Custom Holsters - Kydex Molding

[BlueEagle]

I know there was a thread about custom holsters around here somewhere, but I figured I would start a new one.

Was looking for any tips or pointers from people who have done this before. I intend to try to make some simple holsters from custom molded Kydex.

Anybody else around here that has done that? I ordered my Kydex, and picked up a heat gun from Harbor Freight. I picked up some foam, and I made a couple sets of "plates" to help mold the Kydex. I took some plywood and glued the foam to it. Two boards with 1 layer of foam, two with 2 layers of foam, and two with 3 layers of foam. The theory being that I can use different amounts of foam to mold the Kydex tighter or looser to the body of the gun.

I'm anxious to get my Kydex in and get started; in the meantime, in order to test my mold, I made some aluminum foil "holsters," to make sure that my varying-foam-thickness theory would hold. It appears to work well.

Anyone have any tips or pointers? Appreciate the help. I'll post pictures once I get stuff done, so you guys can laugh at my less-than-handy-work.

 

[Jtgarner]

YouTube - Making an inside the waist band kydex holster part 1 of 2
I watched that and thought it was pretty good.

 

[localone]

you need a better heat gun the 1 I purchased from harbor was their top of the line and burned up within a week

 

[magic man]

Use a pencil or a small dowel taped to the top of the gun to make room for the front sight when drawing.

Make your rough mold and then isolate spots that you need to fix by covering the rest of the holster in cold, damp paper towels and mold the spot by hand. Then move the cold paper towels to the spot when you're done to cool the kydex down faster.

A pair of heavy leather gloves are invaluable when working with the heat gun and kydex.

ETA: Use tin snips to take off large amounts of kydex, but beware it leaves uneven edges.

Use a dremel with a cut off wheel and sanding drum to make most of the cuts.

I use this one- Professional 4 Speed Rotary Tool Kit

 

[magic man]

you need a better heat gun the 1 I purchased from harbor was their top of the line and burned up within a week

I have this one and it's worked great for the 3 holsters and 1 sheath that I've made.

Heat Gun - Great Deals on Heat Guns at Harbor Freight

 

[BlueEagle]

Magic Man, the paper towels idea sounds great, and it was something that I had not thought of, and probably wouldn't have. Also, thats the identical heat gun I bought. It was either that model, or one that was made out of metal, but had the same heat ratings...it also cost 3 times as much. I guess I'm kind of cheap....

I had thought of the dowel rod to make room for the sight already, too. I've spent the past two days staring at the holsters I already own, and trying to reverse-engineer them in my head, while I wait on my Kydex to get here.

 

[magic man]

Magic Man, the paper towels idea sounds great, and it was something that I had not thought of, and probably wouldn't have. Also, thats the identical heat gun I bought. It was either that model, or one that was made out of metal, but had the same heat ratings...it also cost 3 times as much. I guess I'm kind of cheap....

I had thought of the dowel rod to make room for the sight already, too. I've spent the past two days staring at the holsters I already own, and trying to reverse-engineer them in my head, while I wait on my Kydex to get here.

Did you get rivets? If so, what kind?

 

[tTotalProvidence]

If you get grommets or rivets, don't buy them in black unless you find a source for FLAT black. Buy them in antique nickle. Unlike the typical black found at crafting stores, the antique color does not shine and will easily take black spraypaint.

Get yourself a seat cushion, like for a boat. When you are doing the final fit on the gun, holster it and sit on top of it. The mold should be awesome. I've heard of people doing this with kydex, and I do this with wet leather sheaths/holsters.

 

[BlueEagle]

I got Chicago Screws instead of rivets or grommets. I like them, because I can take them out and put them back multiple times.

I got my Kydex in today. Had a friend come over to give me a hand with it.

I decided to make my first holster for my P64, since its an old gun, I have no holster for it, and its all steel, therefore hard to damage with a little heat.

So I cut out a strip of Kydex, enough for a sandwich-type holster. I had measured it out last night with a piece of aluminum foil, to see how much I would need.

Stuck it in the toaster oven out on the deck, (to avoid stinking up the house,) and let it heat for a few minutes. Pulled it out, wrapped it around the gun, and then put it in between the foam plates I mentioned earlier. I think I used 2 layers of foam above and 2 beneath.

Had my buddy stand on it, (he weighs more than me.) I told him that he played a heavy role in the making of my first holster.

Pulled it out, and overall, I am happy with it. We accidentally got the gun a bit tilted right before he stood on it, I guess, but it worked out in my favor. I prefer a slight forward cant to my holsters anyway. I'd like to say that I did it on purpose....but yeah, I didn't.

All I did to it after pulling it out was trim the excess off of the side where the two ends of the Kydex came together, and drill a hole for a tension screw, and to hold the clip on.

I did add two washers I had lying around the house to the Chicago screw, in between the two layers of Kydex. It was rather tight around the gun otherwise.

Here are some pictures. I just wore it out to a pizza place in celebration; its a lot more comfortable than any of the other holsters I have tried to use this gun with. For my first piece, I think that this turned out fantastic!

I'll want to practice some more, obviously, but I think that I would like to do custom work eventually. It'd be nice to make a little money on the side, you know? Plus, this stuff is just a joy to work with, and I had a lot of fun today.

 

[magic man]

Nice job! It looks a hell of a lot better than my first holster did!

 

[amhenry]

BlueEagle, Think long and hard before you try to "make a little money" at kydex. If you really want to offer a solid product, the supplies and tools do add up. Kydex work is certainly fun, but you may find that it's hard to break even, unless you start buying supplies and hardware in bulk. I don't say this to discourage you, just to make sure that you think ahead.

 

[BlueEagle]

I've been thinking about it a lot, and I think that I can easily turn a profit with my spare time. I've done the math on what the materials cost me, and what the labor should be worth, and I don't see any huge discrepancies. I'm probably under-valuing my time, but really, I'm just taking time that I would've been playing video games, or reading a book, so its not like its a huge loss.

Plus, I just enjoy doing this. So if I can break even and get some people some nice carry gear, I'm happy.

 

[drmikeyj]

looks great, I like the belt clip!

 

[BlueEagle]

Thanks!

I stopped and spoke with my friends at my local gun shop, and he said that he would be more than willing to buy holsters off of me for resale if they were good quality. Also said that he would be willing to loan me holsters he already has if I wanted to get some measurements or something. Also said that I could come in and use the class room they have in the back of the shop as a temporary workspace, so that I could come take guns right out of the store-front and mold holsters for them without having to actually, you know, buy them.

He's a nice guy. I've seen some simple leather holsters that other people in the area have made that he re-sells, so I figured he would be up for it. Just waiting on my leather to get in so that I can make the model that I want to try to sell.

 

[Jtgarner]

do I sense a hybrid (crossbreed ish) holster in your future?

 

[BlueEagle]

You may indeed.....

I've been planning it out for a little while. First ones will be for Glocks, most likely; because I own a 26 and a 17, and those are the only really "popular" models that I own.

Waiting on my horsehide to get in now, in addition to my thinner Kydex sheets. I'll be using the same clips that I used for my first holster, in the picture on the previous page.

Please don't tell my horses about my materials; I don't think they'd appreciate it.

 

[Twingram]

Man! you lucked out, I have been trying to "make a little on the side" with my holsters and its been pretty rough. I am a vendor on ar15chatterbox.com and have managed a few orders but nowhere close to breaking even as far as tools. I'd have to charge to much to make any kind of significant money. I initially was like "oh raven charges waayyy to much for something i can do myself" and then i realized that it is a PITA to run a "business" I'm pretty much back to doing it for friends and co workers and myself.

Good luck man! I'm rooting for ya, if you need any advice feel free to PM me!

 

[IndianaResident]

Question from someone who's never held a kydex holster....But does being able to see the full outline of the trigger like that mean the trigger is pressing against the material when you reholster?

Sure its not a big deal if its closed around the muzzle and can't be overinserted, but it seems....unusual?

 

[BlueEagle]

It is unusual, and I thought that it might be a problem as well, but here is my take on it.

This is my first holster, and its for a gun that I don't really carry anymore. It is a P64, anybody that owns one knows that the trigger pull on these bad boys in double action is somewhere between 25 and 30 pounds; and no, I am NOT joking. In addition, the single action trigger has to travel all the way to rear of the guard before it will release, (it does have a nice 4 or 5 pound single action trigger, by the way. Very accurate little gun.)

If you look carefully at the photo, you can see that the darker shadow is in front of the trigger; this is where the Kydex molds more tightly. This is beyond the point where the trigger would ever go; the trigger is as far forward as it will ever be, now. The Kydex that it has to pass through is not molded nearly as tightly; you can see this because the shadow at the back of the trigger is much lighter.

It was one of the first things I noticed, though, when I picked it up. I checked my gun 3 times to make sure it was empty, and then inserted it while keeping an eye on the hammer; no movement in double action. Did it again with the hammer cocked; no movement. I did that 5 or 6 times without an issue.

I don't think it will be a problem, but this isn't a gun that I am going to carry anymore, anyway. If I feel the need to carry it again, I'll spend 5 minutes with the heat gun on it. As soon as that piece of Kydex heats up, the surface tension will take over and it will pop right back out. I'm rather wary of doing that, too, because I'm pretty sure that's where all my retention is, too, and I don't want to ruin my first holster.

In addition, what you can't see is that after I molded the Kydex with 240 pounds of pressure on it to fit the shape of the gun, I put two spacing washers in between the two layers of Kydex, on that Chicago screw that holds the clip on. So while you can see the outline of the trigger, I'm fairly certain that the trigger isn't touching that spot anymore, on either side.

But good eyes IndianaResident; I was wondering how long it would take someone to spot that.

 

[BlueEagle]

Got my first holster that I intend to attempt to sell done!

Honestly, no joking, this is the most comfortable holster I have ever worn. Its pretty amazing.

Right after I finished this one, I wanted to see how long it took me to churn one out, and I clocked myself exactly at an hour, from the time I started cutting the leather to the time I snapped the pistol into it. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.