Kimber KHX Custom Shop

This Kimber KHX Custom is a full-size 1911-pattern pistol built on Kimber's Custom Shop platform. The most obvious feature is the slide treatment. Instead of traditional cocking serrations, the front and rear of the slide carry a raised honeycomb pattern, which is where the "KHX," or Kimber Hex, name comes from. It gives the gun a distinct, almost tactical look without losing the classic 1911 silhouette.

The sights are fiber optic front and rear, a red rod up front and a green one at the rear, set into a fully adjustable rear unit. That combination makes for a fast sight picture in daylight, and it is a step up from the plain black sights you find on a lot of production 1911s. The grips are G10 panels in a mottled green and black finish with a textured, almost reptilian surface. They wrap around an extended, checkered magwell built into the mainspring housing and frontstrap, so the grip and magwell read as one continuous surface rather than two separate parts bolted together.

Underneath the styling, the KHX Custom uses a stainless steel slide and frame finished in Kimber's KimPro II coating, a five inch match grade barrel, and an aluminum match trigger. It ships from the factory in either .45 ACP or 9mm, so the exact chambering on a given example depends on which version you're looking at.

This is a factory production model rather than a one-off custom build, but it carries Custom Shop features as standard: the fiber optic sights, G10 grips, extended beavertail, and skeletonized hammer and trigger all come from Kimber rather than an aftermarket shop. For someone who wants a 1911 that shoots and carries like the classics but looks like nothing else on the rack, this is a solid starting point.