An idiot mark, just tells me that the person has never been taught how to properly reassemble a 1911.
the take down lever was NOT designed to "swing" up into place. line it up w/ the hole, then TAP it down w/ a soft faced hammer or the palm of your hand.
once the takedown lever is in place THEN add your recoil assembly.
I am surprised by the amount of people that hold the slide back under spring tension while either dissasembling OR reassembling.
This must be why I have managed to take my gun apart hundreds of times without making this mark.
I didnt realize it was possible to do it with the spring in there.
I never said it wasnt possible to dis/reassemble the pistol w/out holding the slide back, its just not the "proper" way of doing it.
the gun is much easier to put back together if you dont tension the spring until everything else is back together. Doing it this way leads to a dimished opportunity for the "reassembly scratch" to appear
Right. I am not contradicting you at all, in fact I am agreeing totally.
since I was only ever taught "the right way" I have managed to avoid it, to the point I didnt know "The wrong way" was even possible.
So I am confirming what you said in your original post.
It almost seems like the slide stop was crafted by someone quite evil, and perfectly design to be a metal scribe for just the purpose of carving that little groove! It's WAY easy to clumsily scrape that line.
Anyone know of a good way to try to buff out the Idiot Mark on a chromed 1911? Would like to at least minimize my shame :o
I already did... first thing this morning ...I just had to look in this thread b/c I thought it was about me!
Scratches, dings, shiny spots, and holster wear show character in a carry gun.
The "idiot mark" is called that for a reason...
Exactly what I do to mine and I've done for a few other people but many people don't have the "nads", as you said to file on their 1911.. No rocket science just confidence, patience and a small round fileSome slide stops lack the perfect angle to begin the depression of the pin when reassembling. One of the guys on a 1911 forum came up with a solution.
Idiot Scratch Proof - 1911Forum
All it requires is a needle file, patience, and the 'nads to take a file to a gun part. I've done it. Worked great. Only reasonable thumb pressure is required to insert the stop, and once it's there, it's there.