Cominolli Custom of Syracuse, NY has engineered a product for the Glock line of pistols that make it absolutely mechanically safe! Yes, the Glock has three passive safeties built into the pistol by the manufacturer, and they do work. But, and there always has to be a ‘but’… There have been reports of inadvertent or negligent discharges, though none have been shown to be a fault of the pistol, to my knowledge. My concern stems from the fact that I carry my Glock 22 in an IWB hybrid holster made by Kholster of St. Louis. I have not experienced any of these “problems”, but did not want to wait until I did, to do something about it. Walt, a retired military friend of mine, who has extensive experience with the Glock line of pistols answered my questions of how I can increase the safety of this fine pistol. He replied by sending me the link to Cominolli Custom’s website and highly recommended the installation of the Glock Manual Safety Kit (MSK).
I checked the company’s website and read every article that the website contained. Two articles by Massad Ayoob stated that this pistol should not be CCW carried without the MSK installed, since it allowed you to essentially carry your Glock in Condition One in complete safety. The process starts by disassembly of your pistol beyond the normal field stripping that you do to clean and maintain your Glock, so make sure that you are completely familiar with the process of completely disassembling your pistol. There are several very good DVD’s such as Lenny Magill’s “Complete Glock” that give you the needed instruction, and there is now a very good YouTube video “Glock Detail Strip & Assembly-HD” (32 min. in length) on the subject.
The thing is, you have to be very comfortable with taking your Glock completely apart, and if you are not, then get a competent armorer or gunsmith to do the installation for you. The kit requires you to modify the Glock frame by cutting a notch in it. It must be done precisely, and can be done by hand using the template provided, or you can use the installation jig made by Cominolli Custom to ensure a professional modification that would rival any factory installation. Luckily, my friend Walt had the installation jig for the install. Fig. 1 shows the Glock 22 grip and slide area where the notch will be cut into the polymer frame (white diagonal line), Fig. 2 shows the aluminum Installation jig.
The jig comes with two steel pins to mount the frame to the jig, a 3/32 end mill bit for use in a Dremel tool and the white Delrin bit guide.
Fig 1. Glock Manual Safety Kit Install Area
Fig. 2 Cominolli Glock Manual Safety Installation Jig
The Glock Manual Safety Kit – MSK consists of instructional sheets to guide you through the installation of the new Manual Safety, a new Trigger Mechanism Housing Block and Thumb Safety Lever, Detent Pressure Plate, Spring and Trigger Bar Guide. The Thumb Safety Lever and Trigger Bar Guide are made from Stainless Steel and the Thumb Safety Pad is coated in Black to blend in with the dark frame (see Fig. 3). Fig. 4 shows the Glock 22 with the Manual Safety Kit installed and in the “Safety Off” position.
Fig. 3 MSK Trigger Block Mechanism
Fig. 4 Glock 22 with Glock Manual Safety Kit MSK Installed
Manipulation of the safety is quick, positive and is non-intrusive. The ergonomic placement of the safety lever makes it very easy to drop off as you are coming into a firing stance, and once you have fired, it is easily reinstated for safety. With the safety “On”, you can still work the slide for loading or unloading a round into the chamber, and can now do so in complete safety, since all of the passive safeties are locked in when the manual safety is engaged.
From my discussions with a couple of the distributors of the Manual Safety Kit, it is apparent that there have been thousands of these MSKs sold throughout the world, and many Police Departments have retrofitted their inventory of Glocks for that added measure of safety. The safety lever did not interfere with the holster in anyway. Drawing the pistol is still sure and positive. This is a quality product, and all Glocks should have it installed. I am in total agreement with the esteemed Massad Ayoob, who has on several occasions, in print and on “Personal Defense TV” stated that a manual safety has saved countless Police Officers lives when the unthinkable has happened, the duty weapon being snatched from their holsters and the criminal tries to fire it and does not realize that it has a manual safety. If you carry a weapon concealed for personal security, YOU need to think about that… Do you want YOUR weapon used against you or someone else? I Don’t!
If you would like to read some of what Mr. Ayoob has said in print, you can here: Cop Talk and Guns & Weapons these are from the Cominolli Custom Website’s “Reading Room”.
The Glock Manual Safety Kit has a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $90, and the Installation Jig is $87. The kit is also sold through MidwayUSA ($75 MSK / $95 Jig) and Brownells ($85 MSK / $93 Jig).
Glock® is a Registered Trademark of Glock®
GLOCK, Inc.
6000 Highlands Parkway
Smyrna, GA 30082
U.S.A.
Tel.: +1 770 – 432 1202
Fax: +1 770 – 433 8719
KHolster is a Registered Trademark of
KHolster, LLC
St. Louis, MO 4585
(888) 556-6640
www.kholster.com
Manual Safety Kit is a Trademark of
Joseph E. Cominolli, Inc
624 Cherry Road
Syracuse, NY 13219
(315) 625-4347
www.cominolli.com
Complete Glock is Copyrighted by
Lenny Magill & GunVideo
Murphy Canyon Rd.
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 569-0505
By – John P. Kirkpatrick
NRA Life Member
California Rifle & Pistol Association, Life Member
USA Carry Association
Handgun Club of America
United States Concealed Carry Association
About the reviewer: John is an Air Force Retiree with over 20 years of Active Duty Service, with service in Viet Nam in ’69-’70, and Southwest Asia ’84-’89. He is a former Law Enforcement Officer having served as Chief Deputy Sheriff with the Carter County, Missouri Sheriff’s Department, and Reserve Officer for small rural Police Departments in Carter County, Missouri. John is now fully retired from Pitney Bowes, Inc. and lives on a small farm in Southern Missouri’s Ozark Foothills region, and enjoys his private shooting range.