Thread: Forming Kydex
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Old 11-03-2008, 10:11   #2
Bill Harsey
Bladesmith to the Quiet Professionals
 
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Oregon, Land of the Silver Grey Sunsets
Posts: 3,886
Some Basics

Kydex is a thermal forming plastic used for a lot of things including interiors of commercial and private aircraft.
A heat source is handy for thermal forming kydex. I use two of them, an oven capable of holding 300 to 400 degrees F and a heat gun for doing area forming, like in belt loops or final forming the top of the sheath around a handle.
"Not too thick" cotton gloves help while picking up and working with the warm plastic.
Here is a technique used around here: use scraps of sheath leather as a thermal mask to protect areas you don't want hot when hand forming details with the heat gun. This is very useful.
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