Handy
10-17-2014, 05:30 PM
Dear Penthouse Forum:
14 years ago I owned a MK9. I bought it for a CCW, but decided that the light trigger demanded a holster, and that my P7M8 was actually a slimmer package in my coat pocket because it didn't need a holster.
Over the years I've owned a very large variety 9mm pistols (and some .45s), and find myself most attracted to good design, mechanical accuracy and metal construction. Lately, if I CC, it is much more likely to be a Beretta 950 than any 9mm. But I do have holsters for the combat pistols I own, so they can do that, if needed.
So while the Kahr line makes for nice carry guns, my interest in Kahrs has always really centered on the K9. It is all steel, you can get different grips for it, it is large enough to shoot like a full size gun but as small as you can get without being a subcompact. And it even has very good sights. If modern 9mm+P JHP is in the same lethality as .45 ACP, this 7+1 pistol does everything a 1911 does, but at about 2/3 the size.
Anyway, came across an ugly looking E9 on Gunbroker for real cheap. Lot's of finish wear. I was the only one who bid. While waiting for it to arrive I read all the tech, tips and problems I could find on this site. The K9 and E9 are easily the most reliable Kahr products (a common situation - I'd grab a G17 before any of the Glock models that followed).
It is likely a 1997 model, similar to Plateshooters in this thread:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?20863-My-New-to-Me-Kahr-E9/page2
So I picked it up today and immediately took most of it apart. I cleaned out the slide, then Teflon'd the small parts. I scrubbed off the light surface rust with oil and a brass brush. The frame was filled with gunk from carry and I found some rust in the mag release when I removed that. The frame itself had no rust, and the barrel just surface wear. The screws had a little narfing and wear, so I touched them up with cold blue.
Lubed where appropriate and reassembled. I took the mag apart and looked for follower rub from the mag release. Sure enough. Some quick sanding stopped it from interfering any more.
Observations:
The slide is carbon steel - it responds to cold blue. I didn't check, but I believe the barrel is, too.
The frame is matte blackened stainless - not a coating. The one wear area on the rail I tried cold blue on did nothing. (Magnets aren't going to tell you anything. Gun and knife stainless has low chromium and is magnetic.)
The blued barrel is polygonal.
The front sight is plastic, the rear metal.
The frame is stepped.
Essentially, I have a black K9 with a cheaper slide - pretty much everything else is later K9 spec. Aside from finish wear, the breechface, hood, rails and underside of the slide indicated that this gun was hardly ever fired. For a Kahr, the barrel and slide fit is fairly snug and the trigger smooth enough. I'm very happy with my purchase.
I found a gent on Armslist that would sell me his two leftover K9 mags for $50 shipped, so I'll have enough for even IDPA. I've got a really simple one piece Kydex holster design that I'll execute for my E9 - no worries about finish wear on this one. So early next week I'll be firing this one for reliability and bench rest groups at the indoor range with my plated lead reloads.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the tips and gotchas.
14 years ago I owned a MK9. I bought it for a CCW, but decided that the light trigger demanded a holster, and that my P7M8 was actually a slimmer package in my coat pocket because it didn't need a holster.
Over the years I've owned a very large variety 9mm pistols (and some .45s), and find myself most attracted to good design, mechanical accuracy and metal construction. Lately, if I CC, it is much more likely to be a Beretta 950 than any 9mm. But I do have holsters for the combat pistols I own, so they can do that, if needed.
So while the Kahr line makes for nice carry guns, my interest in Kahrs has always really centered on the K9. It is all steel, you can get different grips for it, it is large enough to shoot like a full size gun but as small as you can get without being a subcompact. And it even has very good sights. If modern 9mm+P JHP is in the same lethality as .45 ACP, this 7+1 pistol does everything a 1911 does, but at about 2/3 the size.
Anyway, came across an ugly looking E9 on Gunbroker for real cheap. Lot's of finish wear. I was the only one who bid. While waiting for it to arrive I read all the tech, tips and problems I could find on this site. The K9 and E9 are easily the most reliable Kahr products (a common situation - I'd grab a G17 before any of the Glock models that followed).
It is likely a 1997 model, similar to Plateshooters in this thread:
http://www.kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?20863-My-New-to-Me-Kahr-E9/page2
So I picked it up today and immediately took most of it apart. I cleaned out the slide, then Teflon'd the small parts. I scrubbed off the light surface rust with oil and a brass brush. The frame was filled with gunk from carry and I found some rust in the mag release when I removed that. The frame itself had no rust, and the barrel just surface wear. The screws had a little narfing and wear, so I touched them up with cold blue.
Lubed where appropriate and reassembled. I took the mag apart and looked for follower rub from the mag release. Sure enough. Some quick sanding stopped it from interfering any more.
Observations:
The slide is carbon steel - it responds to cold blue. I didn't check, but I believe the barrel is, too.
The frame is matte blackened stainless - not a coating. The one wear area on the rail I tried cold blue on did nothing. (Magnets aren't going to tell you anything. Gun and knife stainless has low chromium and is magnetic.)
The blued barrel is polygonal.
The front sight is plastic, the rear metal.
The frame is stepped.
Essentially, I have a black K9 with a cheaper slide - pretty much everything else is later K9 spec. Aside from finish wear, the breechface, hood, rails and underside of the slide indicated that this gun was hardly ever fired. For a Kahr, the barrel and slide fit is fairly snug and the trigger smooth enough. I'm very happy with my purchase.
I found a gent on Armslist that would sell me his two leftover K9 mags for $50 shipped, so I'll have enough for even IDPA. I've got a really simple one piece Kydex holster design that I'll execute for my E9 - no worries about finish wear on this one. So early next week I'll be firing this one for reliability and bench rest groups at the indoor range with my plated lead reloads.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the tips and gotchas.