Easy Bake Kidex Holsters

Posted by Lance Earl of Lance Earl, LLC on December 13, 2011

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I like Kidex hostlers. In fact, the best ones are absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, the best ones are highly priced and generally have a substantial waiting period. Well, I thought, can it really be that hard to make my own.

I started at www.knifekits.com where I bought two sheets of 12 X 12 inch X.125 black Kidex, a Hand Setter Kit for 1/4 inch rivets, and a bag of 100 black rivets. The total cost was under $50.00.

With the Kidex in hand, I set out to cut the 12 X 12 inch pieces into usable sizes. Kidex is easy to cut by scoring the material with a utility knife and snapping it along the score line. I removed the top four inches from each piece and set it aside. This left me with two, 12 X 8 inch pieces which I cut in half to form four, 8 X 6 inch pieces of Kidex. I then used two of these pieces for each holster.

All my research indicated that I would need a Kidex press in order to properly form a holster. Poppycock! You can find plans to build presses and you can find commercially available presses. All would have been a waste of time and money. If I were to go into mass production, a press might be called for. In my case, I found that I had everything I needed right here at home.

My press was made up of a backpackers foam pad which I cut into approximately 10 X 10 inch squares and a sheet of scrap plywood cut to the same dimensions.

I placed two, 8 X 6 inch pieces of Kidex on a cookie sheet and placed it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for ten minutes.

While the Kidex was heating, I set a stack of three layers of backpackers foam on the floor, a second stack of three foam squares next to the first stack, and my scrap of plywood next to the foam stacks. Finally, I insured that my pistol was, in fact, unloaded and sat it next to the foam and wood. Then, I pulled my gloves on, yes, you will need gloves to handle the heated Kidex.

When the timer sounded, I removed the cookie sheet with my now pliable Kidex. I placed one sheet of Kidex on the first stack of foam squares. Then I placed my pistol on the Kidex so the slide, past the ejection port and the entire trigger and trigger guard were on the Kidex. Then, the last sheet of hot Kidex was placed over the pistol so that it aligned with the first Kidex sheet. Finally, I placed the remaining three sheets of foam and the plywood over everything. Then I employed my custom, adjustable and highly calibrated press to the stack. I stepped on the plywood, evenly distributed my weight, and waited for about one minute. Now you know what fat guys are good for.

I removed the plywood and top layers of foam. To my surprise, my holster looked just like those made by the big boys. The Kidex was still not totally ridged so I took this opportunity to hold the holster, with my pistol still inside, in my gloved hands and form the edges into a semi-circle so that it would better fit around my hip. Then I held everything in place and waited for the Kidex to cool.

Once the Kidex was cool, I noticed that the two halves of the holster were stuck together, trapping my pistol inside. After a few minutes of panic, I discovered that a flat tip screw driver can be inserted between the two halves and with a bit of light prying, the halves can be easily separated. Now it is just a matter of shaping the two halves so they line up with each other and riveting the two halves together.

With both of my holsters, I discovered that they had really amazing retention. In fact, it was a bit too amazing. I was not sure that I could get my pistol out with any efficiency in the event of a fight. Retention adjustment is absolutely simple. Place the entire holster back into the oven for about forty-five seconds. This will make the holster slightly flexible, but it will still want to retain its shape. simply slide your pistol in and out of the hot holster to spread those parts that hold your gun a bit too tight. In both cases, the Kidex had formed too deep inside of the trigger guard. Spreading the Kidex in that area was all that was necessary for correct retention. I adjusted my holsters so that they will keep a fully loaded pistol from falling out when turned up side down and still be easy to draw quickly and efficiently.

The last step is to build belt loops for the holster. Most holster makers attach a strip of formed Kidex to the holster for belt loops. I don't like this solution. Kidex strips can be a bit brittle. I have seen videos on YouTube demonstrate how easy it is to take a pistol from someone even if they are resisting. When a person tries to retain a pistol in a holster, they will generally have a hold of the grip and will be pressing down. The bad guy can simply press down and rotate the grip to the rear to snap the belt loops and take the pistol and holster. Not good. I elected instead to lace a belt loop into the holster with heavy and doubled nylon boot laces. If someone wants to relieve me of my pistol and holster, I believe that they will have to remove my belt and pants as well. These things are seriously strong. An added benefit to lacing belt loops is that they can be tightened to pull the holster very close to the body for concealed carry.

In the beginning of this article, I removed 4 X 12 inch strips from each Kidex sheet. These were used to produce magazine carriers to match each holster.

So, there you have it. Two holsters and matching magazine carriers for about $25.00 per set. The cost of my next set will be reduced to roughly $12.00 each because I will not have to purchase rivets or the riveting tool.

How do I like my holsters compared with a commercial version? Well, I like them better because the belt loops are adjustable and more secure than other solutions. Also, I made them myself and that always feels good.

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