Glock Guru

About Glock

Engineer Gaston Glock, company's founder who had no experience with firearms manufacture or design, became one of the most successful firearms designer of all times. He did not have any experience with firearms even at the time of the Glock 17, their first pistol. However, Glock had extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers, knowledge of which was very important in the company's design of the first commercially successful line of polymer frame pistols. Glock was the first who successfully introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the firearms industry. It was using as an anti corrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts.

The beginnings of the Glock company are tied to an eavesdropping of Gaston Glock who overheard two Austrian colonels talking about the Army’s request for Proposal for a new, short firearm. Those officers criticized a quite long waiting time. It was about 5 years, during which Styer and other Austrian gun manufacturers tried to design a new gun complying with the RFP, although, no one of these new guns met the Army’s expectations. Glock asked the colonel if they need a new gun and he get a positive answer. The colonel told him: "We have to find someone, who is able to design and manufacture a firearm, that will meet our demands and passes our tests". Gaston Glock was quite interested in this challenge and ask the officer if he could join the tender.

After some short general discussions about RFP Mr. Glock expected it couldn't be so difficult. In his theory a gun presents just a part of accoutrements, clipped on soldier's belt much like a knife. The Officer informed him that he can join the tender and his offer will be welcomed. However Glock was told that everything must be prepared very quickly. He started the project immediately but as it were just a hobby for him. Gaston started to self-study by investigating function and construction of that time's best pistols in 1980. He had never used any gun before. He bought Walther P38, standard Austrian army duty gun, CZ 75, Beretta 92, Sig Sauer P220 9x19mm pistols. He started to stripe them down and when he found out how it is constructed he assembled them again.

his simple but tough method helped him to assimilate their manufacturing procedures and mechanical principles necessary for gun producing. The next important step on his journey was a study on Austrian patent office. He focused on research in patents relating to short handguns what helped him to know the newest technologies and choose all suitable for his idea. Austrian army appealed him that he has to show serial production gun for tests, not a prototype. They told him that pistol R&D takes three or four years. Glock answered he could design completely new gun in fixed term. When Glock started to understand at least basics of firearm technology and construction he realized that help of some handgun experts is necessary. Therefore he decided to arrange a meeting with three experts for firearm construction: Siegfried F. Hubner, Richard Silvestri and Friedrich Dechant.

The meeting was arranged on 05/08/1980. During the important meeting Glock asked them to tell, what would be their request for pistol of the future, for long-term vision such as 10 or more years. His special guests outlined their idea of perfect pistol on two sheets of paper during this breakthrough meeting. They assumed that their gun will be used by military or security units. They decided to make a completely new gun model as many of guns had some safety troubles, various failures, like accidental shots, complicated maintenance or high expenses. First of all, Glock with his three designers defined demands such like magazine capacity of 100 rounds and weight 2 oz. So the construction of their new gun would not be so difficult, the gun should be made of less than 40 parts, that were placed in independent subgroups such as trigger mechanism, safety set and so on. It allowed to gunsmiths easy and quick replacing.