Full slide disassembly? YES!

[jouesdeveau]

Every once and a while, I read over a thread about whether or not routine cleaning should include a full slide disassembly. I hadn't done one on my PM9 in about 500 rounds, so I decided to do a full strip. Below is a picture of brass flakes I found in the striker channel. Shown below are three Q-tips. It took an additional three Q-tips before I got all the flakes out.
I use mainly WB FMJ.

On the basis of my finding, I plan to do a full strip AT LEAST every 500 rounds.

[Tinman507]

Smart move. I do the brake cleaner thing after most rounds, but a full blown takedown is on my annual (or sooner) spring cleaning. The gunk you show is similar to what I found in my CM9 after about 750 or so.

Not sure it would cause a real issue but why risk it on an EDC?

[scoose]

WOW!!!!!!!! Thats a lot!! I dont have 500 rounds through the CM yet but I am tearing mine down at 200 to see what I find. Thanks for the heads up!

[ParabellumJ]

I try to do my guns every 2000-2500 rounds. However, I did my CM9 at about 1000 rounds (I was doing my Glock so why not do both?) and mine had no where near that type of debris. I did have some wwb though it, but maybe only a couple hundred rounds or so. Any trick to getting that slide plate off? Mine was a major pain to get off of there :32:

[jouesdeveau]

Any trick to getting that slide plate off? Mine was a major pain to get off of there :32:

See this sticky above:
How To "Detail Strip" the Kahr's Upper!

[Rubb]

That seems pretty dirty for 500 rounds.
I took mine down after my last NC brake clean wash out @ 200...that wash out produced nothing significant.
http://kahrtalk.com/showthread.php?t=11692
There was a lot of carbon left mostly under the extractor and the outside of the striker where the NCBC couldn’t reach IMO.
No brass...I think my first wash out got all that.
I’ve pretty much decided to strip it every 1500 with the spring change and not to bother with the NCBC at all...YMMV

[jocko]

I must be lucky , my striker channel has never been down for cleaning in 32K rounds, other than theclean out hole.. My extractor channel has never been apart for cleaning in 32K rounds.

Now I am ot saying to never take the striker channel down to inspect and clean becuase of my results but I feel very very confident that my striker channle is spiffy clean to..

[wyntrout]

Wow! That's a lot of debris... and people wonder why they get light strikes sometimes! It's time to dump the "trash can" that is the striker channel. All of the stuff gets in there through the pin hole and the cleanout hole... I'm guessing... lots of pressure in the area in front of the pin hole as slide goes back to eject the cases. My stills from firing videos show sparks and fire coming from everywhere and is downright scary to think of shooting without eye protection!

Wynn

[CJB]

Looks like the aftermath from some miniature fragmentation grenade....

[ParabellumJ]

See this sticky above:
How To "Detail Strip" the Kahr's Upper!

Oh I have already been there, and while it provided excellent direction on how, I pretty much knew the proceedure from cleaning my Glocks. My problem/frustration came from just sliding the back plate off. No instructions in the world were gonna get that plate off, just a lot of elbow grease and profanity. Seemed like it was on there with Gorilla glue. Seriously. I even called the gunsmith I used for my night sight installation and asked him if it was as difficult for him as it was for me. He agreed it was and joked he should have charged me more.

[Tinman507]

First time I pulled the slide apart on the CM9 I swore a storm & even invented a few new words. I finally bought a cheapie set of jewelers screwdrivers at Lowes.

The little teeny one is the ticket. Pushes that extractor pin down. It takes a lot more force than you originally think it should. Once you feel it move it's a piece of cake. The other essential tool is the Ripley's Wire Hanger clamp. Holds the Striker pin back without a 3rd hand. Here is where a good stout gallon freezer bag is essential. You most definitely do not want all those tiny pins springs and parts launching.

The whole procedure is enough of a PITA to do the Brake Cleaner spritz for most maintenance, but for complete peace of mind, I am doing at least an annual full strip down. I figure also that I will replace the striker spring at that time. A 3 pack from Wolffs is cheap enough.

I appreciate engineering masterpieces and the innards of this slide fit that description. Learn how the gun works and become intimate with it.

[muggsy]

Every once and a while, I read over a thread about whether or not routine cleaning should include a full slide disassembly. I hadn't done one on my PM9 in about 500 rounds, so I decided to do a full strip. Below is a picture of brass flakes I found in the striker channel. Shown below are three Q-tips. It took an additional three Q-tips before I got all the flakes out.
I use mainly WB FMJ.

On the basis of my finding, I plan to do a full strip AT LEAST every 500 rounds.

J, I was just wondering if you ever clean the striker channel with non-chlorinated brake cleaner after every range session? By doing so, I believe that you could avoid doing the full strip of the upper more than once a year.

[muggsy]

Oh I have already been there, and while it provided excellent direction on how, I pretty much knew the proceedure from cleaning my Glocks. My problem/frustration came from just sliding the back plate off. No instructions in the world were gonna get that plate off, just a lot of elbow grease and profanity. Seemed like it was on there with Gorilla glue. Seriously. I even called the gunsmith I used for my night sight installation and asked him if it was as difficult for him as it was for me. He agreed it was and joked he should have charged me more.

If you're forced to use profanity when disassembling a Kahr upper you are doing something wrong.

[jouesdeveau]

J, I was just wondering if you ever clean the striker channel with non-chlorinated brake cleaner after every range session? By doing so, I believe that you could avoid doing the full strip of the upper more than once a year.

I don't see how blowing anything through the blow hole, including break cleaner, can get rid of brass flakes without opening the striker channel. The little blow out hole will just push the flakes around inside the channel since there's no place for the flakes to exit the channel.

For the record, I use only Ballistol to clean and very small amounts of M-Pro 7 to lube.

[FireMoose]

First time I pulled the slide apart on the CM9 I swore a storm & even invented a few new words. I finally bought a cheapie set of jewelers screwdrivers at Lowes.

The little teeny one is the ticket. Pushes that extractor pin down. It takes a lot more force than you originally think it should. Once you feel it move it's a piece of cake. The other essential tool is the Ripley's Wire Hanger clamp. Holds the Striker pin back without a 3rd hand. Here is where a good stout gallon freezer bag is essential. You most definitely do not want all those tiny pin...

I appreciate engineering masterpieces and the innards of this slide fit that description. Learn how the gun works and become intimate with it.

how do you get it into that little hole?