polishing the trigger pull

[hss.strat]

I have a terrible condition. I can't have a new thing for more than a month before completely dismantling it, seeing how it works, cleaning the innards and putting it back together. And usually in the process, breaking one of the parts.

I took apart my new/used K9 yesterday. Completely apart. Removing everything except the trigger and trigger bar (because the pin is cemented in there or something) and cleaned it all out. There was years of dirt and grime gathered up on some of those parts, especially inside the striker pin channel. So I washed it all out with gun cleaner, put some oil on the stuff that moves and stuck it all back together.

After that the trigger felt more crisp and responsive. BUT, if I really pull slowly I can hear and feel it creaking a bit almost like the striker spring is catching ever so slightly on something. Is that normal? It wasn't there before, but I suspect that it was being covered up by fifteen years of grime acting like graphite powder. I'm thinking it's the striker spring guide, which is a machined down part on my k9 so it has the tooling marks all down it.

I was hoping for some guidance before I go to town with the sand paper.

BTW, the part I broke this time was the mag release screw. It was so soft that I half stripped the head which seized the mag release button in the frame. Had to spend a good half hour polishing the thing to get it back to normal.

[muggsy]

There is a slight creaking in the trigger of my CM9 that comes from the trigger return spring. It isn't at all noticeable when shooting the gun. My motto is if it ain't broke don't fix it. You aren't shooting a match target pistol. The Kahr pistols were designed for personal protection. Your Kahr is ideal for that purpose.

[joshh]

dremel and polishing would probably be a safer bet than sand papering. i have had great results with almost all my guns doing this with traditional metal compound then i clean and lube all my parts with eezox. i have talked to guys who "clean up" bad firing mechanisms using jewelers compound on the rough contact pounts then cycling the system by hand a bunch but i dont know that i would want to do that myself for a carry pistol.
either way, good luck and let us know how you make out.

[FLBri]

I have a PM9 that is noiseless/creakless/silent ... and both a T9 and a MK9 that have a slight 'springing' friction feel/noise to them. I have to put my ear to them in a silent room to hear them and I have no idea why the difference. When shooting, I never think of it. The PM9 is older, but the MK9 is the most shot ... so wear-in may be a factor, but not definitive. My conclusion is that some springs may be formed slightly different and have more friction with the walls of the striker channel.

We suffer from the same Malady. The only question I have is why it takes you up to a month to tear it apart. If I could only count how many times my wife has come home on a weekend to find me crawling around the floor with all the furniture moved ... looking for lost springs/parts.

[Bug Splat]

I have a terrible condition. I can't have a new thing for more than a month before completely dismantling it, seeing how it works, cleaning the innards and putting it back together. And usually in the process, breaking one of the parts.


You and me both brother. I just spent 2 weeks smithing my new K40 and tuned everything up. I also had that trigger gritty feeling. Using a buffing wheel on a bench grinder I polished every metal-on metal part. Same could be done with a dremal but the bench buffer is much faster. I did use a dremal to polish the frame where the sear rotates. Fully polished the ejector because it rubs on the sear too. Just follow the path from trigger to primer strike and if it rubs, polish it. Be sure not to remove any metal, you just want to smooth it out. My K40 feels unbelievable now. So smooth and light. I'll post all the work that I did in a new thread.

[CJB]

One thing I've noticed - with the magazine out, there is no upward pressure on the slide, and there is a little bit of play that will make things seem creaky when dry fired. Dry fire with the magazine in, and it gets amazingly smoother. You can see the slide lift and/or rock just slightly... ever so little bit... but your finger can feel the inconsistency as the parts rearrange their position. You'll never experience that at the range... its only dry fire, no mag phenom.