have youguys ever made your own kydex press

[benchmadebob]

me and my dad want to make are own kydex press and we were wondering how you make them and what density foam do you use any info is greatly aperciated bye

 

[Hargis Knives]

use the blue camping mat from wal-mart. It's about an inch thick. I made my press by using two 1'x2' pieces of plywood. and a 1X2. attach the 1x2 (2 feet long) to one piece of the plywood using wood screws. then take a door hinge and attach the other piece of plywood and the backside of 2x4. cut foam mat to fit. the mat will fill the gap between the two pieces of plywood. I forgot to label the screws on the pic. Hope this helps.

 

[popedandy]

Yup. I don't have any photos, but I used a couple of pieces of plywood with a couple of layers of some relatively stiff foam I had lying around. I didn't bother connecting the two sides of the press - I just clamp it together. Not very fancy, but it gets the job done and all of the components were scrap left over from previous projects.

 

[shotgunner11]

Mine's really high end.

I have a few chunks of the Wal-Mart blue sleeping pad, my kitchen floor and a really thick bamboo cutting board.

I put a peice of foam on the floor, kydex and knife, peice of foam then the cutting board on top and I stand on it for a few minutes while my dog gets nervous because I'm standing funny in one spot for a long time.

I made a press out of plywood but I just wasn't getting enough pressure. My 260lb frame seems to do the trick much better, I just feel bad for the knives.

 

[Martin Swinkels]

That' s me brother..

The cat nows and rubs it's fur guaranteed succesfully onto my black pants.. She KNOWS she doesn't get kicked away..

Mine's really high end.

I have a few chunks of the Wal-Mart blue sleeping pad, my kitchen floor and a really thick bamboo cutting board.

I put a peice of foam on the floor, kydex and knife, peice of foam then the cutting board on top and I stand on it for a few minutes while my dog gets nervous because I'm standing funny in one spot for a long time.

I made a press out of plywood but I just wasn't getting enough pressure. My 260lb frame seems to do the trick much better, I just feel bad for the knives.

 

[kdstrick]

Mine is very simple. Works great. I used leather coasters as hinges so that it does not bind when I apply pressure using a vice. Generally, it allows for more pressure than metal hinges, and a bit better detail on the sheath IMHO.

 

[Hargis Knives]

The leather hinge is a great idea.:thumbup:

 

[Mike Sastre]

Most of the people doing kydex started out with variations of the "sandwich" style presses pictured above and using body weight for pressure. If you wanted to get more definition, you'd place the press in a doorway, stand on it, reach your hands to the top of the door frame, and press down and hold 'til cool enough. Alternately you can use "C" clamps to hold the sides of the press together until the kydex cools. Another way of making a press that will maintain pressure while the material cools is to use a woodworking vise, foam, and scrap lumber (show how in my "Kitchen Kydex" DVD, but pictures are pretty obvious). By making several presses, you can be doing another sheath while the first one is cooling. No wasted time if you are making a bunch of sheaths.

 

[messer454]

Mike,

Thanks for those pics. I have been playing around with kydex since I bought one of your neck sheaths for an Endura many years ago. I couldn't find one of those vices but some one inch oak, camping foam pad, and my shop vice gave me the definition I have been missing with c-clamps and plywood. They take too long to get tight and the plywood flexes too much I think. Again, thanks.