Gunsmithing & Parts

Quick Guide
How many parts does a Glock have?
Why do some models have an extra pin above the trigger?
What is the Glock Armorer's Course and how can I get in?
How can I get a copy of the 'Glock Armorer's Manual'?
Can I use a model Gxx slide assembly on a model Gyy frame?
How do I remove/install the channel liner?
My tenifer finish is wearing off how do I replace it?
What is the tenifer finish?
How can I test for a weak recoil spring?
How can I get a smooth trigger for my compact Glock?
How can I get a G26/G27/G29/G30/G33 with accessory rails on the frame?
What are the different frame styles or 'generations'?
What other accessories can I buy from Glock?
What's the Glock Police swivel holster?
What's the Glock lanyard?

Why do some models have an extra pin above the trigger?
The extra pin is the locking block pin. It is found on models 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35 and 36. It is not found on models 17, 17L, 18, 19, 25 and 34. The pin was added for extra strength.
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What is the Glock Armorer's Course and how can I get in?
The Glock Armorer's Course is a one day in-depth gunsmithing class offered by Glock. By completing the course you become a Glock Certified Armorer. To retain the certification you must re-take the course every 3 years. The course was originally offered to anyone but due to high demand is now generally filled by LEOs and Glock dealers. It is sometimes possible get on the waiting list for a class and get accepted if the class is not filled.
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How can I get a copy of the 'Glock Armorer's Manual'?
To officially get a copy of the official Glock Armorer's Manual you must attend the Glock Armorer's Course. You can sometimes find copies at gun shows or Internet auctions but they are almost always out of date and poorly photocopied.
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Can I use a model Gxx slide assembly on a model Gyy frame?
The following table lists each slide/receiver combination.

How do I remove/install the channel liner?
Channel liner removal:
Go to the local hardware store and check out the wood screw section. Find a 3 1/2 long 5/16 Lag bolt. The average price is .55 cents. Insert the lag bolt, give it 1 or 2 twists by hand (you will feel it bite into the liner). Now just wiggle it out. The liner will be ruined but they only cost $2 each.

Channel liner installation:
There are two ends of the channel liner you need to be concerned with. The beveled end and the square cut end. The beveled end needs to be inserted into the slide. Push the channel liner in as far as you can with your finger. Then take a 3/8 dowel and finish pushing it in (the dowel should be pushing on the square cut end). It will be fully installed when you cannot push it in any more. [JR]
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My tenifer finish is wearing off how do I replace it?
The tenifer finish is an extremely hard surface preparation that is impregnated into the slide before the black parkerized coating is applied. Even if the black coating is wearing off, the slide is is still protected by the tenifer finish.
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Surface hardening of steel and iron (to improve wear resistance) can be done by either allowing the surface of metals to react with either Nitrogen (nitriding), Carbon (carburizing), Boron (boriding), etc. TENIFER is termed for a chemical bath nitriding process whereby nitrogen is chemically released and introduced into the surface at a suitable high temperature to allow the chemical process to take place.

Using the liquid bath techniques, the temperature requires to activate the reaction is about 550 to 580 Celsius. The bath is performed in a molten, nitrogen-bearing liquid containing either cyanides or cyanates. However, cyanide-free liquid has also been used to release Nitrogen and then allow it to react chemically with steel (iron)at the surface (modern techniques).

Interestingly, when using the cyanide-free liquid, Tenifer is actually the salt bath nitro-carburing technique because it starts (first reaction) with Carbon-Nitride (CN) and allows it to react with Oxygen (0)to produce Nitro-carbon-dioxide byproduct plus Nitrogen. The simultaneous second reaction takes place when nitrogen (N) is in contact with Iron (Fe) to form FeN (iron-nidride).

The tenifer coating "composition" of Glock's steel slide is essentially that of FeN.

It is interesting to note that FeN coating is used mainly to increase the surface wear resistance to against galling and wear. The corrosion resistance is also better for iron and conventional steel that are NOT stainless steel. Most stainless steels need not to be nitrided. The reason is stainless steel has chromium to fight against corrosion and rust (this is why we call these material stainless). However, nitriding a stainless steel will almost always lower the corrosion resistance of the stainless steel. This is because the nitrogen will also react with some of the chrominum (Cr) at the surface of stainless steel to form Chrominum-nitride (CrN).

Obviously, gas-nitriding is a simpler process (but not necessary cheaper) to form a tough wear resistance coating. In this case, pure Nitrogen gas is chemically reacted with the metal such as iron (Fe) by holding the metal in the Nitrogen gas environment at high temperature allowing the chemical reaction to take place.

The true FeN (tenifer) coating has a dull-gray color surface. Definitely, never black. In some applications, FeN coatings can also be polished to give a bright metal finish appearance. [SIGlock]
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How can I test for a weak recoil spring?
To check the recoil spring do the following:
  1. Remove magazine
  2. Clear the weapon
  3. Pull the trigger and hold it back
  4. While holding trigger back, tip up the gun so that the muzzle is pointing straight up
  5. Keep holding the trigger back while you pull back the slide and ease it forward SLOWLY. When the gun is almost in battery release your grip on the slide and see if it will close by itself.

If the recoil spring is weak the slide will fail to lock closed while the muzzle is pointing up. [M23 ROCKS!]
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How can I get a smooth trigger for my compact Glock?
All you need to do is order the "trigger with trigger bar" for a full size Glock (about $15) and replace the trigger. You will need to remove one small pin to disassemble the trigger from the trigger bar.
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How can I get a G26/G27/G29/G30/G33 with accessory rails on the frame?
You can't. Accessory rails are not available on the subcompact Glocks because the dust cover is too small.
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What are the different frame styles or 'generations'?
The Glock frame has evolved through 3 styles known as generations. There are quite a few sub-generations, limited runs and experimental frames but these are the major breakdowns:

What other accessories can I buy from Glock?
Glock sells the following accessories. For availability check with a Glock stocking dealer near you, or check out the parts & accessories links in the links section.

Extra Magazines
Magazine Loader
Flashlight Adapter
Fixed Rear Sight (available in 3 heights)
Fixed Steel Sight (Rear) (available in 3 heights)
Glock Night Sights (available in 3 heights)
Glock Sight Adjustment Tool
Tool Set For Glock Front Sights
Fully Adjustable Rear Sight
Sport/Combat Holster
Magazine Pouch
Police Holster
Sport/Duty Holster (not available for the US market)
Glock 17T FX Simunition Training Pistol
Glock Practice Pistols
Training Magazines (Law Enforcement Only)
Glock 78 Field Knife
Glock 81 Field Knife With Saw
Glock Entrenching Tool
Glock 4-Pistol Range Bag
Glock 1 Pistol Range Bag
Glock High Crown Cap
Glock Baseball Cap
Glock Gunsmith's Bench Mat
Glock Pistol Aluminum Sign
Glock Hearing Protection
Glock Heavyweight Jacket
Glock Windbreaker
Glock Long Sleeve Polo Shirt
Glock Short Sleeve Polo Shirt
Glock Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Glock Short Sleeve T-Shirt
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What's the Glock Police swivel holster?
This is a series of pictures of the Glock Police Swivel Holster, which is no longer available in the United States. The holster is completely made of plastic (except the snap for the thumb-break) and probably the spring inside the locking mechanism that attaches the belt loop portion to the holster body.
You can see that the inside has a sight track for the front sight and a set of ribs which protect the magazine release to keep the magazine from inadvertently being released. There is also a very mild (compared to US holsters') pinch retention device.

The holster does not swivel in the direction I expected. Instead of swiveling so that the muzzle stays alongside one's leg, the muzzle is only allowed to move backwards. This made sense when I thought about carrying a pistol in such a low-drop holster while seated in a vehicle. If one wants any chance at getting one's pistol out from such a holster in that position, the holster must swivel the opposite direction, so that the grip is actually pointed almost vertically up, and towards the front of the vehicle.

The triangular object in one of the photos is the spring-loaded swivel lock. Pressing inward, allows the body of the holster to swivel compared to the belt loop. It only has about 100 degrees of movement however, so it does not allow it to swivel freely in any direction.

In addition, if one pushes the button all the way in, the holster body, with pistol still safely tucked within, can be completely detached from the belt loop portion. This is extraordinarily convenient for instances when one's side-arm must be secured, such as when entering a jail with a prisoner. With the Glock holster's method, unlike any US holster I'm aware of, one does not have to draw one's weapon in order to secure it in a locker. Rather, the entire holster body can be detached and secured, never having to remove the weapon into a position where it could be fired, or easily taken away. [MakeMineA10mm]



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What's the Glock lanyard?
Glock has two lanyards for its pistols. They are identical, except for color. There is a brown/khaki/OD (European's military-brown color) one for military issue, and a blue one for police issue. Below is pictured the military brown one. As soon as the blue one arrives, I'll send in pics of it as well.


The lanyard is attached to my G34, however, it can be attached to any Glock with a lanyard hole. Some early first-generation G17s did not have this hole, nor do the sub-compacts, such as the G-26. Note that the use of "the Plug" will prevent usage of the lanyard.


The lanyard is, basically, one piece of braided nylon cord, with a metal snap-clip and three plastic pieces. If you look at the pic showing the entire lanyard, you will see, starting at the end attached to the pistol:

There is the metal clip, attached to the single-strand end of the cord with a loop and a plastic retainer. This plastic retainer has holes in it, in order to create jagged edges on the inside, thereby holding the cord looped back on itself.

The cord runs single-stranded all the way to what I call the "Joiner". Inside the joiner, the single-strand end enters the bottom, and comes out the right-side of the top. It then proceeds all the way around the shoulder, through the tensioning-slide, and back into the joiner, where the other end of the cord is attached. This results in the cord seeming to be two-stranded above the joiner, which is necessary to make the loop which goes around the shoulder.


The last plastic peice is a simple plastic tube with a slight taper at each end. I call this the "tensioning-slide" as it is designed to be moved up or down on the loop in order to tighten or loosen (or increase or decrease) the size of the loop on the cord around the wearer's shoulder. [MakeMineA10mm]
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