It`s been a while since I`ve done a tutorial and it`s time to rectify that. I`ve been using kydex to make my sheaths for some time now and I think I`ve gotten the hang of it enough to show how I do it. Kydex is a modern plastic that is fire retardant,abrasive resistant and impact resistant,it`s really a cool material and we can make knife sheaths,gun holsters or anything else that we want to hold our personal items if we just use a little injenuity and imagination.
In this post I`ll be making a knife sheath,but the same tools and methods can be used to form the plastic into a case or sheath for a pistol,a small flashlight or anything else you want to carry on your belt.
The first thing you need of course is some kydex.I get it in 1 square foot sheets from Texas Knifemakers Supply *see suppliers page

$4.25 for a square foot aint too bad,for a pistol holster you would need two sheets but for all but the biggest knives one will do nicely.
You`ll need some rivets to secure the pieces together and texas knife has them(look for kydex rivets)I like using the 1/4" size.
you`ll need to go to the local army/navy store and get an old army sleeping mat,the green kind that usually sells for about $5 in fair shape,if you dont have an army/navy store nearby go to wally world and get the blue dense foam camping sleeping mat.
Cut 2 pieces of plywood into 1 square foot pieces and glue two layers of the foam to each.
If you are making a pistol holster you might want to go to 3 layers since the whole thing is thicker than just a knife sheath,you`ll see what I mean in a minute.....
also,go to your local hardware store and get a few sets of male/female screws and posts.They can be allen screws,phillips,slot or whatever they have or whatever floats yer boat but you need at least two sets.
OK,here we go.........
here we have a knife that is in dire need of a sheath,my kitchen stove and two pieces of kydex cut big enough to fully surround the knife..............

pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees and place the kydex pieces on a baking pan,shove them in the oven and wait about 3 or 4 minutes,they will get very pliable and soft.

lay one plywood and foam section on your kitchen floor just in front of the oven(foam side up),pull the kydex out of the oven and lay one piece on the foam,put the knife on top of that,put the other piece of kydex on top of the knife,put the other plywood and foam piece on top of that(foam side down).

STAND ON IT!!!I weigh 208 pounds and that seems to be quite sufficient but if youre alot lighter than me you might want to invite a friend over to help you stand on the thing.

see how the foam conformed the hot kydex to the knife.....pretty neat huh?

drill a series of holes around the perimeter of the object,if your using 1/4" rivets,use a 1/4" drill bit...DUH!I`m using a drill press but a hand drill will do just fine.

tap the rivets into the holes you drilled with this little blue tool thats available from wal-mart,it comes with a set of chrome rivets and that may be what you want but if you want black rivets you gotta get em from texas knife.com.

cut around the rivets as neatly as you can and sand the edges smooth,I`m using a scroll saw but you can use a coping saw or a big set of shears if thats what you have available.......

Looks pretty good so far eh?

Well now it`s time for the belt loop,cut a 2" wide strip of kydex and find something approximately the size of the biggest belt you anticipate using, I`m using a piece of bar stock steel but it can be plastic wood or even the belt itself.

lay the hot kydex strip on the kitchen floor and fold it over your pseudo belt,lay one section of foam/plywood over it and stand on it,wait a few minutes till it`s cool and cut and sand it to fit the sheath. Attach it to the sheath with your choice of hardware and there you have one low buck,custom made knife sheath.

Bossman

found on http://assaultweb.net/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000247.html