dumb Glock question

[roar]

Long story short I was an idiot and used the wrong tool for stripping the slide on my new G19 that I bought, which ended up slipping and scratching the metal above the striker channel. I should have known better, given that I have stripped the slides on my other Glocks the proper way countless times before.

I questioned whether this small scratch could end up being a stress riser and turn into a crack given enough time and shots fired, and was told that it was nothing to worry about, as "metal does not work this way" or "this not how cracks form."

These comments were never expanded upon, so I am hoping either an armorer or someone with greater metallurgical knowledge than I could explain to me these comments.

Here is a link to an album with pictures of the scratch (the darker one on the left).

http://imgur.com/a/pnCCm

[captdreifus]

I'm not an expert, but it looks like a cosmetic scratch. Duty weapons get hell of a lot more scratched than that. I wouldn't worry too much.

[okie john]

I seriously doubt that would ever be a problem. Go forth and shoot.


Okie John

[roar]

I know that guns get scratched all the time and its completely fine. If I got scratches or other marks on the outside of the slide I wouldn't care one bit. The location of this scratch on top of the thin metal covering the striker channel just made me go "hmmm."

Wondering if anyone had any thoughts on whether recoil could ever make this scratch turn into something worse.

[greatnw]

I know that guns get scratched all the time and its completely fine. If I got scratches or other marks on the outside of the slide I wouldn't care one bit. The location of this scratch on top of the thin metal covering the striker channel just made me go "hmmm."

Wondering if anyone had any thoughts on whether recoil could ever make this scratch turn into something worse.

I'm no expert either but I'd say if your really worried about it just check on it every once and awhile, you'd be able to notice if it was getting bad enough to be worried about. Otherwise it looks like no big deal. Shoot, rinse, and repeat ;)

[Crow Hunter]

I questioned whether this small scratch could end up being a stress riser and turn into a crack given enough time and shots fired, and was told that it was nothing to worry about, as "metal does not work this way" or "this not how cracks form."

Whoever told you that is right.

That just looks like a finish scratch. The black coating is just that, a coating.

You would have had to use a tool that was harder than the Tennifer "case hardening" to actually scratch it.

What type of tool were you using?

Remember Tennifer or Melonite or other nitrocaburizing have nearly the hardness of diamonds. (Rockwell 60 on the C scale, I think)

[roar]

Whoever told you that is right.

That just looks like a finish scratch. The black coating is just that, a coating.

You would have had to use a tool that was harder than the Tennifer "case hardening" to actually scratch it.

What type of tool were you using?

Remember Tennifer or Melonite or other nitrocaburizing have nearly the hardness of diamonds. (Rockwell 60 on the C scale, I think)

It was the tiny flathead on my Leatherman squirt. It was nearby when I was cleaning my new 19, so I grabbed it thinking it would be good enough. I was wrong! :D

[KTR03]

I'll bet your glock slide is a lot harder than your leatherman squirt. Drive on. Check it occasionally if you are worried about it.

[roar]

Shooting my new Glock and keeping an eye on the scratch I created has been the plan all along!


I'm no expert either but I'd say if your really worried about it just check on it every once and awhile, you'd be able to notice if it was getting bad enough to be worried about. Otherwise it looks like no big deal. Shoot, rinse, and repeat ;)


Whoever told you that is right.

That just looks like a finish scratch. The black coating is just that, a coating.

You would have had to use a tool that was harder than the Tennifer "case hardening" to actually scratch it.

What type of tool were you using?

Remember Tennifer or Melonite or other nitrocaburizing have nearly the hardness of diamonds. (Rockwell 60 on the C scale, I think)


I'll bet your glock slide is a lot harder than your leatherman squirt. Drive on. Check it occasionally if you are worried about it.

I'd sure hope that my Austrian made Glock has harder steel than the steel parts in a Taiwanese multitool!

Here is one of the original reasons why I was so surprised at the scratch: A long time ago at a range far far away I accidentally dropped my Glock 22 onto the concrete floor. It hit pretty hard, but the end result was a bit of concrete that ended up transferring to the slide. This concrete wiped off to reveal a completely flawless slide with absolutely no marks or anything. Now I realize a pokey little flathead screwdriver is not the same thing as a concrete floor, but there you have it :laugh:

Thanks for the replies everyone. If any additional lessons on steel or nitrocarburizing are to be had, I'd love to listen.

[whick1]

does not look very deep so I would not worry about it.

[The_Count]

You couldn't have picked a better area to scratch. The firing pin/striker channel experiences very little stress in normal operation. Nothing to worry about.

TC

[roar]

You couldn't have picked a better area to scratch. The firing pin/striker channel experiences very little stress in normal operation. Nothing to worry about.

TC

Good to know guys, thanks!

[ST911]

You did no harm, and your gun is fine. Don't give it one more thought.

[roar]

You did no harm, and your gun is fine. Don't give it one more thought.

I'll let you guys know how it shoots after next Saturday. Unfortunately I have to wait until then to shoot my 19 for the first time.

[Quiet Riot]

I'd sure hope that my Austrian made Glock has harder steel than the steel parts in a Taiwanese multitool!

Here is one of the original reasons why I was so surprised at the scratch: A long time ago at a range far far away I accidentally dropped my Glock 22 onto the concrete floor. It hit pretty hard, but the end result was a bit of concrete that ended up transferring to the slide. This concrete wiped off to reveal a completely flawless slide with absolutely no marks or anything. Now I realize a pokey little flathead screwdriver is not the same thing as a concrete floor, but there you have it :laugh:

Thanks for the replies everyone. If any additional lessons on steel or nitrocarburizing are to be had, I'd love to listen.
In all seriousness, you are probably looking at metal from your Leatherman deposited on the slide, just like your concrete example above. As mentioned, the Tennifer is extremely tough, and it is NOT the black finish that we see on our brand new slides. It is a treatment to the metal, on top of which Glock places a black finish.

If a pissant screwdriver blade could eff up the integrity of the metal in a Glock slide, there is no way it could tolerate the stuff that many put theirs through every day.

Go forth and make more scratches. Make your Glock feel loved.