Anybody Here Make Their Own Holsters?

[Sasquatch]

Necro thread time

My stuff isn't nearly as purdy as everything else in this thread, because my stuff is plastic.

Someday I might spring for a vaccuum former, right now I do everything hand-pressed, and while I have a couple standard designs, I don't use patterns, because kydex shrinks as its' heated so you can't cut a piece to X & Y dimensions and be sure that it will be exactly as you want, so the piece gets pressed oversized, then the rough shape is drawn on using colored pencil, I'll adjust the lines as necessary for clearing the grip, leaving enough space for the rivets, etc the desired height of the sweat guard and ejection port cover, etc. I leave a tad extra on these dimensions in most cases, as between cutting & sanding I'll be down to roughly where I want. You can always take material off, but it cannot be added back when its gone.

Final adjustments to retention are done by heating specific areas and loosening or molding tighter.

I have a love-hate relationship with "adjustable retention" - I've come to love hating it and prefer non-adjustable designs, or at least those that adjust using a chicago screw below the trigger guard. Retention on an IWB tends to change when the holster & gun are not actually being worn - it can seem too loose sometimes, but add in the force of your belt pulling the gun and holster in, and your body pushing the gun and holster out and you're just right. I don't like the Phlster "fuckyou" level of retention, nor do I like the Uncle Mikes "fall out randomly" level of retention. If I wanted the gun to be really secure on the draw, I'd just carry in a Safariland 070.

I've played with using the ejection port as a retention point, and grew away from that. Now all my designs focus the primary retention point on the trigger guard.

 

[jrbfishn]

I have not used this on a pistol holder yet, but kydex does not have to be ugly.

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[Byrd666]

I didn't think of the holsters he showed above were ugly. I did though, question how he seemed to always get the digital negatives inverted.

 

[easy rider]

I have not used this on a pistol holder yet, but kydex does not have to be ugly. View attachment 211180

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As a matter of fact (although the blade and sheath is longer and mine has my name on it) I have one just like that.

 

[jrbfishn]

Tattletale!!!!

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[satx78247]

To All,

I don't know about the rest of our members (who do NOT do leatherwork) but I'm IMPRESSED with how talented that our members are.

yours, satx

 

[Sasquatch]

I have not used this on a pistol holder yet, but kydex does not have to be ugly. View attachment 211180

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That's a sharp looking scabbard - leather over kydex, or is that the basket weave patterned kydex that you stitched in addition to the rivets/chicago screws? I've played around with suede lining and suede wrapped kydex - the issue I have is finding an adhesive that won't let go after a while. Some lasted longer than others - I tried a couple different brands of contact cement, I tried the sticky backed tap shoe stuff. I've applied the stuff both before and after heating / forming the kydex with mixed results. I like how suede wrapped holsters feel, and they hold even more snug in place, and will keep cover garments from pulling loose unintentionally if you're wearing a shirt tucked in over the gun.

I've tried suede lining thinking it would quiet the draw - not sure what sort of adhesive outfits like Safariland use for their suede lining on kydex/plastic holsters but I'd like to know, as the lined holsters started to peel pretty quickly, which just created a big hazard.

 

[jrbfishn]

Sticking something to Kydex (or any plastic) is not easy. That is why I use rivets and Chicago screws to hold the Kydex in the leather. I have the basket weave Kydex but that is stamped leather. PTA but it looks good.

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[jrbfishn]

To adhere glue to plastic fairly consistent I have only found one way available to the public.
Sand the plastic with 100 grit or so. Clean with denatured alchohol. Rub it with a cloth wet with acetone until soft. Apply a WET coat of contact cement. It has to be wet enough, long enough, to become part of the plastic. If it can be kept wet enough long enough the solvent in contact cement will dissolve most plastics and nylon materials. That is how counter tops are installed. The key is apply wet. Very wet.
Heat will destroy the bond though. So will enough water. Especially hot. I found this the hard way.
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[Sasquatch]

To adhere glue to plastic fairly consistent I have only found one way available to the public.
Sand the plastic with 100 grit or so. Clean with denatured alchohol. Rub it with a cloth wet with acetone until soft. Apply a WET coat of contact cement. It has to be wet enough, long enough, to become part of the plastic. If it can be kept wet enough long enough the solvent in contact cement will dissolve most plastics and nylon materials. That is how counter tops are installed. The key is apply wet. Very wet.
Heat will destroy the bond though. So will enough water. Especially hot. I found this the hard way.
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Thanks for that tip - I've tried that before without the acetone and alcohol - I've sanded the texture off the kydex, cleaned with water, then done the contact cement thing - it was probably the best success I'd had, but the suede pealed maybe a week after carrying. I tried resetting the pealing edges using a heatgun to soften the bond and apply more contact cement with a toothpick but...yeah didn't work and had to scrap the holster.

 

[jrbfishn]

You have to apply a very wet coat to the kydex and let dry when you are satisfied it is bonding. Once it is dry, apply a coat to the suede and another to the kydex. Let both dry to the touch before putting them together. Then they need to be rolled with a small roller from the suede side. That would be your hardest part as the kydex needs to be formed before you apply the suede or the glue may not hold while heating the kydex. The roller applies all the pressure you exert on it to a very small point at the apex of the roller for a better bond.
I use much the same process to glue leather. But I still stitch the exposed edges of it.
The only other thing I can think of would be to drill 1/64th holes along the top and bottom openings after forming and shaping and once you glue the lining in you can use a stitching awl to pierce the suede and then stitch it. It would all be a major PITA though. Probably why kydex holster makers don't offer suede linings.

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