Lubricate P380 slide parts?

[XFlyboy]

So the striker broke in my relatively new P380. I had to disassemble the slide to confirm and now Kahr is sending me a new striker. In the meantime I have this pile of slide parts and springs. I like to use Break Free CLP on my guns as it conditions the metal with a Teflon-like feel even while dry to the touch. I am wondering if it would not be a good idea to take the opportunity while I am waiting for this part from Kahr to soak all my slide parts in CLP for a while and then wipe them down and let them dry out to also get that Teflon-like quality about them.

Any thoughts? Is this a really bad idea? I know you are not supposed to add oil to the striker area of the slide but I don't think of CLP (and similar products) as oil per se.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Bawanna]

Won't hurt anything. I'd just wipe out the striker channel before reassembly. If you clean it periodically it don't really matter anyhow.

I pretty much oil everything and then wipe off stuff that shouldn't be oiled. Guess I'm an over lubricator but I try to control it.

[dsk]

You don't want anything in the striker channel that will attract or collect dust or fouling. Kahr polishes their internal parts pretty smooth, so I would only wipe them with a CLP-soaked cleaning patch then dry them off purely as a rust preventative measure.

BTW I strongly recommend the heavy-duty striker from Lakeline LLC as a replacement which corrects a couple of inherent flaws in the OEM striker.

[topgun1953]

I too recommend the Lakeline striker. If you shoot your P380 a lot you will likely experience more broken strikers.... I think I had 4 or 5 before Al came out with his. the CLP should be fine but you'd be fine without it. I'll occasionally spray brake clean through the clean out hole and the breech and then blow it out with "air in a can". I haven't taken it apart in quite some time now.

[CPTKILLER]

Lube the slide but not the striker.

[XFlyboy]

Thanks all. Looks like the "don't do anything" lobby has the most votes. I have the new striker now so will reassemble this weekend. Next time I will definitely go with the Lakeline Striker. One thing I have also gathered from my reading is that regardless of what Kahr says about dry firing, it may be best to keep a snap cap in the chamber as a precaution.

[gun papa]

Agreed with what was stated above. Another vote for the Lakeline striker. Best upgrade there is. Gave me confidence again in the gun.

[ripley16]

There is absolutely no harm done in using a dry lube on the internal parts. I use Militec-1 or Eezox on all of my guns. Metal to metal contact or movement needs a lube of some sort. Anything done to increase a Kahr's reliability is a good thing.

[finpro]

There is absolutely no harm done in using a dry lube on the internal parts. I use Militec-1 or Eezox on all of my guns. Metal to metal contact or movement needs a lube of some sort. Anything done to increase a Kahr's reliability is a good thing.

I do the same, though I prefer Militec-1 to Eezox. The striker moving through its channel contributes to trigger feel. I was surprised by the amount of wear on an early P9 striker from movement in its channel. This trigger was not up to what I had experienced with Kahrs before or since and there were other problems initially. It had seriously worn through the plating at corners and I think it did not center itself properly, judging from the wear pattern, though it always fired. From what I could see, the striker channel was rougher than I think it should have been. This did not reoccur on my two newer Kahrs. I think the lubrication helped somewhat. Supposedly, modern dry lubricants or metal conditioners do not attract and hold dirt. That has been my experience. Mark my vote in favor of using such lubricants on Kahr internals, including magazines, when there is any hint of a friction problem.