My first Kahr, a CW9. Some questions.

[rufusleeking]

Hi all,

I've wanted a Kahr for a while now and finally got on board yesterday. I have a Springfield XD and one of their 1911s -- both of which seem a little on the large side for carry. I also have a Bersa Thunder 380 which is a little on the "el cheapo" side of things -- maybe ok size for carry, but I feel awfully "Saturday Night Special" when that thing is in my hands.

Anyway, enough of the background information. I'm writing here today because of some questions I have after doing a tear down and clean/lube of the new CW9 yesterday. Please forgive me if some of my terminology is not quite right. I like guns, but I'm far from being a smith.

First and strongest concern. The polymer frame "rails" look really roughly finished. You can definitely see the seam of the mold when it was made. Couldn't they just take a darn piece of sandpaper to this and make it nice? I suppose that's why they say "fire 200 rounds" because it'll all eventually wear off I guess. Just seems like something they could have done to give me a better impression of their attention to detail.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5499824904_9a6fdaa554.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13837147@N05/5499824904/)




Also, along those same lines of the polymer frame and the molding seams. On the left side groove it looks like someone made a mistake and over "carved" the groove. I'm not sure if this picture will do it justice. (Click to see the full size)

http://img2.picbite.com/2011/03/05/284886ktjjg.jpg (http://picbite.com/image/150013ktjjg/)


On these two issues of the polymer frame's finish. Mainly just wondering what everyone else's experience was. Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Were yours similarly "rough" and now just smoothed out with some time at the range? Am I an exception and most other people have nice flat, smooth rails on their frame?


Lastly, and this is just a trivial gripe. I think it's goofy that you can see straight through where the slide meets frame from the side towards the muzzle. Displayed here with a flashlight behind. This is certainly a very minor detail but to me it seems weird. I even redid my teardown to make sure I hadn't done something wrong in putting it back together.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5499231317_125d90331e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13837147@N05/5499231317/)


Not necessarily bagging on the Kahr. I know they've got a good reputation and that's why I went with one. But that reputation also lead me to believe the finish would be top notch. I do realize that all this complaining will be moot so long as the thing carries comfortably and performs reliably.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/13837147@N05/5499231317/)

[JCP281]

I noticed the same thing last night! I couldnt believe how much plastic shavings there were inside the pistol frame and all in the slide. There were a lot of metal shaving in the slide as well. I couldnt believe Kahr let them leave the factory like that.

[gb6491]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on the CW9:)
My CW9 or CW45 are relatively flat and smooth in the areas that you posted your concerns about. I bought the CW9 used, but don't remember how those areas looked on my CW45 when it was new. That all said, I believe what you are seeing is purely cosmetic. The "real" rails on poly Kahrs are the two metal tabs at the rear of the frame and the two metal strips in the dust cover. I say "two" in each case, but in truth the tabs and strips are the ends of single units molded into the front and rear of the frame.
Being able to see through the frame is not uncommon in semi-auto pistols, I can do so with my Glock and Kel-Tec pistols.
Regards,
Greg

[jlottmc]

I can see clean through most of my pistols. That is a normal thing. I can't on my CZ-52, and I think my P345, but those are the only ones I can think of like that. As for the finish at the rear of the frame, my P45 looks like that. No worries, haven't had a problem out of that gun, ever.

[ripley16]

Nothing you pointed out is unusual or a problem. Even the all metal Kahrs have the "see through" feature.

Welcome to the forum and enjoy your new Kahr.

[aray]

I have a CW9 and you can see through it exactly like that. That is the way it is designed. Dunno about the other features - it's not with me at the moment. Will try to look later.

[jocko]

Hi all,

I've wanted a Kahr for a while now and finally got on board yesterday. I have a Springfield XD and one of their 1911s -- both of which seem a little on the large side for carry. I also have a Bersa Thunder 380 which is a little on the "el cheapo" side of things -- maybe ok size for carry, but I feel awfully "Saturday Night Special" when that thing is in my hands.

Anyway, enough of the background information. I'm writing here today because of some questions I have after doing a tear down and clean/lube of the new CW9 yesterday. Please forgive me if some of my terminology is not quite right. I like guns, but I'm far from being a smith.

First and strongest concern. The polymer frame "rails" look really roughly finished. You can definitely see the seam of the mold when it was made. Couldn't they just take a darn piece of sandpaper to this and make it nice? I suppose that's why they say "fire 200 rounds" because it'll all eventually wear off I guess. Just seems like something they could have done to give me a better impression of their attention to detail.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5499824904_9a6fdaa554.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13837147@N05/5499824904/)




Also, along those same lines of the polymer frame and the molding seams. On the left side groove it looks like someone made a mistake and over "carved" the groove. I'm not sure if this picture will do it justice. (Click to see the full size)

http://img2.picbite.com/2011/03/05/284886ktjjg.jpg (http://picbite.com/image/150013ktjjg/)


On these two issues of the polymer frame's finish. Mainly just wondering what everyone else's experience was. Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Were yours similarly "rough" and now just smoothed out with some time at the range? Am I an exception and most other people have nice flat, smooth rails on their frame?


Lastly, and this is just a trivial gripe. I think it's goofy that you can see straight through where the slide meets frame from the side towards the muzzle. Displayed here with a flashlight behind. This is certainly a very minor detail but to me it seems weird. I even redid my teardown to make sure I hadn't done something wrong in putting it back together.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5011/5499231317_125d90331e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/13837147@N05/5499231317/)


Not necessarily bagging on the Kahr. I know they've got a good reputation and that's why I went with one. But that reputation also lead me to believe the finish would be top notch. I do realize that all this complaining will be moot so long as the thing carries comfortably and performs reliably.
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/13837147@N05/5499231317/)

some polymer kahrs frames have some shaving left on them. The 200 rounds will smooth those areas out with ease. One can also take some fine 600+ grip auto paper and speedup the process, but the slide doesnt ride on the polymer portion once on the gun. If the guns goes bang every time, that is #1, the rest will take careof itself with rounds down range..