Grip Clip Holster for a Kahr PM9

Ok, I was in a rush with that last holster attempt and didn't fully commit to the process. I tried to wear it for an hour yesterday and it was pretty terrible. So I went ahead and started a holster from scratch.

Here's what I came up with. It's a scabbard design held together using one larger rivet and using two grip clips as attachment points onto the waistband. It's molded so that the gun is locked in if tried to draw straight up. To draw smoothly the gun must be pulled out to an angle instead of straight up. Here it is.


Just for fun I wore it for over 3 hours to dinner along with my S&W 469 both up front at centerline carry. I was surprised it was pretty comfortable even though I'm not used to carrying at the 11:00-11:30 position.

I know it looks funny, but it worked with a sweater over it. During most of the year I don't usually go about without a belt on so I don't intend on using this holster all that often. It is the best option I have for my Kahr when belt-less so I'm glad I have it in my holster stable.

Here's a picture with it worn without a belt as it's intended.

Here's a short video showing the holster in action:

New Clipping option - The Grip Clip!

I came across an ingenious idea last month while reading one of the many gun forums I'm a member of (in this case it was DefensiveCarry.com). One of the members (muddy, gotta give him credit!) came up with the idea to use plastic suspender clips (called Grip Clips) from a pair of suspenders he had on one of his kydex holsters since he rarely uses a belt. It allows him to use the holster in whatever pants/shorts he's wearing regardless if he wears a belt. Here's a link to his post - Kydex Creations using the Grip Clip.

Now, I typically always wear a belt especially in the winter months and during the work week. There are occasions during the summer or weekend where I can see the option of going beltless preferable. In the past, I've used my Stuff & Go methods when beltless. The holster I've used for the Kahr PM9 left a lot to be desired. It didn't quite cover enough of the trigger guard and worst of all the way it clipped to the waistband could cause the holster to be pulled out along with the gun on the draw. Using something like a Grip Clip seemed like the perfect solution. It would be easy on & off, yet when clipped would be secure and not slide off.

Normally, I would make this as a scabbard instead of a pancake (I've found scabbard designs to be cleaner and a little less bulky), but going through my misc. box of holsters & stuff I came across an early attempt at a pancake kydex holster for the PM9. I hadn't used it in a while since I pretty much always pocket carry the PM9. I decided to use this old shell instead of cutting up fresh kydex. In the process of reforming the kydex you'll notice there are a number of blemishes. They in no way affect how the holster actually works. I formed the kydex so the gun will not pull straight out. It is effectively locked in when a straight upwards draw is tried. To draw so that the gun pulls out smoothly it must be pulled back and up at the same time. It snicks out very smoothly when drawn correctly and it's a natural motion for my strong side hand.
I went simple and just used one clip. This is because it will be carried at the appendix location and a little bit of rotational movement helps with comfort. Also one clip is all I need to keep it from sliding down the pants or yanking out on the draw. I've angled the clip so that the gun has a little backwards cant where the grip limits how much it can rotate backwards.

To protect the gun from inadvertantly hitting the nut & screw on the inside of the holster I covered them with a little piece of electrical tape.
I plan on testing this one out after work and this weekend while wearing shorts or sweatpants. If I get a chance I'll make a video demonstrating:
- How well it conceals with a t-shirt
- How easy it is to put on and take off
- How secure the clip is
- How to draw from it correctly

In the future, I plan on designing a two clip version for more stability. Oh, and if you're interested in adapting these clips to a holster you have, they are available seperately from Seattle Fabrics. It's where I found mine.

AIWB Holster for the Smith & Wesson 469

Here's my latest holster. It's for my winter carry Smith & Wesson 469. I followed the same pattern as my AIWB I did for my Sig P239 with a couple improvements.

I thickened the rear section that supports the grip end and widened both J-hooks to improve on durability. I maintained the curve to the clips I used on the Sig holster which helps with allowing the holster to bend with my waistline. The holster is easy on/off and is surprisingly comfortable. It holds the gun securely until I need to draw it which it does quickly.

The Smith & Wesson 469 is a double stack so it's not a thin gun. With a t-shirt draped over it's still noticeable that there's a lump, but it could easily pass for a cell phone and in no way looks like a gun. Here's a short little video I made that shows how easily it comes on and off and how it conceals.

Smith & Wesson 469: A Proven CCW

Here's a look at an oldie, but goodie - Smith & Wesson's 469. It's a compact double stack 9mm with a blued slide, alloy frame, and DA/SA with decocker/safety from the early 1980's. I got this one on a trade a little while back and instantly liked the way it felt in my hand. The great thing is it's almost the same size and weight as my Sig P239, but it holds 12+1 rounds of 9mm vs. 8+1 for the Sig. The one place where it's noticeably bigger is in it's thickness. I've made it my winter carry gun so the extra thickness doesn't make much difference under a cover garment. In mentioning capacity one cool thing is that it can take any of the even higher capacity magazines that S&W produces. I've read where someone actually used a 30 round stick magazine and a 72 round drum. The more practical application is to use the 15 round magazines from the larger 59 series guns as a spare and leave the 12 rounder for carry.

Dimensions:
Barrel ----Total---- Weight
Length ---Length-- (empty)
------------------------------
3.5 in. ----6.875 in. --26 oz.


As you can see it has definitely seen some use. I like to think that it was a cop's gun and all the character marks are from years of reliable service. After putting it through it's paces I've found that it points well, is more than accurate enough and has been totally reliable. The trigger is a bit different than what I'm used to. It uses a half cock notch that you can feel when you pull the trigger in double action. To avoid that little hitch, the hammer can be put in half cock after decocking. The double action pull is fairly smooth and easy to stage. Single action isn't as crisp as the Sig's, but it's got a better reset.


One area that I had to change was the original front sight. It was a slanted blade with a vertical line going down the center of it that was integral to the slide. It was ok, but was really hard to see in low light. When I changed out the front sight of my Sig with a night sight I picked up a second night sight with the idea of putting it on the 469 slide. Now, most would then have taken the slide to a gunsmith to have the original sight taken off and a dovetail cut to fit, but I felt a little more ambitious. Yes, that's right using a small file set I hand filed off the front sight and cut a dovetail. It's not perfect, but it works. Take a look at my work.
It still needs a little cold blue on the raw steel, but I'm happy with how it turned out. Now I can easily pick up the front sight in the dark. After taking it to the range it withstood 50 rounds without budging. There I found that to get the right elevation using the new front sight and the original rear required holding the front dot right in line with the top of the rear sight. After a little practice it works well and puts me right in the black.

Future modifications might include a refinish and swapping out the rear sight for a slightly higher Novak style, but for now it's the way I like my carry guns: Compact, Light, Reliable, & Carried.

Overall, the 469 is a great CCW gun and one that I plan on using for many years to come. Smith & Wesson replaced the 469/669 with the third generation 6904/6906 which they have sadly stopped producing. If you happen to find one snatch it up. You won't regret it.

AIWB Kydex holster for a Sig P239

I've really only been using one holster to carry my Sig P239 for the last year & a half, Crossbreed's SuperTuck Deluxe, and it works well. One thing that it doesn't do so well is easy on & off for the times you have to go into places that are off limits for CCW. Since I've yet to really make a holster for it and I have a need for a different kind of holster than the SuperTuck I put one together.

This one is very similar to the one I made for my Norinco Tokarev clone, but with a few differences. It's a single piece of very thin kydex and uses j-hooks to latch onto the pants & belt. Since it has a shorter barrel than the Tok I only used one large rivet instead of two small ones. I also played around with the placement of the j-hooks by moving them as far apart as I could and curving them to better match the curve of my body. Well, here it is.
I know the back clip looks a little fragile and I may end up doing another holster with a more substantial section of kydex added between where the rivet is and the backend of the clip, but the way it is adds more flexibility so it can really bend with my body for comfort and it hasn't shown any signs of breaking (yet).

Surprisingly, this is a pretty comfortable holster. It helps that the P239 is fairly compact. When sitting the muzzle is high enough so that it doesn't pinch or poke and instead almost fits inside the pocket where my thigh hits my hip. Here are a couple pictures of it worn.This will be used only with a cover garment like a baggy untucked shirt, sweater or fleece. For tucking duty I'll still be turning to my SuperTuck. Over the next few weeks I plan on testing this one out and putting it to the EDC (every day carry) test.

Here's a short video to show how easy it is to access, take off & put on.

Short Tutorial on How To Make a Kydex Holster

I've been asked how I go about making these holsters so I did a very short tutorial on the steps I take to make one of these holsters (the IWB for the Tokarev specifically).

1. Create a paper template which is used to judge how much kydex to use and the general shape. I used the gun for this part and taped a chopstick to the top of the slide for the sight channel.
2. Using the template I cut the kydex using metal snips.
3. Usually I'll put the whole piece of kydex in a toaster oven set at about 225 for handful of seconds watching it till it starts to flop and then take it out and wrap it around the gun and add pressure. In this case the kydex was a little too long to fit in my small oven so I took a different tactic. Using a heat gun I did an initial fold on a soft & squishy folded blanket. Wear gloves from here on out to protect your hands. Things get hot.
4. Then I focused on different areas heating and pressing to make it a snug fit. I indent the trigger guard a little extra for retention, pulling the gun out before it gets completely rigid so that it's not too tight.
5. Once the fit is right I used a leather punch to make the holes for the rivets. This works for the thin kydex for thicker stuff you'll need to drill the holes. Then I punched the rivets in and tested the gun fit again.
6. At this point I start trimming off overhang with the metal snips.
7. The clips are integral with the holster so they are formed after the mold of the gun has been set. I cut out the general shape for the clips as if they were straightened out and using a 1.5" wide paint stirrer cut in half as my "belt" & "pants" I heated the clips and started folding them around the stirrers. Then I cut off the excess length.
8. Test the fit one last time and if it's too loose use folded wet paper towels to protect the molded sections that don't need adjustment and then heat up the parts that do and add pressure.
9. Once everything is cut & fitted then comes the time consuming part, finishing. My preferred tool for finishing is an emory board. Keep several of different sizes on hand for some of the hard to reach parts. Sand all edges and corners so things are smooth to the touch. Do this part well and it'll look professional, do it poorly and it'll look like Bubba made it with a dull knife.

This is a very general writeup, but it'll work for most single sheet kydex holster designs.

OWB Kydex Holster for a Beretta 92FS

When I first got into guns several years ago my brother-in-law bought a Beretta 92FS. Shooting his was my first experience with this well loved firearm. I was taken by it's good looks and easy accuracy. Since then I've never really had a chance to own one myself mostly because I tend to lean towards smaller more concealable handguns, but I still love the look of it. A while back my brother-in-law mentioned he was interested in getting a holster for his Beretta. He doesn't CCW, so he was just looking for something he could carry it in comfortably. This Christmas I drew his name for presents and decided I'd try my hand at making that holster for him. This is my first attempt at a OWB (outside the waistband) kydex holster.

I got inspiration from Comp-tac's belt slide holster since it is a fairly simple single sheet design and looked to be stable & comfortable. As I don't own a 92FS I luckily have a coworker that was gracious enough to lend it to me for a night to get the fit just right.

The split loops had to be cut using a dremel so they aren't as clean as I would like, but they are functional and solidly lock onto the belt. The sex bolts (yes, they are really called that) I got after searching around Ace Hardware and if the holster were going to be used for CCW I'd probably paint them black.Here it is worn. It really is nice and comfortable and with this long sweater I could probably get away with wearing it concealed except for a bit of the bottom showing. As my first OWB holster I'm very happy with it and I hope the B-I-L likes it as well. I think I'll have to make one for my wife's Ruger, maybe a paddle holster this time...I swear I must be addicted to kydex fumes.