Shooting from the Hip

To some, a holster constructed with injection-molded carbon fiber is as close to toting your pistol in Prada as you’re gonna get.

When comparing injection molding to other methods, the main difference is that it forms one continuous piece. This makes it extremely sturdy because it’s not two pieces molded together. Rather the carbon fiber is injected into a mold in order to make a solid, resilient holster.

So, how does injection molding work?

Whatever your material might be, it is placed into a heated barrel of an injection molding machine, or injection press. From there, it is blended together and pushed into a mold cavity where it cools. At that point, it hardens and takes the permanent shape of the mold. Click here to view an interactive graphic that takes you through each step.

Molds are typically designed by a moldmaker or toolmaker out of metal and can be created to form almost anything—even entire body panels on cars.

This video shows an injection molding machine in all of its three modes: manual, semi-automatic and automatic.