P9 frame crack...

[Mako72]

Hi All!

Long time Kahr owner. Had a K9 from about 96-ish to 2003, or so, and then I aqquirred my P9.

During a recent cleaning session I felt a small scrape on my finger and noticed a small bit of pin/wire protruding below the left hand side of my trigger pin. No biggie, take a small allen wrench and push it back up... Thinking 10 year old gun, things wiggle.

While doing so i notice that there appears to be a crack below the trigger pin on the left hand side. It appears to be on both side of where the small piece of pin/wire engages the trigger pin. Its definitely a crack or slot as a piece of paper will silde in the outer exposed slot. Want to find out if I just missed this for years or if this is something new.

The usuals... Gun was bought I want to say about 2003/4. Serial is YB45xx. Only other issue I have ever had was a plastic mag release that lost its metal tab. Kahr sent me the newer style steel mag catch(about 4 years ago, iirc) and no problems since.

This has me concerned as this is a daily carry piece. I shoot about 25- 50 rds a month minimum, but not a much more. It has been, after the break in, reliable as all get out.

I have done some searching and see very few Kahr frame problems, so any help is appreciated.


Mako72

**Would have included pics, but not sure my Iphone will macro that small. Can try if it will help.

[Mako72]

Got a decent pic, but can't figure out how to post it... Grrrr....

[Buzzard45]

you can post a link to photobucket (or the like). 30 or more posts for a direct post, so get talking ; )

[CPTKILLER]

Sorry to hear that. I'm an engineer and do understand metallurgy. That is a primary reason that I prefer all metal pistols like my Kahr MK9.

[Mako72]

Ok. Got a pic uploaded, here ya go. I think I know the answer, but I wanted to check with some others before I bug Kahr.


Edit- And the white line above the pin is just and errant cat hair!

[wyntrout]

Nice picture. I hope Kahr will do something for you. I wouldn't want to put a lot of money in it and might consider a really good epoxy fix. I would even consider drilling a small hole to insert epoxy to strengthen that area, if you decide to take things into your own hands.

Good luck.

Wynn

[Decado]

That looks like a crack to me! I would think Kahr would replace the frame.

[CJB]

If you bought your Kahr new, its still covered by the lifetime warranty that was in place at that time, no?

[TucsonMTB]

Ok. Got a pic uploaded, here ya go. I think I know the answer, but I wanted to check with some others before I bug Kahr.


Edit- And the white line above the pin is just and errant cat hair!

The usuals... Gun was bought I want to say about 2003/4. Serial is YB45xx. Only other issue I have ever had was a plastic mag release that lost its metal tab.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kahr_Arms) "Since late 2003 or very early in 2004, Kahr has changed from offering a Limited Lifetime Warranty on their pistols to one of only five years' duration. . . ."

That means you might want to determine exactly when you actually purchased your Kahr. If you got it before the warranty change, you should be good to go. Even if it is questionable, some people have gotten good service above and beyond by handling their interaction with the customer support folks well.

In any event, I would start by sending them this picture (lose the cat hair first) via E-mail to: service@kahr.com (according to their contact us page).

With any luck they will make the process painless by providing a cost free shipping label in an email reply.

Best of luck, sir.

[wyntrout]

Be sure to include the serial number. It should have the "unlimited" warranty.

Good luck.

Wynn

[larryz]

Here's hoping that pin stress crack is a design flaw discovered and fixed in later years...

[marshal kane]

That looks like a crack to me! I would think Kahr would replace the frame.

+1 on that! That crack should never have happened.

[TucsonMTB]

For those of you expressing your personal alarm about this crack . . . Get over it.

The frame of the Kahr plastic pistols is a relatively large, fairly complicated plastic molding. From years of involvement in the commercial plastic injection molding industry, I can assure you that conditions inside any plastic mold often lead to areas where the streams of plastic entering the mold do not meld together perfectly. The contact point of the slightly too cool streams of plastic is sometimes visible on the surface of the part, but not always. The result is usually a small, less strong area in the finished part, usually on opposite side of the mold from the injection sprues. Sometimes the strength is low enough to result in a future crack.

With good practices and careful mold maintenance, the frequency of the problem can be minimized, but not completely eliminated. Not to worry, that's what warranties are all about.

One of my PM40's developed a crack in the plastic surrounding the take down pin on the left side of the frame in an area where perfect plastic flow is difficult. Kahr replaced the frame, essentially sending a replacement pistol since the serial number placard is molded into the frame. It appeared that Kahr reused many of the other parts installed in the frame and all of the original, metal slide. The repaired/replaced pistol, which had to go through my FFL to reach me, is just fine.



There is a small length of dental floss pulled into the crack in this picture that was sent to Kahr to convince them there was a problem.

[gb6491]

Here's hoping that pin stress crack is a design flaw discovered and fixed in later years...

I'm of the thought that's more of a "stuff happens" thing than a design flaw.
Still, I'm leery of ever having to remove the trigger axis pin on a poly frame Kahr because I believe doing so will stress that exact area.

Nice photo TucsonMTB! Always enjoy reading your posts

Regards,
Greg

[Rob K]

That crack definitely needs attention. Some polymers get brittle over time, losing some of the components that bind them together. I have no expertise in that area but have seen it in other products that I work with. Age can be the enemy to many things besides us. On the same note, with no specific documentation, it seems that Kahr quality issues show up more with older models. Can it be that Kahr has continually upgraded the quality of their materials, processes, and quality control ? My newer CM9 has never had a hiccup of any sort and I'm proud to promote the merits of their guns.