The grip safety on a Kimber Series II activates the push rod which raises the firing pin block to free the firing pin. Question: what does the grip safety do on a pre-Series II and/or how does it function? What malfunctions do the Series II safeties cause and why can't they be eliminated??
Question on Kimber Push Rod
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
Joined
·
2,525 Posts
Both grip safeties also remove a "block" from the mechanism so it can be operated....inyati13 said:
There's a little projection on the front of the grip safety (either Series) that rests on the good parts (major technical term 'cause I'm too look up which part - sear or trigger - that it rests on) and keeps the gun from firing unless it's depressed, which moves the projection out of the way.
I think there are two malfunctions in the Series II. The simpler one is that it's possible to have things adjusted so the grip safety will unblock the hammer drop without being depressed far enough to move the firing pin block out of the way. (Diddle the grip safety to fix this one.)
The other problem is that anything that can retard the operation of the firing pin may be iffy, but more importantly the design is such that the plunger that's supposed to move the block out of the way so the firing pin can move is a little iffy. It's difficult to clean, and could stick on you.
You can also behead the Schwartz pin coming out of the frame with the rear of the slide if you've managed to squeeze the grip safety while trying to put the slide on. It's in the manual.... Breaking that pin will keep the gun from firing, but you have to fire it to find out....
Supposedly just plugging in a Colt firing pin from the original 1911 designs deactivates the whole mess without changing out any other parts. I'd be concerned about that block resting on the firing pin anyway and causing friction. Access to that stuff is gained by removing the rear sight....
Finally, if it's a carry gun, it's not a good idea to remove a manufacturer's designed-in safety device. In many states, should you actually need the gun, the BG's family may be able to go after in Civil Court, and you don't want to give 'em the ammunition.
There's a long thread on the Series II safety at: http://forum.m1911.org/showthread.php?p=56888#post56888&conly=. This might point mid-roll, but it's worth a look. I was learning a bit as that continued, too....
Regards,
Grip safety physically blocks the trigger until it's depressed.
Thumb safety physically blocks the sear and the hammer until released.
Both have to be OFF before the pistol will fire.
Since the trigger moves the sear and the sear releases the hammer that's 3 degrees of safety in two devices. If the sear turns to ganola the thumb safety sill still stop the hammer from falling as long as it's on.
Firing pin interlock prevents the firing pin from moving far enough to exit the face of the slide unless it's released by the Kimber Series II grip linkage (or the Colt's Series 80) trigger linkage.
-- Chuck
Thumb safety physically blocks the sear and the hammer until released.
Both have to be OFF before the pistol will fire.
Since the trigger moves the sear and the sear releases the hammer that's 3 degrees of safety in two devices. If the sear turns to ganola the thumb safety sill still stop the hammer from falling as long as it's on.
Firing pin interlock prevents the firing pin from moving far enough to exit the face of the slide unless it's released by the Kimber Series II grip linkage (or the Colt's Series 80) trigger linkage.
-- Chuck
Joined
·
2,525 Posts
Chuck:
Thanks....
I was too lazy to look that up last night - the grip safety just kind of sticks in there someplace and....
Competitive shooters sometimes remove or dummy their grip safeties, btw, and the gun will work with no thumb safety. Not recommended, of course....
At the beginning of WWII some Polish soldiers altered the thumb safety (or decocker - I'm not sure which) so their pistols would fire if the safety was activated. Not the greatest design, I'm sure, but I'm also sure it surprised some Germans accepting surrenders....
(The Japanese had a pistol with an external lever that sort of rode on the sear - I'm not sure of the details, but you could get the gun to fire by squeezing the frame the wrong way. In the grand scheme of things, whoever designed that probably got promoted.)
I also need to admit to having attempted to put a drop-in beavertail grip safety into my Commander. When I screwed it up, I ended up buying another beavertail and letting a gunsmith do it. Then I found out how to recover an overly agressively filed grip safety, and how to see what you're doing when trying to fit one.... Oh well, next time. I'm enough of a tinkerer....
Regards,
Thanks....
I was too lazy to look that up last night - the grip safety just kind of sticks in there someplace and....
Competitive shooters sometimes remove or dummy their grip safeties, btw, and the gun will work with no thumb safety. Not recommended, of course....
At the beginning of WWII some Polish soldiers altered the thumb safety (or decocker - I'm not sure which) so their pistols would fire if the safety was activated. Not the greatest design, I'm sure, but I'm also sure it surprised some Germans accepting surrenders....
(The Japanese had a pistol with an external lever that sort of rode on the sear - I'm not sure of the details, but you could get the gun to fire by squeezing the frame the wrong way. In the grand scheme of things, whoever designed that probably got promoted.)
I also need to admit to having attempted to put a drop-in beavertail grip safety into my Commander. When I screwed it up, I ended up buying another beavertail and letting a gunsmith do it. Then I found out how to recover an overly agressively filed grip safety, and how to see what you're doing when trying to fit one.... Oh well, next time. I'm enough of a tinkerer....
Regards,
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
