Homemade Holsters!!!

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shooter_john

New member
After paying ridiculous amounts of cash for good kydex holsters, I bit the bullet and invested in the necessary tools, equipment and supplies to make my own. This weekend, my efforts finally paid off, and here are my first two holsters:
(the OD green holds a Glock 21SF with attached TLR-1, and the black is a Glock 35 with a TLR-1)

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I carried the 21SF all day today, very effectively concealed under nothing more than an untucked t-shirt!

NEED A HOLSTER????
 
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aarondhgraham

New member
That really is nice work,,,

I've never worked with the kydex myself,,,
I have that prejudice for wrapping my guns in dead cow.

Nice work! Now, smooth out those sharp edges!
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I was wondering if you couldn't smooth those edges,,,
With the careful application of a propane torch.

Not ragging you at all my friend,,, :)
Just wondering if that technique would work.

.
 
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TraceG

New member
Nice work!

I never made the pancake style myself, I used to make the fold overs often though. I found a Dremel with a finer grit sanding drum works like magic on those edges and fast. Just use a speed controller and keep it low-med and wear safety glasses!! Make double sure to hit the inside edges too if you have ANY love at all for your finish. ;) Also, a suggestion if I may; on the pancake style try a thinner Kydex, it will allow the holster to conform better to your hip area. Hmm.. I still have my Kydex press rig around here somewhere and some Red Kydex.. and a sweet looking Beretta I just picked up from Senior.. (excellent fellow by the way!) *sigh* another project! :rolleyes:
 
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SamW

New member
Nice, it looks like you're on your way!

How did you mold the kydex to the gun? Did you tape it up before hand or just used unmodified? Also, what about protecting the trigger guard?

Thanks, and keep me updated!
 
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GunsAreGood

New member
Very nice work. Are those you first holsters you have ever made. If you do not mind me asking how much was everything you will need to make a holster like that.
 
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TraceG

New member
Not to step on OP's toes, but I used to use 3 turns wrapped cellophane wrap. It gave a thin protective layer for the finish and allowed speedier clearance on the draw. Some used to use simple left over WalMart bags. ;) Trigger guard was protected by the cellophane. Shooter_john's black holster looks more formed so he may have used something thinner, possibly a "blue gun" for molding?
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
nice... I'm just starting to play with making holsters myself... I like leather on the outside for a more traditional look, but have been looking at materials like this for stiffening & such...

can you offer up your source for the Kydex ???
 
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Erik

New member
Nice work. I've been thinking of the same for a while now; making my own. How steep did you find the learning curve to be?
 
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shooter_john

New member
Nice work. I've been thinking of the same for a while now; making my own. How steep did you find the learning curve to be?
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Sorry for the late reply... I've been busy lately. The curve is not too steep at all. As a matter of fact, since I got those first couple of holsters made, I've invested a few more dollars into some equipment and materials, and I am now fully licensed to do business and have created an LLC.

I delivered a sizable order to a local shop on Monday, and got called with a second order today, so things are going well. I am now Trojan Tactical LLC, and will be online at trotac.com very soon. (And my more recent work looks MUCH better than the holsters pictured here!)

can you offer up your source for the Kydex ???
Click to expand...

At the moment I'm still getting stuff from knifekits.com, but I'm searching for somewhere to buy more in bulk. Their prices are pretty good though.

what temp do you need for the kydex to mold?
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Around 350F seems to be the magic temp... Though I've had one guy say that after leaving his in the console of his truck for a few days that the mold loosened a bit. I'm not sure that that is what happened, but I can't say that it didn't (we are in Alabama, in the middle of August). After all, it is heat molded plastic.
I wouldn't say that Kydex is really finicky, but you do have to watch it fairly close. It can overheat quickly, and that is not particularly good.
 
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shooter_john

New member
I didn't take enough time to read all of the posts I'd missed over the last few weeks, hopefully this will answer all of the questions I omitted in my last post...

For the first several holsters I made, I used my own personal guns. As things have progressed, I have built a small collection of Blue Guns, and I'm trying very hard not to use real guns any more than I have to. For custom orders though, I am usually having to use the customers gun if it is something out of the ordinary. Initially, I was using my own bodyweight as the press, which worked ok, but spending 5-10 minutes sitting on the simple press that I made was rather time consuming. I have since gotten a 12 ton shop press from Harbor Freight that is MUCH more efficient. I've also improved my molding techniques quite a bit, and am subsequently producing a much better looking product. With everything set-up and ready to rock, I can turn out about 3 fully handcrafted and finished holsters an hour.

As far as investment goes, I've got around $1200-$1500 tied up in equipment, tools, consumable materials, and Blue Guns, and if things continue progressing at the pace they have so far, I will be turning a profit my the end of the month. My biggest problem right now is time, since holster making is just a "hobby" and I still have a "real job". Luckily I have an AWESOME wife who is fully supportive of my new venture.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words!

Here is some of my newer stuff...

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espnazi

New member
Those look extremely good.

I just made my first kydex holster today, but do to poor planning, limited budget, and not having the correct hardware.it came out a bit crappy but it works. hopefully the next one will come out a lot better.

here is a pic. I still have to round out the edges.

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BTW how much are you selling them for?
 
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