The Wiry Irishman
Member
I've had an SIS Ultra as a backup/dress clothes carry gun for a while, and although it was almost perfect for that role, there were always a few little things that bothered me about it. The first was the trigger pull. In my experience, Kimbers usually have the best out-of-the-box triggers you can get in the sub 1100-1200 dollar price range. This one, however, was an exception. It was fairly crisp, but fairly heavy and very stiff. Definitely not up to par with my other 1911s.
The plan was originally to have a local smith I've dealt with before to install and fit a new hammer and sear for a better pull, but I was browsing the SVI Infinity site for an unrelated reason and noticed the big selling point on their hammers and sears is that they needed little or no hand fitting. Since the trigger on my SVI is the best I've ever felt, including my tuned bullseye gun, I was intrigued. I gave them a call (fantastic company to deal with, highly recommended) and it turns out their hammers and sears are drop-in parts. On traditional 1911 hammers and sears, two angles are stoned onto the face of the sear engages the hammer for crisp pull. The engagement faces on SVI hammers and sears are EDMed with exactly matching radii so this is not necessary.
I ordered a set and installed them, along with a spare SVI titanium tri-glide sear spring I had laying around. The results were phenomenal. I tuned the pull weight to just where I like it 3.5-4 pounds, and the break was just as crisp as my factory SVI gun. However, the safety would fully engage the slide notch with the hammer down, and the hammer would drop with the safety engaged. When you take a look at the differences in geometry between SVI hammers and sears and traditional ones, you can see why:
Another call to SVI revealed that my problem was not uncommon when installing SVI fire control components in non-SVI guns, so I ordered an SVI ambi safety, which fixed the problem. The safeties are also fairly non-traditional, and exceptionally easy to fit. Check out this link for an explanation. Also, the bluing on the safety is gorgeous, and matches the charcoal gray KimPro finish on the SIS pretty well. Here's a pic, but it doesn't really do it justice:
I was also unhappy with the SIS trigger itself. A while back I had replaced it with 10-8 flat trigger, as I far prefer flat triggers to curved, but both the 10-8 and traditional long curved triggers just aren't long enough to fit my hand perfectly. As far as I know, SVI is the only company that offers a flat trigger longer than traditional long triggers, so I ordered, fitted, and installed one. I'm not a fan of the look of skeletonized triggers, but function is a bigger priority for me.
The trigger is modular, the base and bow being one part with an interchangable insert that is held in by friction and the set screw, allowing you to change trigger shapes without replacing the whole trigger. They also have a little ball bearing in the back of the bow for minimum possible contact surface and friction with the fire control components:
Their titanium sear springs have the same thing:
I also cut grip tape to fit into the SIS slide serrations. I haven't had many problems with the serrations, but the combination of their lack of aggressiveness and the slick finish are a common complaint with the SIS guns, and a rather befuddling choice on the Kimber's part, given the many other brilliant, carry-oriented features on the SIS line. The tape is a huge improvement.
I also like my grips as grippy as possible, to the point where I have to build calluses to shoot them comfortably. I ordered a set of custom Alumagrips with their very aggressive texture, encouraged by the warning that they should be used with shooting gloves. I was somewhat dissapointed when they arrived, as the texture isn't even what I'd call aggressive, let alone very aggressive, but they offered slightly more purchase than the stippled Gaboon Ebony grips I was using, so they stayed. I'll probably end up having to make a set of grips covered in grip tape, or order a set of smooth Alumagrips and full-point hand-checker them myself before I'll be completely happy, but the ones I have now are adequate.
The final product:
Overall, I am incredibly happy with the modifications. The gun is infinitely more shootable, and its been 100% reliable in the few hundred rounds I've put through it since I installed the SVI parts. I'll be putting SVI fire control components in all my 1911s as money allows.
The plan was originally to have a local smith I've dealt with before to install and fit a new hammer and sear for a better pull, but I was browsing the SVI Infinity site for an unrelated reason and noticed the big selling point on their hammers and sears is that they needed little or no hand fitting. Since the trigger on my SVI is the best I've ever felt, including my tuned bullseye gun, I was intrigued. I gave them a call (fantastic company to deal with, highly recommended) and it turns out their hammers and sears are drop-in parts. On traditional 1911 hammers and sears, two angles are stoned onto the face of the sear engages the hammer for crisp pull. The engagement faces on SVI hammers and sears are EDMed with exactly matching radii so this is not necessary.
I ordered a set and installed them, along with a spare SVI titanium tri-glide sear spring I had laying around. The results were phenomenal. I tuned the pull weight to just where I like it 3.5-4 pounds, and the break was just as crisp as my factory SVI gun. However, the safety would fully engage the slide notch with the hammer down, and the hammer would drop with the safety engaged. When you take a look at the differences in geometry between SVI hammers and sears and traditional ones, you can see why:
Another call to SVI revealed that my problem was not uncommon when installing SVI fire control components in non-SVI guns, so I ordered an SVI ambi safety, which fixed the problem. The safeties are also fairly non-traditional, and exceptionally easy to fit. Check out this link for an explanation. Also, the bluing on the safety is gorgeous, and matches the charcoal gray KimPro finish on the SIS pretty well. Here's a pic, but it doesn't really do it justice:
I was also unhappy with the SIS trigger itself. A while back I had replaced it with 10-8 flat trigger, as I far prefer flat triggers to curved, but both the 10-8 and traditional long curved triggers just aren't long enough to fit my hand perfectly. As far as I know, SVI is the only company that offers a flat trigger longer than traditional long triggers, so I ordered, fitted, and installed one. I'm not a fan of the look of skeletonized triggers, but function is a bigger priority for me.
The trigger is modular, the base and bow being one part with an interchangable insert that is held in by friction and the set screw, allowing you to change trigger shapes without replacing the whole trigger. They also have a little ball bearing in the back of the bow for minimum possible contact surface and friction with the fire control components:
Their titanium sear springs have the same thing:
I also cut grip tape to fit into the SIS slide serrations. I haven't had many problems with the serrations, but the combination of their lack of aggressiveness and the slick finish are a common complaint with the SIS guns, and a rather befuddling choice on the Kimber's part, given the many other brilliant, carry-oriented features on the SIS line. The tape is a huge improvement.
I also like my grips as grippy as possible, to the point where I have to build calluses to shoot them comfortably. I ordered a set of custom Alumagrips with their very aggressive texture, encouraged by the warning that they should be used with shooting gloves. I was somewhat dissapointed when they arrived, as the texture isn't even what I'd call aggressive, let alone very aggressive, but they offered slightly more purchase than the stippled Gaboon Ebony grips I was using, so they stayed. I'll probably end up having to make a set of grips covered in grip tape, or order a set of smooth Alumagrips and full-point hand-checker them myself before I'll be completely happy, but the ones I have now are adequate.
The final product:
Overall, I am incredibly happy with the modifications. The gun is infinitely more shootable, and its been 100% reliable in the few hundred rounds I've put through it since I installed the SVI parts. I'll be putting SVI fire control components in all my 1911s as money allows.
