Kydex holster making

[herrwalther]

Going to attempt to make my own holster soon and received the kit just a few days ago. I am thinking of making a holster for my Q4 that can switch between IWB and OWB carry. I know a few people here have made their own holsters out of Kydex, any pearls of wisdom to know before I start?

A specific side question. Any experience adding a positive retention to a DIY kydex holster? Something simple like a Thumbdrive or SERPA.

 

[sparkyv]

I've made all of one. My takeaways:
1. It's WAAAYYYY easier than the internet "pros" would lead you to believe.
2. You don't need to imprint every nook and cranny of the handgun's profile to get excellent retention.
3. Temperature can vary +/- 25°F or more; no high tech thermocouple needed.
4. Toaster oven makes it easy, and a heat gun to spot soften/fit is also easy
5. You don't need heavy gloves, in fact, I didn't need them at all.
6. You can re-do if you don't like the results.

YMMV

 

[Mauser lover]

No experience with positive retention.

Pearl of wisdom #1: Don't overheat your plastic. It really doesn't need to be THAT hot. If you get it too hot, it won't work as well and will be ugly. On the other hand, warm up your foam before you take the kydex (or whatever thermoplastic you have) out of your oven. Gives you better retention, definition, working time, etc.
Pearl of wisdom #2: Do it when your wife is away. She'll kill you if she smells that in the house.
Pearl of wisdom #3: Be ready for extensive sanding and cutting after you mold it. Don't waste your time trying to get anywhere close before you mold. Just give it extra and fix it afterward.

Not difficult, but don't expect your first one to take only a half hour either.

 

[bluejeans]

My pearl:
Add a couple of layers of tape to your slide before making your molds; the kydex shrinks onto your gun as it cools and you really don’t want a ton of friction on the side of your slide when dragging your gun out of the holster.
Adjust retention at the end by *lightly* heating the front of the trigger guard area with a cigarette lighter... increase retention by pushing the mallable kydex in the a gloved finger... decrease by heating and the pulling the pistol in and out a couple times the reapply judicious finger pressure

 

[ThomasT]

Going to attempt to make my own holster soon and received the kit just a few days ago. I am thinking of making a holster for my Q4 that can switch between IWB and OWB carry. I know a few people here have made their own holsters out of Kydex, any pearls of wisdom to know before I start?

I hope when you do this you take lots of pictures and post what you did. I am interested in learning to do this.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

any pearls of wisdom to know before I start?

Leather holsters are much nicer.
Hope it turns out perfect for you.

 

[Rule3]

A scroll saw helps a lot!

In theory it is not that hard. In practice it is difficult to make a really nice one. Yes it can be done. I tried several times, several guns. It is not as easy as some think.

My biggest mistake was using to thick of a kydex, should have bought thinner stuff.

I made my own press, bought the foam, have a toaster oven in the garage. Have a laser thermometer. Watched tons of videos.
I am good at woodworking and DIY stuff. For me buying a kydex holster on Amazon was much more cost and time effective.

 

[bluejeans]

Most pressing methods are more involved than they need to be... when I started I pressed with a cut up foam camp pad and a car jack; works great. I have also made a holster with nothing more than a cigarette lighter and a leather glove. Not that I’m recommending the latter method)

 

[herrwalther]

Add a couple of layers of tape to your slide before making your molds; the kydex shrinks onto your gun as it cools and you really don’t want a ton of friction on the side of your slide when dragging your gun out of the holster.

The instructions that came with the kydex kit show the slide protected by a thin piece of wood held in place by masking or painter's tape. That will probably be what I used. I grabbed a three pack of wood paint stirring sticks to cut down and act as spacers/protection. As I do not have a blue gun mold to work with for the first one.

3. Temperature can vary +/- 25°F or more; no high tech thermocouple needed.

The kit came with a rather nice IR laser thermometer. So I plan on using that a bit for the project.

I hope when you do this you take lots of pictures and post what you did. I am interested in learning to do this.

I will. I normally take pictures of my projects anyway so I will grab a few more on this one.

Leather holsters are much nicer.
Hope it turns out perfect for you.

My current preference is hybrid style. Leather backing, kydex front. I have never tried a full kydex holster for carrying concealed before IWB or OWB. So this is exploration territory on a few different levels.

So far my only experience shaping kydex was an accident. I was removing blue loctite from a screw on one of my hybrid holsters with a heat gun. The heat gun started to reshape the kydex belt clip being held in by the screw. The temperature was not very high at all and the belt clip was much thicker kydex than what I will be working with.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

My current preference is hybrid style. Leather backing, kydex front.

I have a few, used them daily for a few years. They are great for IWB carry. Cross Breed makes the best I've found.
I just prefer leather OWB belt holsters now. Kydex paddle holsters are great for range and woods carry.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I have made a few.

Tin snips are handy.

I used gloves.

Heat guns are better than blow dryers but blow dryers work too.

Plan ahead with the blocking and tape.

Make sure you have a retention screw planned/thought out.

after that, it's mostly just getting your hands dirty.

I use a dremel tool to get the fine work done.

I don't make the prettiest holsters, though so take that into consideration.

Pics below are mostly pre-dremmel so they are a little rough.

the holster for the model 10 is finished product.






ETA:
Blocking:


and press:

 

[jmorris]

Post #6 here https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/kydex-help.609884/#post-7524107

is how I do it.

 

[tomrkba]

Details matter. Hole placement, angles at attachment points, relief for the hand are important.

Sand the edges well. I do 120 and 220. Then I buff with a green scrubby.

If you have to soften the kydex to adjust, use 1 second bursts on the area. 1 second on, one off until you can shape it.

Never heat around a drilled hole. It will warp.

Use something flat about 1/4" thick to mold the area in front of the trigger guard and under the muzzle. This will help you keep the lines straight.

You can buy rubber spacers off holstersmith.com or holsterbuilder.com. Automotive fuel line hose works as a retention part.

Use nylon washers under the straps to let the strap sit on the pants. No space between the kydex and strap means the waistband doesn't get up there.

1 1/2" stick on velcro fuzz increases comfort.

Paint sticks can be cut and sanded to make shapes to make relief for Chicago Screw Posts to attach straps and Ulticlips.

You can score kydex with a knife and bend it until it breaks. You can trim by scoring and using a needle nosed pliers to break off small areas that can't be done with fingers.

A rag on a dowel takes away kydex dust and helps keep your gun clean.

Cover your gun in painters tape. Attach molding pieces to it with tape.

Heat the kydex to 325 to 350. Avoid burning it by watching it at all times.

This picture shows burned kydex: