Where is Kimber made?

[Bret4207]

OK guys- where are the Kimbers actually made? Not ASSEMBLED, not HEADQUARTERED, where are the parts made? This stems from a "discussion" I had with a co-worker. He thinks there's actually a "plant" in Yonkers where all the parts are made. IIRC Kimber sub-contracts most of their parts. I'm fairly sure some parts come from overseas too. Anyone know for sure?

[targetshootr]

I have an early 45 that says Clackcamas Oregon on it but I believe NY is where they work now.

[Bret4207]

I know they claim they're made in Yonkers on their website, but GM and Ford claim their cars are American made too. Not quite. Maybe it's changed in the last few years and I missed it.

[Poohgyrr]

All this can be updated or corrected if I'm konfused, but when I bought one of the then new (Clackamas) Kimbers, for something like $550.00:

S&W is, or was, making frames and slides for Kimber & Wilson. I don't remember about other parts.

I hope the rest isn't too off topic, but might be interesting:

Kimber made good rifles in Clackamas before getting into 1911's.

As I remember, back when, the company that made Desert Eagles lost that contract. They had all hitech equipment and everything to make those beasts. It seems to my old brain that the only thing this company made was Desert Eagles, but I could be wrong. Oh yeah, these guys were in Yonkers, NY.

So they quit, and sold everything, and Kimber bought it all. Kimber reprogrammed all the fancy computer equipment to make 1911's instead of Desert Eagles. These new 1911's had "much" tighter tolerances than what was "standard" at that time.

And Kimber added custom features as a standard thing. If I remember right, the other 1911 manufacturers were still making us take our new, standard production 1911's to a gunsmith for all these features like beavertails, thumb safeties, sights, accuracy jobs, etc....

Anyway, this fancy new manufacturing plant was in Yonkers and Kimber was in Oregon, as the story goes. And Kimber decided it was better to move themselves to the new place, in Yonkers, instead of moving the new manufacturing plant to Oregon..

The first Kimber 1911's are marked Clackamas. The rest say Yonkers.

I believe that is the Clackamas connection.


There used to be a Kimber Forum, with Kimber employees participating. I forget the names, but myself and many others shared posts and emails with a nice Gal in customer service and at least one guy in production. That forum had a lot of good info. Then, I don't know, but the Kimber bashers started in, and Kimber pulled the plug on their forum. Even today, over on http://forum.m1911.org/ , Dennis the Kimber Rep is listed, but doesn't participate, in the forum. He has been slow, but otherwise good on answering an email question or two for me.

Mark, the Colt Rep, is a participating member of that forum... [smilie=1:

[Hunter]

I have heard that many Kimber parts are made overseas and only assemble and fitted in Yonkers. That is hearsay.
m1911.org is an excellent forum and many of the members here post there as well.

[BluesBear]

No matter what the address on the frame is, ALL of the Kimber 1911 pattern pistols have been made in New York.

[MakeMineA10mm]

Bret,
It will be REALLY hard to get a definitive answer for you without an insider in the company, and even then, you'd need to know you could trust him.

The one thing that was published in numerous magazines "way back when" was that S&W forged the slides and frames, leaving SOME of the finish-machining to Kimber. (In some ways, the parts were finished by S&W's forging and rough machining process, so Kimber only had to do some work.)

As far as the rest of the parts go, it's anyone's guess. The fact of the matter is, everyone in the 1911 business uses parts from somewhere, in order to keep their prices competitive. Springfield Armory's 1911 frames and slides come from South America... Rock River Arms' manufacturing plant isn't too far away from me, and I met their #1 machinist/CAD-CAM programmer/designer/all-around trouble-shooter at a shoot last year, and they don't manufacture their stuff from the ground up (even though they make a dang-nice finished product).

The fact of the matter is, just like with GM, Ford, and Caterpillar, companies have found that it is not economically feasible to be veritically integrated like that.

[Bret4207]

Thanks guys. This all started some months ago when a co-worker was going on and on about the Kimber he was going to buy. This is the same PIA that disses me about my 1990 Toyota rust bucket while he gets a new truck every 8-15 months. Mr. Oneupmanship. That kinda guy. "Gotta buy American" he says. So when he started in on my 1927 Argie Colt and my partners import 1911 (the brand escapes me) ***CHARLES DALY*** I recalled the Kimbers didn't used to be "100% American made" like he claimed. His proof was the ad in G+A that said "Made in Yonkers". I have a hard time envisioning a large gun factory just outside NYC paying American workers NYC wages to make these guns. The usual course would be coporate headquarters or a warehouse in "the city" or maybe a shop where the bits and pieces are assembled. I find it hard to imagine raw material coming in and finished guns leaving Yonkers.

He ended up buying a Colt Gold Cup after he found the Kimber didn't have night sites. (Like he needed night sights to shoot the one afternoon a year he shoots. Whatever floats yer' boat.) The front sight promptly fell off the GC and, surprise!, it doesn't like the cheapest ammo he can find. Reloads with lead bullets?! "Nah, they aren't any good. They lead the barrel." It's a fact.

This guy drives me nuts.

[BluesBear]

Sorry I misunderstood the original question. :coffeecom

#1 even the original Kimber pistols that said Clackamas Oregon on them actually came out of Kimber's NewYork plant. The offices were in Oregon where the rifles were made and pistols were made in NY. When pistol production became their main focus they moved the offices to NY as well.

#2 in the beginning S&W supplied raw frame and slide forgings to Kimber who did all of their own final machine work. So in effect Kimber has always "made" their pistols in NY.

#3 Kimber later bought a forging company called Jericho.
Jericho supplies forgings to several other companies. Wilson being one of them. This is not uncommon. For many many years S&W and Ruger have also supplied forgings to other companies (some gun related, some not) who later do their own final machine work.
After all a forging is just a large lump of metal in the general shape of the desired part.

#4 Kimber also makes all of their MIM parts in house.


So nowadays, in essence, Kimber does produce it own frames and slides since they own the company that makes the forgings. But consider this tidbit. Somewhere there is a foundry that produces the steel that Jericho (and Colt and S&W and Ruger, et al) then forges into parts.

Kimber has always done the final milling and machine work so in fact they do produce their frames and slides. Unlike the first Sig GSR pistols that had their frames and slides machined by Caspian. All Sigarms did was the final fitting and assembly.

So you really have to define the term produce before you can be 100% accurate of just who makes what.


Another example is the AR-15 market.
Just look at the number of companies producing AR clones today. You don't think they all forge their own parts do you?
A few of them do but many just buy forgings and machine them themselves.
Even more buy semi-finished upper and lowers and just final fit them.
And then a few just assemble them from parts produced with their name on them by somebody else.

[MT Gianni]

Bret, some people should come with a mute button but we have to supply our own. Gianni

[Bret4207]

Bret, some people should come with a mute button but we have to supply our own. Gianni

Yeah. He tells me I'm the problem. Never argue with a fool.....

[Poohgyrr]

:roll:

I'm thinking of chocolate chip cookies and how some folks are jerks. Wonder how chocolaty the chocolate flavored Ex Lax tastes, and if you can bake it........


[smilie=1: :drinks:

[Bret4207]

:roll:

I'm thinking of chocolate chip cookies and how some folks are jerks. Wonder how chocolaty the chocolate flavored Ex Lax tastes, and if you can bake it........


[smilie=1: :drinks:


HONEST TO GOD!!! HE ALREADY FELL FOR THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Red lights and siren back to the station from what I'm told. I'm not the only one he's irritated. When I read that above I nearly dropped laughing!!! Great minds think alike.

[Crash_Corrigan]

Sounds like your friend and mine were twins. My guy says that my 1911 Taurus is a piece of crap made with pot metal. He bought a used Kimber for $875 with a bubbicized trigger. He spent another $600 to have it fixed and accurized. He kept on running his mouth and when I offered to shoot bullseye target with him at 25 yds. he backed off and finally shut up. I told him we each would have an opportunity to shoot 5 magazines of any ammo we wanted to use. One magazine for each target and the match would be timed. Only 30 seconds for each magazine. We would count only the 3 best targets and measure the groups and scores. Another disinterested spectator (range master) would score the targets and the best shooter would keep both guns. When I told him to bring his "blue card" for his gun he turned pale and walked away. Since then I have refused to return his phone calls and I will no longer have anything to do with him. This is the kind of person who you cannot insult and he will steal your lunch from the fridge and complain about the quality of food to your face and then insult you about something else. He is a sick person and I do not need that kind of crap in my life anymore. A few random thoughts.....subscribe your pal to every gay magazine and newsletter you can find.....have 5 tons of sand delivered COD to his driveway......order pizza from 6 shops all at the same time and give his address.....insert a few potatoes up his exhaust pipe with a nightstick.....limburger cheese smeared on his exhaust manifold......doogie poo over his sun visor or under his seat....I carried a .38 for 20 years for the NYCPD and I retired in 1984 as Lieutenant and I am tired of BS and lacklustre "Friends". I find this forum to my liking and I have met a few guys in this area and I find them honest and straightshooting in relationships. These are the kinds of people I want to spend my time with. I assume this Gold Cup walking rectum is a co worker? If so, just ignore him if possible and do not engage in conversation with the individual as nothing good will come to you there. Just my .02 cents.

Dan Corrigan

[Bret4207]

Jeeze Ell Tee, you fight dirty. I LIKE that!!!! Today he quized me on whether or not he should complain to Colt about the slide of his stainless Gold Cup showing rust. I asked him when he had last oiled the gun. Well, it's satinless, so he didn't ever oil it. I let him know "stainless" doesn't mean "rust-proof" Now he thinks I'm crazy and Colt owes him a new slide made out of "real" stainless. Uh-huh..........

[BluesBear]

subscribe your pal to every gay magazine and newsletter you can findHell's Belles™ he might actually like those.
Subscribe him to Comsopolitan, The Star, National Enquirer, TeenPeople, US, Tiger Beat, Highlights, Ebony, and especially Modern Bride and The Watchtower. [smilie=1:

If that doesn't work there are plenty of SM and B&D magazines out there.

And make sure you order only extra large Anchovie, Onion and Jalepeno pizzas with heavy sauce.

[Bret4207]

Blues Bear- He's a "School Resource Officer", ie. "Glorified Hall Monitor" so I bet he's already reading Teen Beat and Cosmo. Whatthehey, I'm 47, a bit overweight, bald and don't smell so good and his wife still likes me better than him, so I can live with this. (And no- thats as far as it goes vis-a-vis the wife!)

[MT Gianni]

That reaffirms my opinion of most of the "Resource Officers". The one hassleing my son a few years ago took up a lesbisn relationship with a senior girl the minute she graduated and turned 18. Any male would have been doing jail time. Gianni

[BluesBear]

I see nothing wrong with a man having a lesbian relationship with an 18 year old girl?

[Bret4207]

That reaffirms my opinion of most of the "Resource Officers". The one hassleing my son a few years ago took up a lesbisn relationship with a senior girl the minute she graduated and turned 18. Any male would have been doing jail time. Gianni

Ther's some good ones out there that are really trying. And then there are the others. It's just like anything else- good and bad. It's just sad teachers have refused to maintain control of their own schools and NEED to have cops on the grounds. But that's society, not just schools.

[leftiye]

Bret, Not at all wanting to be argumentetive, but it ain't the teachers, it's the school administrations. They fire any teacher with "traditional" leanings. Teachers can't even tell a student to shut up in class any more. The more infiltrated we get with these "modern thinkers" in our world, the greater the incidence of mental mortification (reads brain dead idiotism), and the more we suffer a non functioning life environment. BTW, a common way to remove problem principals is to make them administration.

[Bret4207]

Yo're preaching to the choir bud. My wifes a teacher and fairly conservative. Some of the crap drives her nuts.