Kimber.... made by Smith and Wesson????

K

karstho

New member
Forgive me if I am questioning what could possibly be the obvious. While waiting for my friend to wrap up the paperwork for his new Taurus PT-145 purchase, I was talking to the salesman behind the counter about how I would love to take home a Kimber Custom Eclipse someday. Well he proceeds to tell me that he just was told by his rep.(not sure wether it was Kimber or S&W) that ALL Kimber parts are made by Smith & Wesson, then shipped to Kimber for assembly.:eek: I was Shocked to say the least, as I have NEVER heard this in all my trips to gunshops, gun shows, or any of my readings here on TFL... Is this true?? even the salesman said he couldn't believe it, but confirmed that it came direct from a sales rep.

:confused: :confused:
 
K

karstho

New member
I must add that I would have shrugged this off had it not been for that fact that this particular gun store has been in business many years and the salesman is quite helpful and seems very credible..
 
J

jamestech

New member
Yeah its true , take it further up the chain and you will find that Lorcin makes Smith and Wesson's stuff so in reality your Kimber is a Lorcin. :)




















(kidding of course:p )
 
B

buzz_knox

New member
It's a bogus story. Kimber owns its foundry (Jericho?) which makes its frames and slides. S&W apparently does some machining work for them, along with several other manufacturers.
 
K

karstho

New member
buzz_knox

That would make more sense.. I don't read too much into the politics of the whole S&W thing anyway, I just found it interesting....
 
M

Mal H

Staff
I think buzz_knox has it right. The rep who told that to the gun shop clerk was probably from Colt. :D

If any Colt reps are reading this, I meant it was a Springfield Armory rep.

If any Springfield reps are reading this, I meant it was a Browning ...

Oh, never mind.
 
B

blades67

New member
Smith & Wesson supplies Kimber with forged slides. (Kimber, Wilson and another firm all get their forged frames from the same company, but I forget the name of the company at the moment) Kimber does all of the finish machining and fitting of their guns.
 
G

GeneS

New member
I believe Jerico is the machining company that Kimber owns. They buy the forgings for the slides and frames from S&W's foundry. Some other companies also buy various forgings from S&W.
 
H

Handgun

New member
blades67 is correct. I confirmed this with the gunsmith at my local shop who worked for Kimber helping to set up production of the 1911 in the Yonkers facility. He said Kimber gets the forged slides and frames from S&W.
 
R

RikWriter

New member
They don't get the slides, per se...Smith and Wesson is one of a few companies from whom Kimber buys RAW forgings, from which they make their slides. Smith doesn't do any of the machining, we are talking like raw blocks of steel here.
 
J

JIH

New member
I imagine Smith buys a lot of forgings in bulk due to the size of their business and gets a better deal than smaller folks like Kimber could negotiate. Kimber gets a better deal on steel and Smith makes a little off the top.
 
C

CastleBravo

New member
Actually, you are all wrong. :D

(OK, I'm exaggerating, several people have parts of it right... :p )

Kimber, Wilson Combat, and CMC all buy their frames and slides from an outfit called Jericho, who CNC machines them from steel forgings. The frames & slides that Jericho sells to all of the above are basically identical. And they are a VERY good quality product.

If Smith & Wesson is involved at all, it is as a supplier to JERICHO, not Kimber, Wilson Combat, et. al., and they certainly DON'T produce the finished guns.
 
S

Spackler

New member
To clarify this a little, It's my understanding that S&W owns and operates a very large industrial forgings company. They make stuff for all sorts of industries, including forgings for slides and I presume frames as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top