Stainless steel glock slides

[chiboxer]

I've seen alot of people post pics of Glocks with stainless steel (or what appears to be stainless steel) slides, giving the Glock a wonderful two-tone look. Can anyone tell me where they got them from? Approximate cost? Thanks much.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[cphilip]

I saw one like you describe up real close at a Gun show. The guy was buying it was being told it was a custom job and was paying extra for it. It was simply a bead blasted clean slide was all it was. Not saying they all are but... you can simply bead blast one and perhaps even go so far as spray it with Norrell moly resin SS finish and get that exact look. Cheap too.

[SIXTO]

Here ya go

http://www.robarguns.com/glock.htm

[QKShooter]

The true Stainless steel Glock slides are being made by Caspian Arms.

Brownell's normally sells them as a catalog item but, they are out of stock right now.

High-quality, drop-in replacement slide lets you give your Glock the functional improvements of a custom, competition pistol without having to buy another complete gun. Build a “racegun” top end for competition, then swap in the original factory slide for duty, concealed carry, or home defense use. Or, simply give an otherwise stock pistol an eye-catching, two-tone look. All slides come with polished sides and matte, anti-reflection top; aggressive, forward-slanting cocking serrations improve purchase when hand is wet or sweaty. Precision machined from a 416 stainless steel forging to narrower tolerances than factory slides for a tighter fit, more consistent lockup and improved accuracy. Heat-treated after machining to Rc 37-41 for improved strength. Pre-cut rear sight dovetail and front sight hole accept sights designed to fit factory cuts. Due to tighter tolerances, slide may require minor deburring and fitting to fit some frames.

SPECS: 416 stainless steel, natural finish.

I would give you the Caspian Arms link but they seem to be having some problems with their web site right now.

[GlockinItUp]

QK is correct. Caspian is the only company I know of doing true stainless steel slides for glocks. Caspian's website seems to be working fine now:
http://www.caspianarms.com/GLK.php

Also, there are quite a few companies that will hard chrome a glock slide. Looks fairly similar to stainless. This company as well as many other does it. I just decided to link this one because they have quite a few pics of two tone glocks:
http://www.boomboomtactical.net/html/index.htm

and here a few more that do good hard chroming:
http://www.trippresearch.com/
and
http://www.fordsguns.com/index4-1.htm

[QKShooter]

Concerning "precision machine work" - the factory Glock slides are pretty doggone impressive.
That is some dang nice machine work if you really study a Glock slide.
SO even though Caspian does beautiful work (also) I can't see why a Glock owner wouldn't go the Hard Chrome plating route.
Glock precision machine tolerances are pretty tight already.
But, I sure won't stop anybody from buying a Stainless slide if they want one.

Just think...if you bought an aftermarket metal alloy frame and a Stainless Caspian slide....fit with a Bar-Sto barrel....you would have a Glock that wasn't a Glock.

[chiboxer]

Hey thanks much, this is exactly what I was looking for. If I did send one of my Glocks to get worked on, do you know how I would go about shipping it? Is there some sort of restriction when shipping a firearm that it must be FFL to FFL? Thanks again for all of your help.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Just think...if you bought an aftermarket metal alloy frame and a Stainless Caspian slide....fit with a Bar-Sto barrel....you would have a Glock that wasn't a Glock.

That is too funny!

I was looking at the Caspian website... man, that would be a cool-looking Glock: black polymer frame, shiny stainless steel slide!

Their copy says this, though: "Caspian Custom Glock slides are made to tight tolerances for maximum performance. Because of permissible dimensional variations in your frame and other components minor massaging and de-burring may be necessary. We suggest that you consult a qualified Glock Armorer to install and assemble the slide. If you return a slide that proves to be "in spec" we will require a 15% restocking fee."

Any comments on the reliability of such a pairing? When they're talking about tighter tolerances, I start worrying about failures to feed/go into battery/eject... All the things we typically don't have to worry about with stock Glocks because of the fairly loose tolerances...

Would this slide have the potential to turn a Glock into a gun you'd be afraid to depend on for CCW?

[pogo2]

I have two Glocks with hard chrome finish on the slide, applied over the standard factory finish. It looks just like stainless steel and works great - hard chrome is probably the most durable and scratch resistant finish available for pistols.

I had one done by Tripp in Texas - the whole process including shipping both ways was about $100. The other was done by Arotek in Washington state and was on the gun when I bought it used.

[jhfox462]

They don't have the stainless but lots of other neat things can be done to a glock. Saving my pennies to get somethings done to my G30

[peacefuljeffrey]

Wow, I'm surprised that if the hard chrome finish is put over the black Tenifer finish, that it's not rough-looking. I'm even more surprised that the imprinted marks on the slide are legible! Does that mean that the finish is thinner at those parts?

Also, is the chrome all over the slide? Does it coat the inside of the slide (like under the recoil spring all along there)? I can't imagine that it's inside the slots and grooves for the striker, extractor plunger, etc... Is it?

[pogo2]

Wow, I'm surprised that if the hard chrome finish is put over the black Tenifer finish, that it's not rough-looking. I'm even more surprised that the imprinted marks on the slide are legible! Does that mean that the finish is thinner at those parts?

Also, is the chrome all over the slide? Does it coat the inside of the slide (like under the recoil spring all along there)? I can't imagine that it's inside the slots and grooves for the striker, extractor plunger, etc... Is it?

Perhaps you are overestimating the thickness of the hard chrome finish. It does cover all parts of the slide, and is applied by stripping the slide of all parts and pins, then dipping it in a solution containing chromium and running electrical current through it. But it is not thick enough to obscure the engraving on the slide, or to prevent reassembly of the gun. Here is a diagram from the Internet showing the process:

[cphilip]

LOL...

I find it terribly ironic that you borrowed a diagram from an organization touting the inefficiency and environmental concerns of hard Chrome plating to demonstrate the process.

[GlockinItUp]

If I did send one of my Glocks to get worked on, do you know how I would go about shipping it?

You shouldn't have to send it through an FFL because if I'm not mistaken, you would only have to send in the slide. And since the slide is not considered a firearms, it can be sent fedex or such. Still wanna get it insured though. To be sure though, contact the companies and they should be able to tell you exactly what you need to do to get it to them, and what precautions you need to take.

Hope I've helped!

[QKShooter]

Tenifer Helpful FYI

Tenifer is a trademarked name for the end result of a chemical bath nitriding process that embeds nitrogen into an iron-containing alloy to create a corrosion-resistant finish that is a dull grey in color and extremely hard.
The generic term for this type of process is carbonitriding.
Other trade names for carbonitriding include Melonite, Sursulf, Arcor, Tufftride, and Koline.

Users of the process
The Tenifer finish on a Glock is the third and final hardening process.
It is 0.05 millimeters thick and produces a 64 Rockwell C (diamond cone) hardness rating via a 500 °C nitride bath.

The final matte, non-glare finish meets or exceeds stainless steel specifications, is 85% more corrosion resistant than a hard chrome finish, and is 99.9% salt-water corrosion resistant.
After the Tenifer process, a black Parkerized finish is applied and the slide is protected even if the finish were to wear off.
Several other pistols also use this process including the Walther P99 and Steyr M/S series.
Grandpower, a Slovakian firearms producer, also uses a Tenifer IPQ treatment to harden metal parts on its K100 pistol.

SO...you SHOULD all be aware of the fact that when the black Parkerizing on your Glock slide wears off...your slide is still FULLY PROTECTED by the underlying Tenifer process which will probably never wear off.