After a drawer full of holsters, I'm trying my hand at making one!

[Lost Lake]

I won't stop buying from holster manufacturers, and I sure won't be able to do any nice leather work, but I want to try to make something like a supertuck on my own.

So I went online and found some horse hide and clips and Kydex, also found some screws and found that this stuff is expensive enough that I'm not saving any real money here..

My plan is to cut the hide and form the kydex and see what happens. I don't exactly know how yet, but like for my J frame I want to wrap the Kydex further around the gun so there is a flatter skin-side to the holster than say a Galco model.

I'm just in the planning and ordering stages and I can already see that any hybrid holster under $100 is a deal and any under $60 is a STEAL.

If anyone has tips for forming Kydex please let me know. I just want to try a couple ideas and if they don't work, well in the garbage they will go and I'll be happy to keep buying other's holsters.

Another dumb idea I have is re-molding a M&P compact holster to fit a 3913. They are close, but not perfect, so maybe some heat and pressure could transform the holster....

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

On working with leather, I was taught to take the cut out leather pieces, wet them slightly with a damp sponge, wrap a towel around them and let them sit in the fridge overnight. This is called casing the leather, if my feeble memory is correct. Once the pieces have been cased, sew them up and put the pistol/knife inside and as the leather draws up it should form fairly well to the piece. As a disclaimer, I "think" this is the way it works.

Hog

 

[Crossfire Holsters]

It might not be worth anything more than the adventure in making your own holster. The materials needed just to make one will cost as much as a higher end one (I.e. foam, Kydex, rivets, rivet flare tools, press, etc). Look at old faithful holsters if you want to make your own hybrid, they sell kits that might be more cost effective.
PM me if you ever want Kydex forming tips.

 

[seagill]

If you google "homemade kydex holsters", you'll find some great how to videos. I spent $70 on kydex and supplies. From that I made 4 holsters, 1 knife sheath, a pepper spray holster and a sunshade for my video camera! I believe it was knifekits.com. I believe they sold kits as well. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Lost Lake]

I've seen a couple videos where a guy formed kydex using a piece of leather over the hot kydex. I have heard of some guys using sleeping mat foam.

I ordered Chicago screws (hopefully the right length), horse hide (hopefully the right stuff) and some small pieces of Kydex. The hide is 36 x 14 so it should make a couple holsters, I ordered 4 steel clips and I should have enough stuff to make at least two holsters. Total cost was under $30. The nice lady on the phone said the hide I ordered would be the right stuff for a holster.

I can see once you're set up with patterns and all that making these hybrid holsters would be a piece of cake. The first couple must be a real pain...

 

[TACC1]

You can do it... Even if a single holster costs plenty in
materials and tools, you'll have made it yourself.
I can't think of a better reason, it'll be an adventure.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished prouct. TACC1

 

[MP22]

I won't stop buying from holster manufacturers, and I sure won't be able to do any nice leather work, but I want to try to make something like a supertuck on my own.

So I went online and found some horse hide and clips and Kydex, also found some screws and found that this stuff is expensive enough that I'm not saving any real money here..

My plan is to cut the hide and form the kydex and see what happens. I don't exactly know how yet, but like for my J frame I want to wrap the Kydex further around the gun so there is a flatter skin-side to the holster than say a Galco model.

I'm just in the planning and ordering stages and I can already see that any hybrid holster under $100 is a deal and any under $60 is a STEAL.

If anyone has tips for forming Kydex please let me know. I just want to try a couple ideas and if they don't work, well in the garbage they will go and I'll be happy to keep buying other's holsters.

Another dumb idea I have is re-molding a M&P compact holster to fit a 3913. They are close, but not perfect, so maybe some heat and pressure could transform the holster....

Here is one I made for about $6.00 bucks.

 

[45times6]

I doubt I've ever saved money on a lot of my D.I.Y. projects, but the satisfaction when it goes well is priceless!

 

[Lost Lake]

So far this is what I did today:

I received my package from Springfield Leather and the hunk of Horse Butt was pretty big considering I paid $12 for it. I could easily get 8 holsters from it.
The clips were $2 each and the screws are 36 cents apiece. So using 8 screws and 2 clips, and figuring $1.50 for the horse hide, and with shipping, this holster cost me about $10.

I semi-copied another holster for the basic shape, then put my 642 on the leather and moved it around to the cant I want and positioned it on the leather for a unobstructed draw. I laid a piece of Kydex on it (you get two free pieces from Springfield Leather 4"x8" each) and figured I wanted the cylinder covered and the muzzle.

I heated the Kydex with a heat gun (my next one will be in the oven) and when it was warm I molded it with hot pads and an old piece of foam I had in the shop. I found you can reheat small areas and change them without redoing the entire piece. I put a pencil on top of the revolver so the front sight had a channel to slide down.

The kydex over the cylinder folded over making fabulous retention, but it would be impossible to reholster, so a bit more localized heat and a bend with the hot pad gave a nice curve to the holster mouth but kept the kydex snug on the cylinder.

For the screw holes I used my drill press and that worked really well.
I found some hard plastic washers and spaced the clips off the holster for easy shirt tucking if I would like.

I cut the leather and the kydex with a heavy shear, like a tin snips. Worked fine. I have to sand some edges yet, but all in all it feels great and the little 642 is invisible on me, even with a snug shirt.

 

[Lost Lake]

And one more with the clips:

Edit to add: You can see the lines I drew for cutting, and I have a bit of kydex sanding yet, but I was excited to post to get some feedback... Next is a holster for my 3913....

 

[venomballistics]

not at all bad

 

[Lost Lake]

not at all bad

Okay, it was my first.

I decided to figure out how to step up the quality.

I cut a piece of plywood to a bit larger than the silhouette of my next gun and used that to press the warm kydex down around the gun. That kept the kydex straight and flat. Then I added some more heat and pressed my foam over the top of the exposed kydex to form the material to the gun.

More trimming and I have a new holster. This time I used an upright belt sander to take off the kydex and shape it real easily.

 

[cshoff]

Well done, Lost Lake. Looks like they turned out very nice.

 

[dougb1946]

If you want to make other styles of holsters, this is a good site to visit:
Leatherworker.net: Stand by...

How to make a pattern, how to block and bone, how to dye, how to stitch. Good advice, often from pros who make and sell some really nice stuff.

 

[Lost Lake]

Thanks for that link Doug! Looks so interesting.

I love a nice leather holster, a real work of art. I have also found Kydex isn't as easy as it looks!