Better slide grip

[Harrylee]

The other day my friend showed up at my shop with his new to him 9mm non-kahr that is beside the point of this write up it will work with kahr and many other guns. The gun he had has a double recoil spring like my CM9 now he is 71 and didn’t have the grip strength to really get a good grip on the slide to rack it so I had some good 3m traction tape the same stuff you put on stair treads and also used in boats so the stuff is pretty tough. So with that in mind I cut small strips and fitted to the slide what a difference that made I could grab it with two fingers and rack it. So today I decided to do my CM9 this is what I ended up with, it really increases the grip at least 10 times so if you want more bite on the slide try this and it looks cool on my kahr also. Just try to get the 3m tape and make sure you clean the slide groves out real good from oil

[cjjohn]

Nice! looks cool too, I may have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing..............

[Bawanna]

Some one here has done this in the past but as I recall they didn't do near as clean and nice a job. That looks really pro right there.

I imagine it really helps the grip characteristics too.

And helping out a 71 year old friend, well that my friend is priceless right there. Take care of them old people, they rock!

Well Jocko might be questionable but he's ok too. (I think) for a greasy biker ya know?

[getsome]

That looks really good there Harry, real nice job and looks like it should have been there all along....I use that 3M tape for lots of stuff and it works great for anything you want to get a good grip on....I taped a piece of it on the leg side of an Uncle Mikes pocket holster and it works great to keep the holster in my pocket while drawing the pistol....

Good idea on the slide, may try that myself because I have a bum left hand and I need all the grip help I can get on these little Kahrs...

[muggsy]

I used Three M tape on something that I wanted to get a good grip on and you should see what it did to the palm of my hand!

[wyntrout]

Nice job, Harry! That has to be better than the usual bit of oil in those grooves!

Wynn

[xsailer]

I've complained before about racking my cm9 slide back and letting it slide between you fingers at the end of the slide movement. The sharp edges are hard on fingers since I have to grip it tightly because of the spring. I'm thinking this would definitely be a good fix for that. Thanks for providing info and pics.

[DeaconKC]

Very well done!

[yqtszhj]

Is that the "sticky/texture" tape or does it have the sandpaper feel of skateboard tape?

[Harrylee]

The tape has a very aggressive feel to it in small amounts it seems to work very well. Anything that helps pull the slide back is a good thing as far as I can see

[Bawanna]

Harrylee bless his little pea picking heart sent me some of this 3m tape stuff already cut to fit. I didn't even wear a pork chop around my neck for bait.

I think he did the hardest part by cutting it in the strips. His CW has a bit longer strips than my PM but the width was perfect and I got two grooves with each piece so I have some spares if needed.

It makes an amazing difference in the slide traction and it looks sharp too. I don't know yet how it will hold up, I've always been skeptical of stick on stuff. I did as he suggested and degreased and cleaned well. Then installed them and pushed them down well several times. They seem very secure. Time will tell.

Some photo evidence.
The tiny little strips.








Also sent me several Cherry book mark slabs. I don't have a clue how he got them so thin and so perfect. He's definitely got "Better Stuff" than I do. He scroll sawed out a couple, very intricate. I neglected to get pictures. My bad.



So thanks Harry, I'm beholden to ya.

[garyb]

I don't have any problem working my slide (so far) but I think it looks great on the slide. Good idea. Good pics.

[rjt123]

Better slide grip

Harry,

Do you remember the width of the strips? I'm not the best in the world with rulers, and I don't own any calipers (need to pick one up some day). Hate to do a bad job of reinventing your most excellent wheel.

NRA Life Member

[Bawanna]

Harry will know, I think he built a jig to cut em out. Like I said I think that's the hardest part.

I'd have to measure. If I had to guess I'd say a strong 1/8", maybe a course hair wider.

His method of cutting the extra off on the slide works excellent.

I was pleasantly surprised how much it improved the grip. I had no trouble racking my slide either but this helped even more. I'll take any advantage I can get.

[turn signal]

I got some step tape off Ebay and made my own "Talon" grips.
Only problem was I use the blaster alcohol based gun cleaner and it melts the glue.
Then the tape comes right off.