CZ quality control

[2MoreChains]

Cosmetics aside, how does it shoot?

[JRM83]

My CZ SP-01 purchased new at the beginning of October looked a little bit better than yours, but there was enough wear on mine that I questioned whether it was new or used. Shoots fine though!

[Brooke]

I would not shoot the sucker. Once you do they can claim you damaged it. Why keep it? You are being ripped off. But I do thank you for educating me.

[mikeinctown]

Cosmetics aside, how does it shoot?

I don't have an answer for that yet. I was going to go to the range last Wednesday with it and second guessed myself. Then I was going to go Black Friday but figured I better wait for an answer from the seller first. As I am having minor surgery tomorrow, I am now thinking closer to this coming weekend.

[walnutty]

I too just picked up a brand-new SP-01 (had the black barrel also). The sample was perfect in every way.

I've owned 6 CZ's, and still have 3 of them. Only one of them, a CZ-TS, had those same file marks on the bottom of the slide. The gun shoots wonderfully. The internal machining on the slide is also atrocious.

I think CZ fits these slides into the frame. I've never heard of file/fitting marks on the frame, so I think the frames come out of the manufacturing process with very little need for further work.

However, my guess is they try to find a slide that fits perfectly into a frame. If none can be found, they hand-file the bottom of the slide until it fits. Cosmetically, it looks crappy, but it's not considered a defect.

The proof will be in the shooting, and I'm almost certain your gun will work fine.

[ChuckS]

Hi there,

I had an SP-01 back in 2006 and still have a CZ-75B that I bought a year or so later. The barrels on both guns looked similar to the one in your pictures. The bottoms side of the slide rails looked the same also. The polycoat is a spray and bake coating and there would be no good reason to spray it on the rails. The underside of the slide would only be affected by overspray and not uniformly coated. As for the "holster wear", I can only speculate that is based on an observation of the second picture in post #6. That part of the slide that shows the "wear" is mostly contained by the rails in the lower and would not contact the holster. That area too would not need/want the polycoat. In fact, go to the CZUB website and look at the catalog photo of the SP-01. You will see a shiny surface on that part of the rail. The gun that you have there is similar to the two firearms that I purchased (One from CZ Custom and one not)

A word about the Czechs: I spent close to 1/2 year over there in the 90's. My avatar shows me sitting in a prototype jet we were building. I learned that the typical Czech would think that you are insane if you expect tool marks removed and coatings in non-bearing hidden surfaces to be pristine. The culture has long treasured the concept of "Better is the enemy of good enough" and would think it foolish to put effort into something that is unnecessary from a functional standpoint. If the esthetics of an object are important like in their crystal and ceramics, you will see marvelously meticulous craftsmanship. On a serial production firearm, not so much. But it will shoot!

Dobrý den,

Chuck

Edited December 2, 2014 by ChuckS

[Brooke]

"The culture has long treasured the concept of "Better is the enemy of good enough" and would think it foolish to put effort into something that is unnecessary from a functional standpoint. If the esthetics of an object are important like in their crystal and ceramics, you will see marvelously meticulous craftsmanship. On a serial production firearm, not so much. But it will shoot!"

WTF! Your perceived quality is no better than your attention to detail. It doesn't matter what it looks like is a huge cop out. Looking like crap is the first impression you make on a customer. It would be hard to sell a new Ford with a scratched up paint job because you would question the other quality possibilities.

All that said, I understand that CZ's are considered good guns by their owners and they are especially popular right now as a result. A good way to change that is to ship stuff that looks this bad to a new owner. I will not be considering one in the future and I was close to dropping the send key on one. I bet a lot of readers agree.

[andrewtac]

"The culture has long treasured the concept of "Better is the enemy of good enough" and would think it foolish to put effort into something that is unnecessary from a functional standpoint. If the esthetics of an object are important like in their crystal and ceramics, you will see marvelously meticulous craftsmanship. On a serial production firearm, not so much. But it will shoot!"

WTF! Your perceived quality is no better than your attention to detail. It doesn't matter what it looks like is a huge cop out. Looking like crap is the first impression you make on a customer. It would be hard to sell a new Ford with a scratched up paint job because you would question the other quality possibilities.

All that said, I understand that CZ's are considered good guns by their owners and they are especially popular right now as a result. A good way to change that is to ship stuff that looks this bad to a new owner. I will not be considering one in the future and I was close to dropping the send key on one. I bet a lot of readers agree.

Disagree, I like shinny objects as much as the next American, but I understand what he is getting at. In a school I recently attended we said something like "perfection is the enemy of just good enough". If it shoots straight and performs well then, I can agree with them. That doesn't mean I won't spray some cerakote on it.

[elguapo]

I seriously doubt Brooke has ever had to run a machining business and make money doing it. I am 100% on board with CZ's attitude about surface finishes.

If a surface bears against nothing and it is hidden from view, only a pure idiot would work it over to 63 micro or something like that. 250 micro is good enough there.

[mikeinctown]

I seriously doubt Brooke has ever had to run a machining business and make money doing it. I am 100% on board with CZ's attitude about surface finishes.

If a surface bears against nothing and it is hidden from view, only a pure idiot would work it over to 63 micro or something like that. 250 micro is good enough there.

All depends on what the customer demands. If the customer has a certain level of expectation then you take care of those needs.

Personally, it boils down to appearance for me. I really don't care that parts of the inside of the slide or frame didn't get coated. It's all going to be covered in grease or oil anyway. BUT, one factor I usually consider when making a purchase is resale value. Anything that looks little used will get higher dollars than something that looks well worn, carried, and used a ton. I do not plan on selling this, but should I meet that eventuality, I have to factor in a greater loss. The slide is tight on the frame though, so the poster above who said they fit the slide to the frame is probably spot on. Hopefully they did a good job of fitting. One thing to consider though, will the 22 conversion still fit without issue if the OE slide had to be custom fitted?

I'm on now to tuning for best performance. After mentioning that I plan on sending the gun back for custom work, several people told me to try the work myself to get to know the gun inside and out. At this point I don't even have the proper punches, so if anyone knows the best source to get the correct punches I would appreciate it. My guess is that most people would say CZ Custom.

[johnsons1480]

so if anyone knows the best source to get the correct punches I would appreciate it.

I have a few punches that really helped me along with working on the gun.

Roll pin punches. I think these things are indispensable. I bought them when I was working a lot on my AR, but they come in handy all the time

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/punches/roll-pin-punches-prod38883.aspx

Roll pin holders. Same story, bought them for my AR. Same story, they are awesome and I use them a lot.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/punches/roll-pin-holders-prod781.aspx

General punches. I have a set similar to this. I'm not sure of the brand I have, but any of them will work.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/punches/deluxe-hammer-punch-set-prod7996.aspx

[kneelingatlas]

I've been inclined to stayed out of this thread, but at this point I think I can add some value. I've owned more than two dozen CZ75 pattern pistols including CZs, Tanfoglios, Jerichos and Caniks spanning over 30 years and multiple importers, so I think I can speak with a reasonable amount of credibility.

All depends on what the customer demands. If the customer has a certain level of expectation then you take care of those needs... ...Personally, it boils down to appearance for me.

When you say "the customer" you're not talking about Mike the individual customer, but rather the aggregate of all CZ customers, right? CZ UB (the manufacturer) receives feedback from "the customer" in a variety of ways: individually, indirectly through their importers/distributors and most importantly through sales of their guns. The fact that CZ pistols are sold out as soon as they hit the shelves sends the manufacturer a loud and clear message that they're giving the customer exactly what they want: superb function and reliability. Aesthetics are clearly not a high priority for CZ and if they continue to sell everything they can manufacture, why would that change?

If you plan to shoot USPSA with this pistol a Kydex holster will chew through the factory polycoat finish very quickly, so if the appearance of your pistol is important to you I suggest hard chrome or Cerakote. With regards to the barrel there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason for the color of the coating, most of the CZ barrels I have are done in a grey color that hides wear very nicely, I have one barrel from a 2007 TS in that black and it looks just like yours, I also have one polished to a silver shine which looks very nice.

Among the variants from other countries, the finest quality of machining and exterior finish I've seen is actually a $400 TriStar imported Canik. There are no visible tooling marks inside the gun, and every part is coated with a durable black finish I have yet to penetrate. Excellent value

I'm on now to tuning for best performance. After mentioning that I plan on sending the gun back for custom work, several people told me to try the work myself to get to know the gun inside and out. At this point I don't even have the proper punches, so if anyone knows the best source to get the correct punches I would appreciate it. My guess is that most people would say CZ Custom.

Seth already provided some great links for tools and here's my contribution: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=191773


Welcome to the club and enjoy your pistol!

[SubOrbital]

My new SP-01 showed the same barrel wear. Additionally, the breech face looks funky; perhaps even marred up. I brought up this concern with the well-established custom shop I purchased the pistol from and they said this was normal. The breech face is what concerns me most, but I have to wait for the gun to get out of purgatory before I test it.