Glock armorer tools: punch, sight pusher, bench block
A Glock was designed to come apart with one tool, and it does. Everything past that is about doing the job faster, without marring the pistol, or doing the few jobs the one tool cannot. This guide lists the tools by how often you will reach for them, says what each one does, and names the ones that are sold to Glock owners and never used.
1. The 3/32 inch punch
Glock's own armorer's tool is a 3/32 inch steel punch with a polymer handle, and it does the whole detail strip: pushes the three frame pins, presses the spacer sleeve to release the cover plate, depresses the firing pin safety to free the extractor, presses the magazine catch spring and pushes the floorplate insert. Any good 3/32 punch does the same. It is the one tool you cannot skip, and a spare in the range bag costs almost nothing.
2. Bench block
A polymer or nylon block with holes and a channel lets you rest the frame while driving pins into the hole instead of into your palm. It also holds the slide upright while you work on the striker. Not essential, but the first purchase after the punch for anyone who strips a Glock more than once a year.
3. Front sight tool
The front sight is held by a small hex nut tightened from inside the slide, and the tool is a 3/16 inch nut driver, sold as a Glock front sight tool or found in any driver set. Without it the front sight cannot be tightened properly, and a loose front sight is the most common sight complaint. Add a drop of blue thread locker when you fit a new sight.
4. Rear sight pusher
The rear sight sits in a dovetail and should be pushed, not hammered. A sight pusher clamps the slide and drives the sight sideways with a screw. A universal pusher works on a Glock with the right shoe; Glock-specific pushers are simpler. It is the most expensive tool on this list and pays for itself the first time you skip a gunsmith visit; borrow one from a club if you will change sights once.
5. Trigger pull gauge
If you change a connector or a spring, a gauge tells you what you did. A digital gauge is repeatable; a spring gauge is fine read the same way each time. Measure five pulls from the center of the trigger face and average them.
6. Spring cup and striker tool
Changing the striker spring means compressing the spring and sliding two small cups off; fingers can do it and a small forked tool does it without launching the cups across the room. Several makers sell one; a small flat screwdriver and patience also work.
7. Channel liner tool
The firing pin channel liner is pressed into the slide and comes out only with a tool that threads into it and pulls, and goes back in with a matching driver. Most owners never need one. Buy it if you are building on an aftermarket slide that came without a liner or replacing a damaged one.
8. Magazine tools
A thumb-saver loader such as the UpLULA makes loading full magazines painless and is the tool most owners say they should have bought first. A magazine disassembly tool is a punch by another name; the 3/32 punch does it.
9. Cleaning tools
A bore brush and rod or a pull-through in the right caliber, patches, a nylon brush, solvent and a light oil. A dry patch on a rod cleans the striker channel, which must stay dry. A cleaning mat with a parts tray keeps pins from rolling off the table.
10. Vise blocks and slide vises
A polymer frame block that clamps in a vise holds the frame for work and is useful for stubborn pins on old frames. A slide vise block holds the slide for sight work when a pusher is not available. Both are conveniences, not needs.
Torque and thread locker
Two fasteners on a Glock take a tool and a torque: the front sight screw and the screws on any red dot or optic plate. A small torque driver in inch-pounds pays for itself with the first optic, because over-torqued optic screws snap and under-torqued ones loosen and lose zero. Use blue thread locker on the front sight screw and on optic screws, never red, and let it cure overnight before the range. The rear sight needs no fastener unless the maker fitted a set screw, in which case a drop of blue on it as well.
What to skip
- Hammers. Nothing on a Glock should be struck.
- Multi-tool armorer kits with a dozen bits for calibers you do not own.
- Files and stones sold for polishing trigger parts; polish with a fine compound on a cloth, never remove metal.
- Roll pin punches and starter punches; Glock pins are solid.
A starter kit
Buy tools as the jobs come rather than all at once, and buy the good version of the few you will use every time. The punch, a bench block, the front sight nut driver, a loader and a cleaning mat cover everything a new owner will do. Add the sight pusher when you change sights, the gauge when you change a connector, and the liner tool if a build needs it. The detail strip guide shows where each tool comes in and the parts diagram names what you are working on. Browse armorer tools; they ship to your door.
General information, not legal advice. Current as of September 2026. Laws change; check the official source before you act.
