CM9 Slide disassembly: Do it or not?

[kevin1]

Kahr’s instructions recommend to not go beyond the usual field striping of the gun. They say “DO NOT DISMANTLE THE PISTOL FURTHER THAN THE MAIN COMPONENTS DESCRIBED ABOVE (except Magazine). To do so may create an unsafe condition and affect the pistol’s Warranty.”

So, what’s the good word? Disassemble the slide or not? If so after how many rounds?

[Bawanna]

Many do it before they ever shoot it. Some never do it but use brake cleaner in the clean out hole on the bottom of the slide.

Awhile back there was frequently debri left behind and gummed up the striker channel. Don't seem to hear of it as much lately.

I took mine apart brand new just to see if it was the case with my PM45. It was perfectly clean but a little too oily.

I don't think I've taken it apart since and it's been several years.

If your not having issues, you can just use the clean out hole. I don't even do that every cleaning. Once you've done it, it's not difficult.

The first time can be a bit frustrating but there's plenty of help here and some stickies that walk you through it.

[vinnier6]

In my mind there is no way around it...it needs to be detail stripped in order to get it all the way clean and inspected...I don’t care what kahr says

[bobandmikako]

I hadn't done it on any that I've purchased new. I've always sprayed in brake cleaner and flush out any gunk periodically. I recently picked up a used MK9. The gun is in excellent shape but the previous owner was a pretty heavy Froglube user and I could see green sludge in the slot the extractor sits in and the striker channel. I found it easy to disassemble the slide, and I'm really glad I did. There was a lot more gunk in there than I expected. Anyway, I put everything back together, and the gun runs great. These instructions seem pretty good: http://naws.com/Kahr_Slide.pdf To press down the back extractor pin, I used a steel dental pick. It was thin enough to fit the hole and rigid enough to press down the pin.

[DJK11]

Strip it down and clean it! My P380 had metal in the striker channel and my first PM45 was full of metal. I phoned Kahr and their response was "you must be using Winchester primers". The pistol was new and I assume only fired at the factory. No way spraying the clean out hole would have flushed it clean.

[JethrosDad]

I agree. Detail strip and clean of the striker channel is vital. If the striker channel isn't clean the gun might not go bang. I tend to lean more toward over cleaning than under cleaning. Gun gets detail clean every couple hundred rounds. You would not believe the metal/lint/carbon/gremlins that get stuck in the striker channel.

[skiflydive]

No reason not to tear it down. It's just pieces and parts. Do a search for the "Ripley Retractor" on this site. It's a piece of coat hanger wire bent to hold the striker spring back while you do the rest. I use a jewelers screwdriver to press the extractor pin in. Also, the chances springs will fly increase exponentially if you don't do something to contain them. I put the whole slide in a big ziploc and poke the screwdriver in from the outside. Another suggestion I saw was to take the slide in a (dry) shower stall and put a cover over the drain so the parts don't go down. There's some trepidation the first time you do it, after that it's a breeze.

[GA_Sheepdog]

I do it to all my kahrs when I first clean it. I wouldn't disassemble the slide very time you clean the gun but maybe every 1000 rounds or so.

[RustyIron]

So, what’s the good word? Disassemble the slide or not? If so after how many rounds?

Zero. On my only Kahr, I disassembled everything prior to shooting it the first time. I needed to see if anything needed "touching up." Cleaning the striker channel should be part of periodic maintenance. Dirt or oil in there can turn your pistol into an awkwardly shaped club.

[Bawanna]

I did a PM9 last night, it was a piece of cake. Good reminder on the Ripley Retractor. It's a life saver. I used a jeweler screwdriver as well. About the smallest one in the kit.
Easy. It was clean and dry and I know it had never been taken apart before. But it's being sold to a friend so I wanted to make sure it started out right.

I do recommend an plain metal coat hanger for the Ripley Retractor. I thought I'd try a coated hanger, kind of be protective and not scratch.

I think it's too slippery, wants to slide off to easy. I might not have it exactly the right length or something but the metal works just fine and doesn't slip off.