July 5, 2010, 12:35 AM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 11, 2002
Location: ALABAMA
Posts: 1,472
|
Homemade Holsters!!!
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) I carried the 21SF all day today, very effectively concealed under nothing more than an untucked t-shirt! NEED A HOLSTER???? |
July 7, 2010, 11:37 AM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 11, 2008
Location: OOOOOOOOOOO-Klahoma!
Posts: 403
|
Nice work! Now, smooth out those sharp edges!
|
July 8, 2010, 10:22 AM | #3 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 11, 2002
Location: ALABAMA
Posts: 1,472
|
Quote:
|
|
July 8, 2010, 10:36 AM | #4 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 1, 2009
Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma
Posts: 8,638
|
That really is nice work,,,
I've never worked with the kydex myself,,,
I have that prejudice for wrapping my guns in dead cow. Quote:
With the careful application of a propane torch. Not ragging you at all my friend,,, Just wondering if that technique would work. .
__________________
Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time) |
|
July 8, 2010, 10:54 AM | #5 |
Junior Member
Join Date: June 29, 2010
Location: North Central Texas
Posts: 11
|
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! |
July 9, 2010, 02:09 AM | #6 |
Member
Join Date: July 8, 2010
Posts: 18
|
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! |
July 9, 2010, 12:13 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 11, 2008
Location: OOOOOOOOOOO-Klahoma!
Posts: 403
|
I wasn't ragging either, BTW. Your work does look good.
|
July 9, 2010, 01:07 PM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 13, 2010
Posts: 300
|
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.
__________________
From my cold dead hands If guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns |
July 9, 2010, 02:17 PM | #9 |
Junior Member
Join Date: June 29, 2010
Location: North Central Texas
Posts: 11
|
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?
|
July 12, 2010, 09:02 PM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 4, 2010
Posts: 152
|
pretty cool!
__________________
Buy American, or don't bitch when you wind up on the bread line. www.smokerbuilder.com |
July 12, 2010, 10:23 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: January 23, 2008
Posts: 713
|
nice work!
what temp do you need for the kydex to mold?
__________________
http://takdriver.com/ |
July 13, 2010, 08:06 AM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 26, 2006
Location: Southern Minnesota
Posts: 9,333
|
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 ???
__________________
In life you either make dust or eat dust... |
July 13, 2010, 08:48 AM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: July 11, 2008
Location: OOOOOOOOOOO-Klahoma!
Posts: 403
|
Check your local plastics suppliers. There are two in my area and one of them has Kydex named on their products page.
|
July 18, 2010, 12:14 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 24, 1999
Location: America
Posts: 3,479
|
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?
__________________
Meriam Webster's: Main Entry: ci·vil·ian Pronunciation: \sə-ˈvil-yən also -ˈvi-yən\, Function: noun, Date: 14th century, 1: a specialist in Roman or modern civil law, 2 a: one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force b: outsider 1, — civilian adjective |
August 18, 2010, 10:22 PM | #15 | |||
Senior Member
Join Date: December 11, 2002
Location: ALABAMA
Posts: 1,472
|
Quote:
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!) Quote:
Quote:
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. Last edited by shooter_john; August 18, 2010 at 10:29 PM. |
|||
August 18, 2010, 10:45 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 11, 2002
Location: ALABAMA
Posts: 1,472
|
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... |
August 20, 2010, 06:34 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 6, 2009
Posts: 256
|
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. BTW how much are you selling them for? |
August 20, 2010, 06:59 PM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 11, 2002
Location: ALABAMA
Posts: 1,472
|
PM sent regarding prices.
|
August 31, 2010, 05:49 PM | #19 |
Member
Join Date: May 23, 2010
Posts: 29
|
I would be interested in one for a sig pro 2340 can you pl me a price please?
Thanks Dan |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
|