1911 Sadness

[DD977GM2]

A buddy of mine is having me hang onto his firearms for a bit. Long story but
he wants his firearms in a safe and I have a rather empty one so I obliged.
Well he has a nice 1st generation Kimber Classic Stainless 1911. This is NOT the Classic II.
Well as I was sitting here admiring the craftsmenship that once was Kimber,
I notice the 1911 is in terrible condition. There is tons and tons of powder residue
from the many times we have gone shooting together. Id say around 750 rounds
down the pipe with NO cleaning. There is some surface rust that came off rather easily
under the grips :( and then there is some surface rust on the outside of the barrel, I havnt
started yet on the barrel. Letting it soak.

At any rate just felt the need to post and let this off my chest as this is
a spectacular 1911 and just going to waste IMHO. Amazing how some folks take
great meticulous care of certain items and not other items.
I take better care of my firearms then I do my front yard, but then again
I hate yardwork more then I hate cleaning firearms.

As of right now, I have been "scrubbiong" since about 1230 hours and still
have probably 3-4 more hours of cleaning to get this sweet lil gem
back to respectable condition. FTR, I am not polishing anything or using any abbrasives
on the slide or frame to get it clean. 100% elbow grease,CLP and M16 brush or
bore brush. I know he will be impressed when he asks for his firearms back!!!!!!!!

Thanks for listening

[Zombie Steve]

A Clackamas Kimber? That is a shame.

[DD977GM2]

A Clackamas Kimber? That is a shame.

What is a Clackamas???? Im serious as I have never heard that before.

The serial number starts off KO4****. I believe he bought it brand new
sometime while I was in the Navy. 96-00, guessing closer 99 or 00 when he turned
21.

[airborneranger]

That is some sad news :(

[sniper7]

very sad to see people not take care of their things. glad you are doing your best to save it

[Zundfolge]

What is a Clackamas???? Im serious as I have never heard that before.
Clackamas Oregon is where Kimber started out ... the guns made in their little ship in Clackamas are considered by many to be their best (in part because they are basically "Series 70" 1911s and not "Series 80" like the Series 2 guns ... with their Schwartz style firing pin safety that apparently ruins the trigger pull).

I think its also because Kimber changed hands a couple times before it moved to Yonkers NY (where it is now) and the focus of the company was building top notch custom 1911s in Clackamas and now their focus is mass production in NY.


Now I may be wrong, but I think Kimber of Yonkers started out making Series 1 guns (well actually they were never called that until the Series 2 guns came out). So just because its not a Series 2 doesn't mean for sure its a Clackamas. [EDIT] Kimber moved from Oregon to New York in 1997, the Series 2 came out in 2001.



EDIT
Did some googling.

Clackamas Kimbers will be stamped on the right side of the frame "KIMBER, CLACKAMAS OR USA" and later ones will be stamped "KIMBER YONKERS NY USA"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/RussBert/kimber/clackamasSerial.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/RussBert/kimber/dotpeen.jpg

[DD977GM2]

This one is Yonkers, but I wanna say it was one of the first once the move to NY.

[cebeu]

An original Kimber (matte) produced in Yonkers just after the Clack roll-mark change. Phenomenal 1911's until early 02', this one rolled-off the line in Mar 00' and is an exceptional weapon, including original MIM. Heirloom? No. Serious shooter? Yup. Have all NIB parts inc OEM mags but this config has VZ Gatorback 2's, Steel MSH/Magwell, Pearce grooves, and a "silver" bushing.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r14/cunroe/1e1911.jpg

[DD977GM2]

My buddy when he was thinking of selling, he even called Kimber and they couldnt figure
out when the pistol was made, hence why he thinks it was one of the first made during the transition to NY or shortly after the arrival.

[DD977GM2]

An original Kimber (matte) produced in Yonkers just after the Clack roll-mark change. Phenomenal 1911's until early 02', this one rolled-off the line in Mar 00' and is an exceptional weapon, including original MIM. Heirloom? No. Serious shooter? Yup. Have all NIB parts inc OEM mags but this config has VZ Gatorback 2's, Steel MSH/Magwell, Pearce grooves, and a "silver" bushing.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r14/cunroe/1e1911.jpg

That is a gorgeous Kimber. Im not a Kimber fan, I love the Raptor and SIS... about it, but damn that is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!

[Chad4000]

An original Kimber (matte) produced in Yonkers just after the Clack roll-mark change. Phenomenal 1911's until early 02', this one rolled-off the line in Mar 00' and is an exceptional weapon, including original MIM. Heirloom? No. Serious shooter? Yup. Have all NIB parts inc OEM mags but this config has VZ Gatorback 2's, Steel MSH/Magwell, Pearce grooves, and a "silver" bushing.




serious question, but what do you guys think makes a good heirloom 1911? value?

i was planning on giving mine to my son someday, but its not as nice as the kimbers or something haha

[DD977GM2]

serious question, but what do you guys think makes a good heirloom 1911? value?

i was planning on giving mine to my son someday, but its not as nice as the kimbers or something haha


Regardless of the model, Id say ANY 1911 passed down from a father to their son or daughter
would then become priceless. As a jerk, Id say any Springfield 1911 loaded model or above would be pretty badass.
Im not on the up and up on Kimbers, but anyone a couple models above their basic would be pretty awesome too.

Im trying to buy a 1911 in 9mm from my buddy, it has sentimental value to me otherwise
Id never even consider a 9mm in anything.

I wouldnt dwell on a partic ular model, but definatly get what you can afford and the model that fits your needs or likes the most.

[Daniel_187]

My brother is one for the list of firearm cleaning neglect. "oh I though you would clean them".

[lpgasman]

Clackamas Oregon is where Kimber started out ... the guns made in their little ship in Clackamas are considered by many to be their best (in part because they are basically "Series 70" 1911s and not "Series 80" like the Series 2 guns ... with their Schwartz style firing pin safety that apparently ruins the trigger pull).

I think its also because Kimber changed hands a couple times before it moved to Yonkers NY (where it is now) and the focus of the company was building top notch custom 1911s in Clackamas and now their focus is mass production in NY.


Now I may be wrong, but I think Kimber of Yonkers started out making Series 1 guns (well actually they were never called that until the Series 2 guns came out). So just because its not a Series 2 doesn't mean for sure its a Clackamas. [EDIT] Kimber moved from Oregon to New York in 1997, the Series 2 came out in 2001.



EDIT
Did some googling.

Clackamas Kimbers will be stamped on the right side of the frame "KIMBER, CLACKAMAS OR USA" and later ones will be stamped "KIMBER YONKERS NY USA"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/RussBert/kimber/clackamasSerial.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v432/RussBert/kimber/dotpeen.jpg
the trigger on the one in the lower pic is sweet!

[Zombie Steve]

I think it's hideous.

[DD977GM2]

Still scrubbing away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

[Wolfen]

I feel your pain. I sold a friend the twin to this gun and several years later he pulled it out to show it to me. He never cleaned it once!!! over 2k rounds with a lot of bad weather shooting. Even stainless steel will begin to rust. It had rust in several spots under the grips. I laid into him but he just laughed it off and had a beer. Moron.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a220/Cobalt_/colts011.jpg

[Squeeze]

A few years back I was re-finishing my Kimber TLE RL II (which BrokenScout now proudly owns) and at the time it was my only carry piece. So I hit up a buddy of mine who has more guns than brains to see if he could give me something to carry until I was done working on mine. He let me borrow his Kimber Stainless Pro Carry. I politely said, "thank you brother", took it home and didn't think twice about it.

I got home, took the handgun out of the case and it was filthy! Fortunately, no rust...but A LOT of carbon residue and dirt. So, being the nice guy I am I stripped that thing down as far as it could go and gave it a detailed cleaning. When I gave it back to him about 2 weeks later he called me up a few days after and thanked me for cleaning it. I gave him the "your welcome, but..." speech. We had served together in the military and he knows better so that's why I gave his a razzin' for not keeping it clean. There have been several firearms he has let me borrow for reviews that I do on my YouTube channel, and he always gets them back clean. He doesn't expect it, but he's a great guy and figure it's the least I could do. I sure hope your friend appreciates all the hard work you're putting into cleaning his 1911!

[birddog]

Clackamas Kimbers are top notch quality. I have heard a lot of bad things about their series II pistols but you also have to take into account the numbers. They produce more 1911's than any other mfg by far. Has Kimber quality slipped, maybe but when you put out as many 1911's as they do I guess you would expect some problems. I sure hope I can get my hands on a Clack one of these days, too poor :(