First Attempt at Kydex Pocket Holster

[Speedo66]

My long time pocket holster for my daily carry LCP was starting to crack. After watching a few videos figured I’d give a try making one myself.

.80 Kydex sheet, 12”x12”, was obtained off EBay, big enough for a second try if necessary.

I heated a 12”x 6” piece in a no longer used toaster oven at about 275F until the edges started to curl, and laid it out on the floor over a couple of foam pieces cut from a no longer used thin backpacking mattress.

Put the gun inside, folded the Kydex over it, and covered it with a couple more pieces of foam. I then put a piece of 12”x1” pine shelving over it all and, not having a press, stood on It for about 10 minutes. lol

• 
• I drew out a pattern on the molded Kydex and cut it out on a small hobby bandsaw.
  
• I smoothed out the edges with a mounted stone in a Dremel. Gun fits nicely, will add a few grommets to hold the bottom together.

 

[Speedo66]

Update: A little bit of a learning curve here, turns out those nice tight molds around the ejection port and the trigger guard were a little too tight, the gun was hard to remove from the holster.

A few seconds with a heat gun and a gloved finger inside the holster pushing out gently lessened the tightness in those two area and now the gun eases in and out with no difficulty, but still enough tension to retain the gun while upside down.

I also heated the curved portion on the bottom and bent it to follow the contour of my leg to lessen the print.

Now very happy with it. Tomorrow I’ll go to the local Tandy leather shop and pick up grommets to keep the bottom portion together.

 

[unclenunzie]

Pretty cool your work here. Looks like it would stay in the pocket on draw, the main issue I have with pocket holsters in general. They need to release every time while allowing a good grip.

 

[Speedo66]

Pretty cool your work here. Looks like it would stay in the pocket on draw, the main issue I have with pocket holsters in general. They need to release every time while allowing a good grip.

Thanks. My previous holster had two points of pocket retention, the little spike at the top, and the hook on the bottom. They work to keep the holster in place when you draw. That holster was thinner Kydex, after many years of use it started to crack apart.

I incorporated those two items into this new holster, and they work with this holster also.

Couldn't find any stock holster with those points, so made this one. Fairly simple to make, and the price was negligible.

 

[AzShooter1]

What a wonderful idea. Your holster looks great and it functions the way you want it to.

 

[earplug]

Looks nice. You may find you want more material removed under the trigger guard. Allows you to take a better fulller grip.
I have used RTV on the sides to keep the holster inside my pocket on the draw.

 

[aaaaa]

Nice work. I will keep that in mind for a possible future holster, but for now I am more into the semi flexible pocket holsters. I got a piece of leather in case I want to take a stab at making a holster from it, but for now the redneck cardboard/Gorilla Tape holster is working quite well. I would like to rig it to hold a speed strip but that may bulk it out too much in the wrong way.

 

[Spats McGee]

That looks good!

 

[doubleh]

As Henry Fonda said in The Rounders, "If it suits you it tickles me plumb to death" or something along that line. It's been a long time since I saw the movie.

I have no clue about working with kydex and have no interest in learning. That's not a put down. If you like kydex use it.

 

[Speedo66]

As Henry Fonda said in The Rounders, "If it suits you it tickles me plumb to death" or something along that line. It's been a long time since I saw the movie.

I have no clue about working with kydex and have no interest in learning. That's not a put down. If you like kydex use it.

I like the material because it's cheap, doesn't require much in the way of tools or skills, and it's fast, took me less than 1/2 hour from start to finish.

Also, it doesn't pick up dirt or smells. With zero experience I knocked out a holster I actually like and works well, first time around.

Not the most aesthetically pleasing, but since it's buried in my pocket, I'm okay with that.

 

[TarDevil]

You may find you want more material removed under the trigger guard. Allows you to take a better fulller grip.

I'll second that.
It looks awesome! I'd buy it!

 

[bannockburn]

Speedo66

Nice job! Turned out great, especially it was your first time out! I think I might give it a try for my new Ruger LCP MAX.

 

[Speedo66]

Speedo66

Nice job! Turned out great, especially it was your first time out! I think I might give it a try for my new Ruger LCP MAX.

Go for it! The material is cheap enough that if it's not to your liking you're out very little.

The up side is you could make a holster that comes out great and really fits your needs.

Watch a couple of videos, pretty simple to do just have to move quickly once it's out of the oven. Pays to have everything laid out and ready to assemble. Let me know if you have any questions, I'm no expert but I might be able to help.

Edit: I should add, the material is reusable. If your molding process didn't come out perfect, you can reheat the material and try again.

 

[bannockburn]

Speedo66

Thanks for the offer to assist! Much appreciated!

Now all I have to do is figure out how my wife's toaster oven works!

 

[Speedo66]

Speedo66

Thanks for the offer to assist! Much appreciated!

Now all I have to do is figure out how my wife's toaster oven works!

You might want to find a cheap garage sale one, it did leave an oily residue on the tray. No idea why we kept it, but I had one in the basement we no longer used.

People also heat the material with a heat gun, just have to keep it moving to try and heat evenly and not burn it.

 

[aaaaa]

Speedo66

Thanks for the offer to assist! Much appreciated!

Now all I have to do is figure out how my wife's toaster oven works!

Make sure she is out shopping or something while you borrow the toaster oven!

 

[Speedo66]

I bought the Kydex on Ebay, but Tandy Leather stores also carry some in .060 and .090.

I went with .080 thickness, my last one was .060, which was fine. I think .090 may be a little too thick.

They come in 1' square pieces, Tandy also has 12"x24" pieces. 12"x12" is enough for two small gun holsters, you can score it with a utility knife and break it into two pieces. Shiny side on the inside.

 

[Speedo66]

It’s a work in progress, a further refinement was added.

The “hook” at the bottom was pretty wide as you can see in the top photo, it extended almost an inch past the end of the grip, a little wide in the pocket and did print a little.

I cut that inch off and formed another hook, bottom photo. It still works well to retain the holster in my pocket when I draw, but prints less.

 

[mokin]

That's really cool. Looks like it works!

I've thought making a pocket holster and a kydex holster but not a kydex pocket holster. Maybe some kind of hybrid? I have concerns about a big piece of hard plastic in my pocket. How comfortable is it? Does it make noise when you bump things?

I appreciate all you who contribute projects and ideas. Lots of fun.

 

[Speedo66]

That's really cool. Looks like it works!

I've thought making a pocket holster and a kydex holster but not a kydex pocket holster. Maybe some kind of hybrid? I have concerns about a big piece of hard plastic in my pocket. How comfortable is it? Does it make noise when you bump things?

I appreciate all you who contribute projects and ideas. Lots of fun.

The holster is slightly curved, I can hardly feel it, once it’s in my pocket it gives me no reason to think about it.

I can’t think of any instance where it made noise.

 

[Speedo66]

I should have added this earlier, but here’s a photo with the gun and holster in the front pocket next to my hand.

Doesn’t seem to print at all.