Homemade Kydex/Leather Holster Build-along

[Caribou]

Kydex/Leather Holster Build-along

I am notoriously cheap. I would rather scrounge and build something myself than pay for it. So, when contemplating my CCW holster, I was sure I didn’t want to spend $70 for a holster if I didn’t end up liking it, so I was determined to make my own to “try out”. Of course, if the quality was terrible, it wouldn’t be representative for me to make a true judgment, but that was a chance I was willing to take!

I had some leather pieces I’ve been keeping for years, so I was going to try a full leather holster, but then I came upon some pieces of free Kydex! Two thicknesses were available, one perfect for the body of the holster, the other thicker piece perfect for the clips.

I took the thinner piece and heated it up with a heat gun and molded it over the gun. I just used leather gloves to protect my fingers. Here’s the first attempt:


I tweaked the fit and added a place for the front sight to slide in and not get caught up on the draw. I think it’s big enough for TruGlo TFOs, but probably not for Sure Sights. I also trimmed it a bit for length, but I think I over-trimmed it near the back of the slide. When it’s on me at the proper cant, the kydex is a little below the top of my waistband, making re-holstering a little tough. If I redo it, I’ll leave it a little longer:


Next, I called up a local rivet supply house, and stopped by to get some aluminum rivets. These folks usually supply thousands of rivets at a time, so my piddly little request was nothin’. But rather than telling me to get lost, they were very helpful and gave me about two dozen rivets for free! Great folks. If you live in the Detroit area, call up Jay-Cee Sales and Rivets.
I drilled 1/8” holes through scraps of both the kydex and leather, and pounded in a rivet. It pulled right through the leather, so I went to the hardware store and bought some small brass washers. Worked great! Here’s a shot of the first couple rivets:


And here’s what the back side of the rivets looks like:


I trimmed up the kydex and finished riveting it to the leather:


Next, I cut strips from the thicker kydex, and started bending them with the heat gun. The clip part didn’t turn out exactly like I planned; it’s hard to get them on and off the belt. If you take a close look, you can see that it stops perpendicular to the body of the clip, no contoured end like a metal clip usually is. I will probably remake these:


Next, I drilled holes for the Chicago screws to hold the clips to the leather. These were a gift from a friend of mine at work. More free stuff!


I wore it around the house a while just like this, since I was afraid to trim it too much and ruin it. It was pretty uncomfortable, way too stiff, and made sitting almost painful where it jabbed into my side. But, I finally sucked it up and trimmed the leather and the clips, and it made a world of difference! It’s really quite comfortable now.
And here’s the finished product!


I think it turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself! The whole thing cost me less than $2, and that was just for the brass washers. I love free stuff! But now I’ve gotta actually buy more kydex for the next one! Rats!

[pete10]

Be careful, this can get addictive.

[rockerz71]

that's awesome, the idea of making my own holster never occurred to me. might have to try this soon.

[tekr]

Great job,thats awesome what an idea and a little elbow grease can accomplish.
Kudos to you Sir.

[Apdl]

Good job that does look awesome!

[pete10]

Try knifekits.com for supplies. Once you decide to start making holsters for others (you probably will), look up laird plastics. Ask for a stocking distributor in your area. The price of kydex goes way down when you buy it in 4'x8' sheets.

Also, try your oven or a toaster oven to heat the materaial to 325 F. It heats evenly that way. You can use the heat gun to fine tune then.

Have fun!

[Caribou]

Thanks guys!

I thought about the oven, but the toaster oven is too small. Never thought about the big oven for fear of smelling it up and affecting the taste of food.

[Bree]

Nice job! I went out a few weeks ago and bought several sheets of Kydex in different thicknesses. I was going to use the oven to heat it. Never thought about the heat gun. But that could be a good tool to have around when working with the Kydex.

That veg-tan leather will soften up over time. Should be very comfortable so long as the edges are nicely rounded. I am going to take a stab at a holster myself once the snow stops me from riding. I will post PIX when I get started.

Thanks for sharing!!

[petey1]

Very cool! Especially since you did it all yourself. Nice job

[speedracer211]

Looks good. I have been thinking of using my vaccum former I built in college and one of pistolgears blue guns and some kydex of egay and give it a shot.