are made of three vertical pieces which have been hinged together. They are flexible, comfortable, protective, and look very good. Make sure you do a poster-board pattern and try it on so you can make any necessary adjustments before you begin.
Materials:
Construction:
1. Make a full-sized copy the pattern in DIAGRAM 5-1. Once you're certain it fits, cut two from your barrel. Finish the edges.2. With your propane torch and a pair of heavy gloves, heat the entire suni-ate. When it becomes soft enough, form it into a semi-circle. (SEE DIAGRAM 5-2)
3. (It helps at this point to use a piece of cord around the ?calf' part to hold it in position.) Once you have the upper part of the suni-ate formed so that it fits your calf pretty well, heat the ?ankle' part until it is soft enough to form. Press the plastic in until it fits snugly around your ankle. With a pair of pliers, bend out the small pieces which cover your ankle bones. Now bend up the plastic up a little at the top of the arch. (SEE DIAGRAM 5-3)
4. Now comes the tricky part. Go back to your poster board pattern. Cut it along the two vertical dotted lines on the patten as shown in DIAGRAM 5-1. Tape the center piece to the front of your suni-ate. Mark the edges of the pattern on the suni-ate with a Sharpie marker. With a jig saw or hand saw, cut each suni-ate into three pieces. Finish the edges and clip off any sharp points.
5. The parts of the suni-ate have to be hard-laced together. Decide how many sets of ?X's' you want (the more, the nicer). Mark and drill all of your holes (1/8" holes, remember).
6. Cut your leather into 9" strips. Use these pieces as the back of the hinge. Punch all of the holes in the leather and hard-lace the suni-ate together. (SEE DIAGRAM 5-4)
7. Mark and drill six sets of holes (1/4" apart and vertically oriented) as shown in DIAGRAM 5-5. With your lacing, make small loops (about big enough to slip the end of your pinky through) and melt the lacing on the inside of the suni-ate.
8. Take four 3' long pieces of lacing and tie the middle of each one to the center loops. Hold the suni-ate against your shin and feed the lacing through the loops, around your leg, and tie them (with a bow) in front. (SEE DIAGRAM 5-6).