Guide Rod Too Long (3.9" barrel)?

[fsilber]

I have a 22 year-old P9 (3.45" barrel). The end of the guide rod if flat and lays even with the front of the slide.

I have a 3 year-old CT9 (economy version of the TP9 -- these have a 3.9" barrel). The end of the guide rod is rounded a bit, and the rounded part projects a tiny amount out the end of the slide.

I have a new TP2 (also 3.9" barrel). The guide-rod projects a tiny bit further out the front of the slide, because the guide rod is a tiny bit longer than the guide rod on my CT9. I find it extremely difficult to reassemble the pistol -- to get the guide-rod into the barrel/slide assembly. It is quite easy, though, if I use the ever so slightly shorter guide rod from my CT9.

Have some Kahr guide rods been made a bit too long?

I'm thinking maybe a gunsmith could grind a millimeter or two off the end of the TP2 guide rod. But before he tries, I'd like to order a new guide rod -- just in case he screws it up. And who knows -- maybe the new guide rod will be the right length to start.

The price of a new carbon steel guide rod is about $4 -- hardly worth the shipping. So I was thinking of ordering a shiny stainless steel guide rod (so that racking the pistol may have a smoother, higher quality feel). But the ones I see available say they're for the steel Kahr T9 -- no mention of the TP9, nor the CT9. Is there any reason that a stainless steel guide rod for a T9 might not fit a PT9 or CT9?

[dao]

If I were you I'd call Kahr Customer Service. Have a set of calipers, or the measurements you've taken handy. Run these questions by them. They may even suggest a shorter guide rod and it would not surprise me if they shipped you one for free.

[DJK11]

Just use silicon carbide sandpaper and put a radius on the blunt end of the rod. You could sand /file the rod shorter. Fifteen minutes and it’s done. I radius the stainless rods for my Kahrs. Makes reassembly easier than it already is.

[fsilber]

Just use silicon carbide sandpaper and put a radius on the blunt end of the rod. You could sand /file the rod shorter. Fifteen minutes and it’s done. I radius the stainless rods for my Kahrs. Makes reassembly easier than it already is.
The guide rods on my CT-9 and TP-2 9mm were both already radiused, but the guide rod that came with the TP-2 that made reassembly of either gun frustrating was a millimeter or so longer.

I figured the easiest thing to do would be to order a spare guide-rod from Kahr. It was only $3 or $4 -- hardly worth the shipping, so I thought I'd try a stainless steel guide rod.

Funny thing, Kahr sold a carbon steel guide rod for any of the big ones -- T9, TP9, CT-9, ST-9. But the stainless steel one only said it was for the T9. So I ordered both.

They arrived in the mail. The carbon steel guide rod was identical to the one that came with my CT-9 -- slightly shorter than the one that came with the TP-2 9mm. It worked fine.

The stainless steel guide rod was also the proper length -- but it was not radiused. (Maybe on the T9 the radius is in the slide.) It also would not go in.

So I am using the new carbon steel guide rod -- the one which came with the TP-2 was probably out-of-spec.
And I will fillow your advice to apply a radius to the stainless steel guide rod and see if that also works. At worst, I'll have a gun with a bit less sensitivity to corrosion, and which has a slightly more luxurious feel when racking the slight due to it having a smoother polish. (I wonder whether a stainless steel striker-spring guide would make the trigger smoother. But that one takes more skill to install.)

[dao]

The striker assembly on a Kahr is quite easy to remove and replace. Do yourself a favor and cut a short piece of coat hanger and bend it at both ends like the one in the picture below. This aids in getting the striker plate at the back of the slide off, and on. Capture the striker spring in it before attempting to remove or reinstall the striker plate.

Always be careful when working with springs, protecting your eyes at all times but also keeping a thumb over the striker spring when you remove the retainer from the slide to keep the spring from shooting into the great beyond.

The white plastic is a piece of cutting board with a half round cut into it. I clumsily outlined the cut in Microsoft Paint to help you see it. This can be used to capture the rear of the recoil rod and slip it into place in front of the barrel lug. It makes stubborn recoil rods much easier to reinstall.

Kahrs are not complicated and if you take careful note of how the pieces come apart and in what order you can strip a slide and put it back together in short order, especially the second time you do it :)

[Bawanna]

I believe the coat hanger wire thingy is officially recognized as the Ripley Retractor. Your absolutely correct, it is plumb handy when taking the slide apart.

[dao]

I don't recall where I learned about it. But for sure it was not my own idea originally. Who's Ripley? Smart dude :)