USP: Hostile Environment Finish

[PILMAN]

I'm just curious what kind of finish Hostile Environment would be? I believe mine has the hostile environment finish though i'm not positive, someone said it looks like it might be blued. What would be the difference and is the USP finish considered pretty good or not really? Thanks.

Heres a picture, dunno if it helps

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I can't answer your question but I really like the looks of that pistol!!

 

[gudel]

it's not blued, it's HE.
What's HE? somekind of metal treatment, nobody really knows how they do it, other than the description in the manual.

 

[Highland Ranger]

i have one of the first usp's from the early 90's - it has the HE finish, I assume all of them do.

It has held up quite well.

check the hkpro site for moe info

 

[mmissile]

I believe all USP's, other than stainless have the HE finish. I have 2 very early USP's #310 with 15K rnds thru it, and #168. The finish on #310 is completely as new..except for barrel wear. It's an awesome finish in my opinion. It's not a carry gun, but has alot of handling time on it.

 

[2TransAms]

I don't know what they do to 'em,I just know my HK should look like crap but it doesn't....pretty tough finish.

 

[Chipperman]

The extractor will show reddish wear long before the slide. It's a tough finish.
All USPs are HE (except the stainless), they have never done Blue or Parkerized.

 

[BrennanKG]

+1 on Chipperman's statement.

I've seen a goodly number of folks/vendors on gunbroker, gunsamerica, etc list USPs as "blued" but I'm fairly certain they do so in error.


B.

 

[Whatsit]

If memory serves, the H&K HE finish is a Dow Corning anti-corrosive metal treatment with lubricative properties. This process is applied to the bare steel and the bluing is applied over it. (Like tennifer, but not.) You can wear the bluing away and still have the HE finish applied to your weapon. Their "blue" is pretty tough too.

If memory serves further, I believe the HE finish was pioneered on H&K military rifles, most notably the PSG1.

 

[mete]

The P7 is case hardened but not noted for corrosion resistance .I assume it's a carbonitrided treatment .Tennifer is that but there are further treatments that make them very corrosion resistant .Hard to get info on some of these , too many proprietary things involved but the USP and Glock have very good finishes !!!

 

[cedjunior]

Its actually a 2-step process. The surface of the metal is treated with nitrogen, then a black oxide finish is put over that. Even after the finish wears off, the metal is still protected by the nitrogen treatment, similar to the "H1" metal they are using in some marine knives now, where the iron is hardened into steel with nitrogen instead of carbon so it doesn't rust.

 

[SoCalShooter]

Your gun looks very similiar in wear to mine, dont worry about the finish, mine got submersed in salt water (dont ask why the weapon was in salt water) and I could not get around to cleaning it right away and it functioned and looks just fine after a nice cleaning.

 

[DMK]

Silly moniker. Aren't all guns intended for a hostile environment?

 

[10-Ring]

Mere mortals just wouldn't understand what the HE finish is made up of or how it works but my USPs have seen tens of 1000's of rounds and the finish is still in good shape. I've read that the HE rust resistence is better than stainless steel.

 

[Highland Ranger]

I'm sure on the surface it is, but not if there is mecahical damage that makes it through the finish. Then I'd imagine it would rust just fine.

Not sure what it would take to scratch that finish though, it seems indestructible.

Anyone have any wear on one of these things at all?

Both of mine look like the day I pulled them out of the box . . . .

Love to see a pic of what a worn USP looks like

 

[10-Ring]

Honestly I've only got real signs of wear on the barrels of my USPs

 

[Ala Dan]

I don't know for sure, but I believe H&K's "HE" finish is similar to Glock's
"Tennifer Process", and Springfield Armory's new "Melonite" finish.

 

[hkenvy91]

ive got one in HE (45tac) and one stainless(45 compact) no problems with neither

 

[LiquidTension]

Mine looks brand new as well, but it's never carried and only has about a thousand rounds through it.

Glad I couldn't be of assistance

 

[Bergeron]

HE's not bad stuff, but the finish on my extractor and hammer do show a bit of wear. I've got a USP9F with the stainless slide, and for the record, I have not found the HE parts to be as rust resistant as the slide.

 

[Bentonville]

Great answers here. Also I suggest going to HKPRO.com and ask. Some of those guys know HK inside and out. I love my HKs. The finish wears well for my purposes.

 

[gudel]

Silly moniker. Aren't all guns intended for a hostile environment?

Looking at the numerous problems with some gun type in THR autoloader, it is not all guns, but definitely all HK's