My First Home Made Holster

[Otis]

I just completed my first holster. I have had one heck of a time finding a holster that suits my needs that I didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg for. I would say I spend around $8 in materials. Obviously I have modeled this one after the crossbreed holsters that cost 10 times what I paid.
Would love to know what you all think of it. In all I am really impressed especially for my first time and the cost. It is really comfortable and came out much better than I had hoped for.

Otis

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[swoop]

Look's like a fine job Otis. I like that style, and the price is right. Did you have instructions, or just copy a crossbreed ?

 

[Otis]

No pattern or instructions. I just looked at a picture of the crossbreed online and figured i would wing it from there. made it out of cardboard and kraft paper to see how it would fit up. After i liked the design i made my cuts and had at it.

 

[swoop]

Good job !

 

[Monkeyman]

How did you shape the piece around your pistol? That looks like stiff new leather.

 

[Otis]

How did you shape the piece around your pistol? That looks like stiff new leather.

Nope, it’s Kydex.
Put it in the toaster oven for a few minuets at 350, place it over your pistol where you want it and get a thick hot pad to press and mold. I then used my heat gun to fine tune the rest of it. Worked really well and easy to do.

 

[Joe Link]

Wow, that's impressive. Great job!

 

[finch6013]

I like it, good job

 

[Wierzbowski]

Very nice! Did you make the metal belt hooks or can those be found somewhere?

 

[sawchain guy]

Good job.
Where did you get the Kydex ?

 

[Doubletap]

Yeah..that was gonna be my question...

 

[Otis]

Very nice! Did you make the metal belt hooks or can those be found somewhere?

The belt loops are actually Kydex as well. I used .08 thickness for the molding of the gun and .06 for the molding of the belt loops. And yes i molded them my self. All i did was get a scrap of 1/4" plywood and cut it so that it was 2" wide. Then i just wrapped the kydex around it. For this part I used a heat gun and only heated up the part i was bending. I figured it would have been too hard to heat up the whole strip and do it in one shot.

 

[Otis]

Good job.
Where did you get the Kydex ?

I got the kydex from www.knifekits.com

You can buy in 1 foot squares or if you order two it will come as a 1 x 2. If you order from there watch the shipping. One piece is $10 if freight, so I ordered 4 and the shipping stayed the same. Also watch the boneyard, discounted pieces, I got mine from there it was "damaged" I couldn’t find a thing wrong with it and it was $2 cheaper per foot.

I was just on their website yesterday and they seam to be out of just about everything right now. Hopefully they will get more in stock soon.

And to preempt the question, I got my leather from Tandy leather factory off airport way in Portland. Really nice people and fair prices if you get them on sale.

Hope this helps you all start your own projects.

Otis

 

[PhysicsGuy]

Very cool, I'm going to have to order some kydex and try this myself.

 

[Otis]

Very cool, I'm going to have to order some kydex and try this myself.

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I got all my info from various websites and then just gave it a try. Nailed it on my firts one. It really is not that hard.

 

[PhysicsGuy]

One question, did you put anything between the gun and kydex when you molded it?

One example that i saw used paper cutouts of the general size of the firearm, with foam inside instead of the firearm, then inserted the gun and used a heat gun to conform to the edges.

Do you have any extra material to sell? I'm interested in trying this with my FNP, since there are very few holsters for it.

 

[Otis]

MAKE SURE YOUR FIREARM IS NOT LOADED!!!!!! :bash:

I really struggled with deciding whether or not I was going to attempt to protect my gun. I decided that if I could touch the kydex when it came out of the oven then there shouldn't be much damage done to my gun. It was a toss up so I chanced it. Glad I did because I got it formed perfectly and my gun didn't even get hot. Warm but not hot. As long as you don't leave it in to long or turn the oven up to high the kydex will not melt it will just get soft. I did it in the toaster oven at 350 for about 5 minuets. Check it every few minuets to be sure.

When I applied the heat gun to the kydex I did take it off the gun first though. You do have some time to move around before the kydex cools. You shouldn't have any problem in damaging your gun, I didn't.

I do have some extra Kydex but I have a few more holsters and sheathes I want to make. Sorry.

MAKE SURE YOUR FIREARM IS NOT LOADED!!!!!!:bash:

 

[PhysicsGuy]

Well thanks for the advice, I will have to order some when they have it in stock.

 

[Otis]

www.texasknife.com is another supplyer that sells it. I think they are a bit more expensive though. But if you are itching to get it they might have some in stock.

 

[GUN1PDX]

Excellent job!