Homemade Kydex Revolver Holster Design Question

[funklab]

Due to my personal situation, I feel like I need a unique holster, so I am planning on grabbing a bit of kydex and trying my hand at it myself.

Basically I wanted to run this idea by you guys and see what people think about how feasible this would be. Bear with me, as explaining this in words is rather difficult judging from the conversations I have had about it.

I have a Taurus 605 with a 3" barrel (basically J-frame size), and I want to carry it higher than a waistband holster would allow. Since this would make it very difficult to draw from underneath a shirt, I want a holster that I can draw without pulling the barrel all the way up.

So my idea is to mold the kydex around the cylinder, barrel and trigger guard, leaving the top open. So that the gun can be drawn cross draw style by simply grabbing the grip and twisting down, popping the cylinder (which is the widest part of the gun and thus the part most tightly formed to the kydex) loose and breaking the gun free of the holster. So if you looked at the holster from above the gun, you would see the entire barrel of the gun and most of the cylinder exposed, and the kydex would have to actually grip the gun with a reasonable amount of tension.

So, can it be done?

If I form the kydex to my gun, will it hold it in the manner described above, or will the kydex not be able to maintain that kind of tension, or will it wear out?

Is it a bad idea to have the main point of contact on the holster be the cylinder, are there wear issues that I am not thinking about (obviously there would be some wear on the finish, but I am not worried about asthetics at all.... it is a Taurus after all)?

I am open to any advice on how to do it or warnings about how its not a good idea.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Funk

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Paymeister]

Can't address your questions, but if you choose to proceed I would use the .080 or .125 Kydex.

[funklab]

Can't address your questions, but if you choose to proceed I would use the .080 or .125 Kydex.

Have you worked with Kydex before, Paymeister?

Would the thicker Kydex have more retension?

[bigo5552000]

Just wondering why do you want to carry it so high above your belt? how high do you wanna go??

[unloved]

I work with Kydex professionally.

Would the thicker Kydex have more retension?

Yes. It may be too much, though. I make a type of holster that I think (you're right, it's hard to articulate) has a draw similar to what you're describing using .060 material. If I built that design with thicker material, it'd be awfully hard to overcome the spring-like action of Kydex.

[Keltyke]

Have you considered a shoulder holster?

What you're describing is basically an updated version of the "clamshell" holster. This holster was popular in the 50s-70s with cops. It allows a very quick draw yet completely protects the gun from rough use. The holster was hard leather with a hinge at the back and a spring that held it closed. A simple twist popped it open like a jewelery case. It was a little bulky but worked VERY well.

[funklab]

Have you considered a shoulder holster?

What you're describing is basically an updated version of the "clamshell" holster. This holster was popular in the 50s-70s with cops. It allows a very quick draw yet completely protects the gun from rough use. The holster was hard leather with a hinge at the back and a spring that held it closed. A simple twist popped it open like a jewelery case. It was a little bulky but worked VERY well.

That is a really cool holster, I have never seen one like that.

The method of carry and draw that I am going for is very similar to that, but since it has to be concealed, I don't think I would be able to draw from underneath clothing with a true clamshell holster. If it popped open, it would definitely get in the way of the draw (worn cross draw like I want to). This is what I want to do though, more or less, with kydex and no moving parts.

I work with Kydex professionally.


Yes. It may be too much, though. I make a type of holster that I think (you're right, it's hard to articulate) has a draw similar to what you're describing using .060 material. If I built that design with thicker material, it'd be awfully hard to overcome the spring-like action of Kydex.

So do you think .060 would have enough grip to hold a revolver through all the bumps and jostles of life in a vertical position, with more or less just a grip on half of the cylinder?

Maybe I could make the holster go all the way around the last half inch or so of the barrel, so's I'd draw it up just a little before breaking it out.

[mchasal]

Sounds similar to the Ken Null SMZ concept: K.L. Null Holster Ltd. - Holsters also the SKR: K.L. Null Holster Ltd. - Holsters
He uses a snap to hold the material in place around the revolver.

[unloved]

So do you think .060 would have enough grip to hold a revolver through all the bumps and jostles of life in a vertical position, with more or less just a grip on half of the cylinder?

I know it has enough grip to hold a KT P3AT or P11, XD 9/.40 SC, Glock 26/27, J-frame, or Taurus snubby, through all the bumps and jostles of life in a horizontal, shoulder/neck holster position.


I thought I had a pretty good grasp of what you're talking about, but then "just a grip on half of the cylinder" threw me. I'll post some photos later, or maybe tomorrow, to try to clarify.

[funklab]

Maybe this helps to clarify a bit.


with kydex wrapped around the gun as shown by the little black box (no need to praise me, I know my artistic skills are amazing). So it would be carried with the muzzle pointing towards the ground, in cross draw (so I guess we are actually looking at the gun backwards in this picture).

Basically I want the top fully exposed as I have shown, so that I can pull up an inch or so, and then just peel the gun out of the holster as described for the clamshell draw... more or less.

Is that any clearer. I feel like I am not making sense to myself, and that is not a good sign.



lemme know if that doesn't show up right, it was kinda iffy getting it posted.

[funklab]

One more... I apologize at this incredibly lame attempt to make it look 3-D... all I got is MS paint.

[unloved]

One more... I apologize at this incredibly lame attempt to make it look 3-D...

No need to apologize, I can see where you're going. I'll have a little something to show you later.

[funklab]

Ooops I just realized that on my second drawing I covered up the back of the cylinder. I meant to leave the white part open so that it could be drawn straight up a half inch or so, clearing the muzzle and then be pried out of the kydex.

[funklab]

No need to apologize, I can see where you're going. I'll have a little something to show you later.

Cool, I look forward to it.

[unloved]

Okay, this is the direction I would be exploring in if I were commissioned to build something along the lines of what you've described. I used a scrap piece of .080 Kydex.







If I were doing it for real, I'd probably use two piece construction, rather than the fold over style. Either way, I'd use a large enough piece of kydex to make kind of a flange where the sloppy black 'paint' is in this photo. That's where I'd mount my belt attachment. To draw, you'd grip, and rotate the gun in the direction shown by the red arrow.