"Merry Stainless and..." NOT so merry any longer...

[Old No7]

"Merry Stainless and a Happy New Kahr!"

Day before Christmas, a last-minute shopping trip... And I added this stainless MK9 to my stable of stainless 9s from Kahr.

16423

Yes, they do weigh more than the P series, but I shoot them much better and can handle the extra weight with a good holster and belt.

The K9 has fiber-optic sights and a laser-grip, so that resides upstairs for any "bump in the night" events (along with a super-bright SureFire flashlight), while the T9 will be used for winter carry, and the newly added MK9 (1998 vintage) will replace the CT380 and be my daily carry when I need something smaller.



Old No7

[Bawanna]

Nice family photo, love the star of David, well executed. Happy new gun to you.

[dao]

I too like the tree. And the decorations. Congrats on a good buy!

[Bawanna]

Didn't even notice the tree part....................you should see what I can do with ink blots.

[Old No7]

Aw crap...........

NO longer feeling very "Merry" here any longer........

Turns out this used MK9 has the dreaded CRACK in the front of the slide between the barrel and recoil rod holes. Isn't easy to see, or I would have caught it at the shop. When I wiped it with a soft cleaning patch a few fibers got caught on the edge; and sure enough, I could just catch a fingernail on it too. I had a dirty cleaning patch with some fresh powder fouling on it, and when I wiped that on the slide it really showed up well then. Whoever sold this to the shop "might have" known it was cracked... Or maybe not, who knows...

But luckily for me, the shop has a 30-day warranty period for all used gun purchases, so I'll be returning this one and will let them deal with it.

Oh well, so much for going ALL stainless in my Kahr Kollection; I might just end up with a used PM9 -- the one which had started my Kahr journey so many years ago.

Old No7

[dannylikewingy]

Why not ask kahr to take care of it?

Cant imagine they’re happy to hear about it either and would probably try to fix the problem than having a gun with a cracked slide in circulation.

[Bawanna]

Good idea, I imagine they would just replace the slide, maybe even the whole top end. Never hurt to ask.

[Old No7]

This image created by cropping 2 Kahr images from the web shows us how much more metal there is between the two holes of a PM9 versus the MK9 at the muzzle of the slide. I've read numerous older reports of slides cracking on the MK9s or MK40s, but never saw any reports of slide cracks on the PM series.

I'm no engineer or metallurgist, but the lack of metal in such a critical spot makes me suspect that a brand new slide may not be a "permanent fix" to the MK9 slide cracking problem.

You're free to reach a different conclusion of course. I'm really disappointed but could never trust one -- even with a new slide -- so I will steer clear of the MK9.

Old No7

[gb6491]

This image created by cropping 2 Kahr images from the web shows us how much more metal there is between the two holes of a PM9 versus the MK9 at the muzzle of the slide. I've read numerous older reports of slides cracking on the MK9s or MK40s, but never saw any reports of slide cracks on the PM series.

I'm no engineer or metallurgist, but the lack of metal in such a critical spot makes me suspect that a brand new slide may not be a "permanent fix" to the MK9 slide cracking problem.

You're free to reach a different conclusion of course. I'm really disappointed but could never trust one -- even with a new slide -- so I will steer clear of the MK9.

Old No7
Old No7,
Sorry to read of the cracked slide on your recently acquired MK9. That surely is a bummer.

Every time I see one of these threads (I believe about 9 or 10 over the years on various forums), I check my MK9 (mo problems) and ponder why this occurs.

So here are my thoughts (not trying to convince you one way or the other):

It's a shame that the crack occurs on any of Kahrs guns.

A quick Google search seems to confirm I what I wrote about the number of MK9 slides having cracked between the guide rod and barrel hole. I only went about five pages in, so there might be more. Any occurrence is too many, but I wonder what percentage those failures constitute to the number of MK9 produced.

As to what causes the failures, could it be any of the following?;
as you mention, the design of the slide.
Improper metallurgy
Improperly machined slides
Poor barrel fit
Bad recoil spring assemblies
Worn recoil assemblies
Improper ammo
abuse

Design of the slide: maybe, but if the percentage of cracked slides is very low to low, then I would discount that

Improper metallurgy; possible, but i would think that might manifest in larger number of failures...possibly in a specific serial number range

Improperly machined slides: here I'm thinking damage caused by machine tools or not enough clearance for the barrel to tilt with out stressing the slide.

Poor barrel fit: see above

Bad or worn recoil spring assemblies: not hard to imagine that cracks might occur if the slide slams back without sufficient resistance to it travel.
Springs are consumables and small powerful guns are hard on them. My advice is to change them frequently at small round counts.

Improper ammo: Kahrs are rated+P so I'm inclined to doubt this, but reloads are another story.

Abuse; I include reloads and drop guns here...maybe some beaten on with mallets and such.

I've toyed withe idea of trying a shok buffer in my MK9.

I like the Wolff recoil spring system, but don't know if it makes any difference...then again my MK9 is not cracked.

I don't think that damage I've seen in the various photos of the crack would prevent the gun from functioning. That's not to say I wouldn't get it fixed as soon as possible, it's just that I doubt the gun would fail to operate at that level of damage.

Parts are available to fix the broken guns. Hopefully under warranty.

I can't remember reading of a MK40 slide cracking in the topic spot. Strange.

I feel like I'm leaving something out and will edit if I remember anything.

Now for some photos;
PM9 - MK9
https://i.postimg.cc/LXF02TSp/1.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
MK9 - K9
https://i.postimg.cc/bJqHmF8s/3.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
Glock 27 - MK9
https://i.postimg.cc/WbqrwPr5/4.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

Old No7 Special
MK9 frame, barrel with PM9 slide and guide rod assembly:
https://i.postimg.cc/63LtCcfW/5-copy1000.jpg (https://postimages.org/)
I haven't shot this combo, but I'm pretty confident it will work. The parts fit well and it cycles/feeds/ejects fine by hand.
Two things give me pause:
My MK9 is sprung heavier than my PM9.
The PM9 guide rod is touch short, but appears adequate. I would make a custom guide rod nut if I were going to run this for any length of time.
https://i.postimg.cc/cHskvB9G/6-copy.jpg (https://postimg.cc/KKHDVBh0)
(sorry about the crappy last photo)

Regards,
Greg

[dannylikewingy]

Maybe we should google, kahr catastrophic failure.

[Old No7]

Maybe we should google, kahr catastrophic failure.
I actually did that, and got two hits on P9/CW9s where faulty ammo blew out the sideplates. Luckily, no major injuries.


About calling Kahr, as Bawanna had suggested:

Good idea, I imagine they would just replace the slide, maybe even the whole top end. Never hurt to ask.
Oh sure, Kahr will replace the slide -- but only for free for the original owner, so I'd be out the 2-way shipping costs ($60?) plus a new slide ($145 per website).

NO WAY.

It's now going back to the LGS and they can deal with it.

I still like my attempt at the all-stainless "Kahr holiday picture" up above...


But the next time I do that, it won't be a MK9 at the top -- as I'm now planning to make my own P9 Covert * (the one Kahr I used to own -- a factory made Covert -- that I never should have sold off).

Old No7

* I got a lead for a decent P9 candidate to cut down for < $250. Add in $50 for 2 mags, and I'll save a bunch versus the used MK9 -- in dollars and in weight.

[Old No7]

Old No7 Special
MK9 frame, barrel with PM9 slide and guide rod assembly:

Thanks for all the info and photos Greg, and especially for the "Old No7 Special" -- that one's cool!

But that's what I suspect too, that a smaller recoil rod hole on the MK9 -- just like the PM9 -- would likely eliminate the cracking of the slides on the MK9s.

Kahr, are you listening???

Old No7