Posted: 7/29/2007 5:39:45 PM EDT
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I was at a gunshow this weekend and a dealer I was talking to said that Smith and Wesson makes all Kimber 1911s. I was just wondering if this is true, partially true, or maybe was true in the past. Any info anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated. As an added bonus, here's a picture of my Kimber Pro TLE/RL II. http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/6296/kimber001ha1.th.jpg |
| I wasn't just taking his word. I've done some other research on the internet and the bulk of what I found seemed to support his answer. Not that the internet is 100% accurate but that's what I found. If anyone else has information to the contrary, I'd appreciate hearing it. Either way, I own a Kimber and am extremely pleased with it, regardless of who makes it. |
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It is common for some companies to make forgings or finished parts for other companies under subcontract. Forgings in particular make sense to buy from someone else given the cost of the machinery and tooling involved and the volume of sales you would need to make them cost effectively. What counts on a forging however is the machining and finish work and that is where forgings made by company "A" and either turned into finished frames and slides by company "A" or supplied under contract to companies "B" and "C" where they are then finished can end up being qualitatively different even though the forgings all came from the same company. The much greater availability and affordability of CNC machines has allowed many companies to finish their own parts to very high standards but for many companies the cost of making their own forgings are still prohibitive so they either use investment casting techology or buy forgings from other companies. In short, it does not really matter where Kimber gets their forgings for frames and slides, but rather how they finish them. |
Well said, a quality firearm is in the details, its like different automobile companies like Ford or Chevy using a similar frame, Ford has the base model Expedition and then you have Lincoln with a high end finished model like the Navigator. They sit on the same frame but are two totally different finished products. |
| Both S&W and Ruger (Pine Tree) have huge state of the art foundries and supply many of the blanks and finished parts to many gun companies. Kimber does all their own finish machining on slides and frames but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they bought the blanks from S&W or Ruger. |
| On many rifles and pistols it is common to see the serial number and manufactuer information CNC machined or laser engraved rather than roll stamped on the frame/receiver. That is usually a pretty good clue that the forgred blank for the receiver or frame was made by someone else and then fuinished by the company that ultimately marked the receiver or frame. |
| Even if he was right, I wouldn't have given it any more thought. Although in this case it does make some sense. But I"ve heard so many blanket statements that may have some truth to them but not entirely and some that are just totally bogus from gun stores and shows. |