Frankly, I think that the whole kB! thing is a little overblown.
I had a 9mm model 19 from the first generation that I had for four years without any problems-got it in the divorce from first hubby. I also had a third generation (FWE prefix) model 23 for about eight months this past year and fired about 700 rounds of WWBs from Wal Mart and about a hundred Cor-Bons through it without a problem. I traded it off not because it sucked, but because (1) hubby is stuck on his Steyr M9 and wanted me to go down to 9mm so we could save money at the range by sharing ammo (9mm is a good bit cheaper than .40); (2) the Glock's grip is a little fat for my small hands (had that problem with my old 19 too, to a lesser extent because of the different grip on the 1st generation gun); and (3) I hit better with the 9mm anyway.
I got a Fabrique Nationale FNP-9, one of the milspec ones made by FNMI in Columbia, SC. Last two in the serial number was 59 and the gun came off the FNMI production line in the last week of June 2004. What a piece of crap that was. It wouldn't feed from a full magazine. And it had a busted firing pin spring right out of the box-I never even got to shoot it one time!! We hustled back to the shop and talked to the owner-a great guy. He took a look at it and was like "Well, hell. Never expected that! Look, I set one aside for me and I'll let you have it instead. How about that?"
We took him up on it. The last two of the new FNP's serial is 61, it was made two guns after the other one, on the same day. Just like the first one, it had three 16 round mags and felt great in my hand. It's a lot like a SIG P-226, but polymer-framed and small enough in the grip for a woman's hand (I find the SIG a little large-gripped too). And unlike no. 59, no. 61 is a nail-driver. It feeds full mags, no problem. I even drew a smiley face on a silhouette target with it! Two hundred rounds of WWB 115 grain and a thorough cleaning later, I was a totally satisfied customer with a big smile on MY face and a new FNP-9 stoked with 17 rounds of 115 grain Cor-Bon 9mm +P (1,350 fps and 446 ft/lb energy) stashed in the gun pocket of my purse.
The moral of this story is that obviously the first FNP I had came out of the factory with a broken firing pin after the test-firing, some sort of manufacturer's defect. The second FNP is an excellent handgun indeed and one we'll be keeping a good long time, I think. I like the DA/SA setup, with the 10-pound pull on the decocked action it is safe to carry locked and loaded (again, like a SIG only thinner and a bit lighter), and I like the large capacity the 9mm provides.
Such it is with Glocks. With the HUGE numbers of Glocks out there in the world, it only stands to reason that sometimes they'll get bad steel, goof a casting, have a quality control foulup...or just get some bad ammo...and the result is the infamous kB!. It shouldn't reflect on the thousands of *good* Glocks of all calibers out there in the hands of cops, military folks, civilians all over the world. We hear more about Glock blowups in the gun world because there are so many of them. The Glock is today what the .38 snubby was when I was growing up: Everyman's gun. It's ubiquitous.
(edit) Epilogue: I missed my 23 so much I got another one. ;Q . Should have stayed with it, darnit.
Miao, Cat