Making a hybrid holster for my S&W 640

RadekSkylark said:

Hallo guys.



Some of you may know that I live in Latvia and recently purchased my first handgun - Smith & Wesson 640-1. For specifics on why this handgun particularly - check my thread at the general handgun section.



Revolvers are not popular in Latvia, so there are no holster option available (IWB at least). Because of the price of shipping for Crossbreed holsters as well as a VAT of 21% for imported goods I decided not to order a Crossbreed Qwikclip holster (which I though would be what I need, as I want to try to carry appendix) which would've costed me around 155$ (I paid 400$ for my handgun being on a tight buy stretchy budget, so that seems a lot to me). Instead I checked "father" youtube and "mother" google to see if there are any tutorials on holster making from kydex - I found some with lots of details. After understanding what I need to make a DIY Crossbreed Qwikclip holster I decided to go for it.



Kydex is not available locally so I though to order 0,08" kydex from "knifekits", which would've cost me around 17$/sqft if I would've ordered 2 sqft (I would need to order 2 sqft just to disperse the price of shipping). From roughly measuring my revolver I think I would actually would need only 1/6 of a sqft for my holster, if of course I get it right the first time.



Fortunately for me it seems that I've found a shop in Europe which sells 0,08" kydex for 17,5$/sqft and I can actually order only 1 sqft, which I really like (also shipping should be faster). This shop also has some rivets and screws for sale - will have to check that out later.



I will also check around for options on hooks for the holster, but for now I think I will order from Crossbreed as they seem to ship those hooks (up to 3 it seems) free of charge even to Latvia.



The last bit is the leather. Found one shop in my town (which I think is the only specialized store here in Latvia) and went to check it out. Came home with a peace of cowhide which is around 0,2" thick (as I understand 12,5 to 14 oz) and 20" x 8" wide/long. This was the smallest peace they would sell me and cost me 13$. As I understand it is basically raw - I will need to process it with some oils or stuff (what is used for leather so it wont soak in moisture etc). This peace of cowhide is quite stiff. I wasn't sure on how stiff I would need it but this seemed appropriate - other options where quite softer and I though they wouldn't be able to handle the weight of the gun etc, I could be wrong though. Here is a picture of my gun and the cowhide I bought:



My S&W 640-1:





Cowhide from "front":





Cowhide from "back":





Sorry for quality of pictures.



I think that the peace of cowhide I bought will definitely be enough for at least two holsters (if I ever make another one for myself or for anyone else).



As for tools: I have an old kitchen oven laying around somewhere so I'll use that to heat up kydex. I will try to get an infrared thermometer from someone and if I won't be able to - I'll buy one for myself - saw the cheapest one sold in "knifekits" for around 20$ here locally. Molding foam like used in kydex presses is not available locally. Locally I can get my hands on expanded polyethylene sheets (used for packing) - will check out how they deform under pressure to get an idea of whether they would work for molding in a press and of course if they'll hold up when pressed against a hot object (maybe someone knows will they work and can tell me?). Here is a picture of those EPE sheets available to me:







If these won't work I'll have to order one (as I understand for Crossbreed type of kydex holster molding I only need one, as the other molding surface has to be solid) 8" x 12" foam sheet that is sold at "knifekits" - although I'll order from that European shop mentioned previously - they also have them - costs the same.



As for the press - I'll just make one with plywood and those giant calipers (or how they're called) - seems to work fine for many people.



I plan on molding around my actual revolver. Maybe I'll wrap it in the plastic wrap, although I'm not sure will it really sustain contact with a hot kydex.



As for grinding an stuff - I plan to use hand held type of belt sander and grinding machine - anyhow I have so tools available so I think I'll get by.



So from what it looks now I think my price list goes as this:

*Cowhide = 13$;

*Kydex = 17,5$;

*Infrared thermometer = 20$;

*Worst case scenario - foam = 17$;

*Hooks from Crossbreed = 10-15$;

*Rivets & screws = 5-10$.

**Possibly some kind of materials for processing the leather so it won't absorb moisture, although I'll think about this if those materials will cost a lot.



So from (*) it seems that I'll end up with a price tag of ~100$, which includes a tool (thermometer), foam which possibly I won't need as I have some EPE lying around. If in the best possible case I'll find an infrared thermometer (I won't need to buy one) than the actual calculated price of materials needed for single holster (taking into account the fact that I have cowhide for at least two if not three little holsters, that I'll have kydex for at least 3 holsters and I should be able to use that foam for at least three holsters as well) is around 40$, not counting the materials for processing the leather.



In this thread I plan to keep you posted on how I'm doing and possibly you'll be able to help me with some advice.



Best of luck to everyone!

Click to expand...