My E-mail to Kimber and their reply Regarding the MIM parts in my TLE II
Greetings,
Three months ago I bought a new TLE II.
I am considering carrying it on a daily basis as my CCW defense gun.
There is one problem though. I have read about and seen pictures of two of the mim parts in my Kimber that have broken unexpectedly on other people.
Those parts are the firing pin safety, and the slide stop.
I find it hard to trust an MIM part in a high stress application such as this especially when it could cost me my life should the gun refuse to function when I need it most.
How frequently do these parts break, is there some defect in them that causes this to happen? Are there any non mim parts that I can use to replace these parts???
I am really disappointed that after I spend $800 on a handgun that I may not be able to rely on it due to cost cutting measures such as using cheap mim parts where machine barstock would be a more reliable solution.
I look forward to a prompt response.
Sincerely,
Andrew R. Cohen M.B.A.
Their Reply to Me:
From: Devin Antonovich [
[email protected]]
METAL INJECTION MOLDING : MIM
MIM: A process in which powdered chrome moly steel is mixed with a polymer carrier, placed into an oversized mold, and sintered. The part shrinks to size in the process, then heat-treated.
The result is intricate parts which are:
- extremely accurate
- more dense than investment cast parts
- 98% of the strength of a forged part
Many of the important internal parts on a Kimber are MIM parts:
Slide Stop
Thumb safety
Grip safety
Disconnector
Sear
Hammer
Strut
Magazine catch
Note: The ONLY Polymer part on the Kimber is the mainspring housing.