I had promised
And now I can reveal.
My friend Ken is now making leather grips for selected firearms. Here is a sample. Mind the Franken1911, it’s old and tired, and the print of it’s usual ivories shows around the leathers.
You can click to embiggenate.
The black grips have a texture a bit like pigskin. The snakeskin ones are- I think maybe embossed leather, but there are actual snakeskin ones. They are smaller than regular 1911 grips in that they do not cover the plunger tube. They are not suitable unmodified for amidextrous grip safeties. I’m giving this pair to a couple friends to torture test them
The original idea was for these to be merely decorative, and that may be where they end. There has been some testing, though, and some of the people testing them have enjoyed the feel of the grips, and there is some indication they may be more durable than originally thought. So it’s testing time.
Those are as sexy as hell. I’d buy a 1911 for them.
A real man has 1911’s lying around….
Would a Beretta 92FS/M9 make it to the list of “selected firearms”? If so…
Ya know I’ve got that Sig and I’d gladly step up to beta-test grips such as these. I also happen to know a man who has problems finding custom grips for a certain firearm…….
I finally got the missing crossed cannon cocobolos for my Springer. But I like those snakeskins a hell of a lot better.
The tooling for these is prohibitively expensive- M.C., when you see them this weekend you’ll understand why. So they aren’t likely to be made in any “Special” patters- at least not yet.
Hell, Og, I’ll help you test them. Just send me the 1911 and 5,000 rds of .45 ACP, and I’ll shoot it all up and give you a detailed report on how the grips worked. The test period should be about 20 years or so.
Always glad to help out a buddy with a project.
In the alternative, bring the 1911 to GBR 6 with plenty of ammo, and pass it around. Should get plenty of opinions that way, and quickly, too.