2ndsojourn
New member
I don't get why they're called 'cheese grater' pistols. Someone enlighten me, please. 
Cheese-grater pistols
- Thread starter Skans
- Start date
Quote: I don't get why they're called 'cheese grater' pistols. Someone enlighten me, please.
The term "cheese grater" I think has to do with the type of checkering found on the back-strap and/or the front portion of the grip of a pistol. The coarser the checkering, the more of a "cheese grater" finish (rough on the hand) the pistol might have; the finer the checkering, the less of a "cheese grater" affect the pistol offers. A coarse checkering (less lines to the inch) affords a better grip purchase but at the expense of causing increased abrasion (grating) of the hand. Increased recoil can accentuate the "grating" effect.
The term "cheese grater" I think has to do with the type of checkering found on the back-strap and/or the front portion of the grip of a pistol. The coarser the checkering, the more of a "cheese grater" finish (rough on the hand) the pistol might have; the finer the checkering, the less of a "cheese grater" affect the pistol offers. A coarse checkering (less lines to the inch) affords a better grip purchase but at the expense of causing increased abrasion (grating) of the hand. Increased recoil can accentuate the "grating" effect.
Cheapshooter
New member
Don't need to watch their advertizing hype. I will never trust my life to circuits and batteries!
Cheapshooter
New member
The battery starts the car, never seen a batery powered elevator, medical scans can be done over.
If you learn to lean on an electronic devise to defend your life, there isn't much second chance when it fails. Not much first chance if you are fumbling around because your highly advertized gimmick doesn't work.
If you learn to lean on an electronic devise to defend your life, there isn't much second chance when it fails. Not much first chance if you are fumbling around because your highly advertized gimmick doesn't work.
marine6680
New member
Modern cars are completely computer dependent...
You don't go... or even stop without a computer's say so.
Aircraft... holy crap at the level of computers and digital circuits in them. (I work on them every day)
The voyager spacecraft has been working for decades... The little rover on Mars is well into year 11 of a planned three month mission.
The safety of every US citizen is highly controlled by computers... on pretty much every level imaginable.
Computers and solid state circuits are exceedingly reliable devices. (provided you use quality parts to make them)
Its the power source that is the weak point... and regular replacement schedules prevent issue there.
Current firearms are not perfect... even if you assume a 100% functional firearm... the ammo itself has been shown to not be 100% reliable.
I'm not calling for firearms to be digital... Just saying, don't conflate the reliability of computers and mechanical systems.
Neither will be 100% reliable all the time, but digital circuits are overall much more reliable than mechanical machines.
Mixing digital tech and firearms will have growing pains, if/when it happens... all new tech does.
This is just speaking generically about "not trusting circuits"...
But overall you are referring to laser sights... and compared to the rugged simplicity of traditional metal pistol sights, yeah... the old school wins on durability and reliability. Hard to screw up or break iron sights.
You don't go... or even stop without a computer's say so.
Aircraft... holy crap at the level of computers and digital circuits in them. (I work on them every day)
The voyager spacecraft has been working for decades... The little rover on Mars is well into year 11 of a planned three month mission.
The safety of every US citizen is highly controlled by computers... on pretty much every level imaginable.
Computers and solid state circuits are exceedingly reliable devices. (provided you use quality parts to make them)
Its the power source that is the weak point... and regular replacement schedules prevent issue there.
Current firearms are not perfect... even if you assume a 100% functional firearm... the ammo itself has been shown to not be 100% reliable.
I'm not calling for firearms to be digital... Just saying, don't conflate the reliability of computers and mechanical systems.
Neither will be 100% reliable all the time, but digital circuits are overall much more reliable than mechanical machines.
Mixing digital tech and firearms will have growing pains, if/when it happens... all new tech does.
This is just speaking generically about "not trusting circuits"...
But overall you are referring to laser sights... and compared to the rugged simplicity of traditional metal pistol sights, yeah... the old school wins on durability and reliability. Hard to screw up or break iron sights.
I have a couple of pistols with rails and although the rail did nothing to improve appearance it gave me a place to hang a light on my house pistol. I have no need for a rail on any of my other pistols as I look at a laser like many others here it is a good excuse for poor marksmanship skills. My Sig P 238 has one as part of the kit, the laser, obligatory Chinese lock and extra mag are still in the box and on the shelf.
You also said circuits and made it seem like you were saying electronics in general, hence my comments. Let's not forget battery backups on life support systems in hospitals too. As for the rest marine took care of it better than I could. Do I like or depend on lasers? No I don't, but I recognize that my life is in the hands of electronics on a daily basis.
Cheapshooter
New member
While I don't have a choice in the electronics in everyday life like trains, planes, and automobiles, I wish I did. Things were much simpler, and reliable when I had a '62 chevy truck, and a '67 Camaro!
But I do have a choice in the simplicity of my firearms.
Are there some advantages to lazers on guns? Probably in some instances. Are they the end all, must have? Absolutely not. Are they hyped by the makers, and retailers as such? All to often.
But back to the OP, do the rails on modern guns bother me, no really, even if I have no use for them.
But I do have a choice in the simplicity of my firearms.
Are there some advantages to lazers on guns? Probably in some instances. Are they the end all, must have? Absolutely not. Are they hyped by the makers, and retailers as such? All to often.
But back to the OP, do the rails on modern guns bother me, no really, even if I have no use for them.
marine6680
New member
Modern cars are considered way more reliable and for higher milage than older cars.
With new cars, it's usually not the electronic that are the problem when they break down.
One of the jokes about owning old cars, even ones that are completely rebuilt in stock configuration... Is that you work on them more than you get to drive them.
Older cars broke all the time... It's just that they were much easier to diagnose and fix when they did.
But reliable and easy to fix are different things.
With new cars, it's usually not the electronic that are the problem when they break down.
One of the jokes about owning old cars, even ones that are completely rebuilt in stock configuration... Is that you work on them more than you get to drive them.
Older cars broke all the time... It's just that they were much easier to diagnose and fix when they did.
But reliable and easy to fix are different things.
QUOTE:...If you learn to lean on an electronic devise to defend your life, there isn't much second chance when it fails...
You always have the factory irons as a "second chance" in the highly unlikely event that an electronic device fails. For this reason, it's a good idea to become proficient with the use of the existing iron sights. Good training and much practice will give you the best of both worlds.
You always have the factory irons as a "second chance" in the highly unlikely event that an electronic device fails. For this reason, it's a good idea to become proficient with the use of the existing iron sights. Good training and much practice will give you the best of both worlds.
LockedBreech
New member
Maybe it's the particular cars you're buying, but modern cars are waaaaaay more reliable. A 2015 Honda Civic will absolutely destroy practically anything from the 1960s in terms of reliability and it's packed stem to stern with plastic and electronics.
To stay on topic, I've never had my CT laser or either rail light ever fail in the years I've owned them. Give me electronics any day
dakota1911
New member
Rails are probably good. Whatever comes after the green LASER will probably make bullets obsolete. Just burn a hole in the side of the building, people inside, the other side of the building, etc.
My granfather worked on the B&O as a mechanic and then was an auto mechanic for most of his life. As such my dad became pretty well-versed in cars and his first car was one he and his dad rebuilt together because he didn't have the money for anything running. He would always tell me of how frequently cars in the past needed repairs. Going into the shop for a tune up or minor fix was commonplace and would almost always happen monthly. He knew the people at Robbins auto parts by first name. To what marine is saying though, he himself had a car of his break down while traveling in the US, hitchhiked into town, bought the replacement part, hitchhiked back to the car, and replaced the part on the side of the road. Back in the day he could build an engine from the ground up. Nowadays it's not even close. I drive 25,000 miles a year and have been doing that for years now. I have had 2 of what I would call actual breakdowns in that time (excluding ruined tires from road hazards). I take it for granted.
ninjarealist
New member
Which is a shame because that HK Rail looks quite inoffensive and is at least a step in the direction towards what OP wants:
It's too bad it never caught on.
9x18_Walther
New member
Found a NIB Insight UTL for my USP the other day. Tool-less mounting I believe (have not tried it yet). HK had a great rail system.
Apparently Streamlight makes a variant of the TLR-3 that attaches to the HK USP rail without an adapter.
There are two adapters on the market for the USP. One is by Surefire and the other is by GG&G (depending on your frame they either fit like a glove or rattle).
I view it like this. 99.9% of the time practice with your iron sights at normal distances. Every now and then focus on the laser and take a couple of distance shots.
I would never think about using the laser unless you needed to take a shot from a difficult defensive position. If you ever notice, the only SWAT officers who tend to use lasers are the ones with the ballistic shields and have little to no ability to use the conventional sights.
Cheapshooter
New member
My point is that if you train, and practice with the lazer, even if you also spend time practicing with the sights, it is human nature that if you point the gun expecting to see the red dot, and it isn't there a person will waste precious time looking for it, pushing buttons, and trying to figure out why it isn't working. Even if it is only for a second or less it would be a distraction to shootiing.
Maybe better training would be to learn the open sights as the primary use, and know the lazer is there for the rare times it might actually be needed.