How to customize your 1911 grips

[Woodnut]

This is a set of book matched Tiger Wood (Rosewood) That turned out to be a little nicer than I really expected. The wood has a beautifully contrasted straight grain and looks really great on a gun. The wood finishes good and works well, and is not to hard to find. I am working on a set of Stabilized Black Palm at the present time. I will post them and a review when completed. I have never worked Black Palm before, so it is a new experience for me.
ENJOY!

[Woodnut]

Shooter45, If you read this, I am still interested in some of that Cocobolo that you have. Just contact me and maybe we can barter if you need some new grips. HeHe.
This is a set of laminated Walnut that I did a little checkering on. I call it the X pattern. Turned out fairly nice so I thought I would post it to see if ya'll like it. I really do not prefer to work with laminates, but it is one of the necessary evils. The grips look a lot better than the photos.
Enjoy!
Carl

[Woodnut]

Here is a couple snapshots of the personalized oversize grips that I posted earlier. The man was kind enough to send me pictures of the grips on the Ed Brown. They sure make a difference in the appearance of the gun as well as the gun sets of the grips. It is hard to visualize the grips on a gun without seeing it with your own eyes. I would have never realized these grips would look like that on the gun. Of course I had no clue as to the finish the gun had. Wow what a good looking gun, in my opinion.
Give me some feedback on this.
Enjoy
Carl

[RunningOnMT]

Just out of curiosity how many 1911's do you personally own and i wonder if you might post a pic of your own with your grips installed?

[Woodnut]

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

Just out of curiosity how many 1911's do you personally own and i wonder if you might post a pic of your own with your grips installed?

It is not by choice, but I only have one 1911. I plan to add to that when I can. I have a Springfield A1 Stainless. It is pictured on page 3 post #52 of this thread. Since I have so many grips in stock and hand fit each one to my frame I hardly ever have the same set of grips on my own gun. I really should build myself a unique set and slap on the gun permanently, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe when I lay my hands on some more guns for my collection of the future, I then can have a special set of grips for each one.
Thanks for your post. This thread seems to be dying so I may not post anything for a while.
Carl.

[Woodnut]

Well, I'm back. Hi to all. Hope this will spark some interest. I just made these grips for a Colt Commander 80 series. They have the same general pattern as the Kimber SIS. I think they came out fairly good. The customer is really satisfied with them. I may have to build some more with this design, as I think it is absolutely beautiful. Who knows, I might even use this on my personal gun. This particular set is made with laminated Cocobolo.
Enjoy and tell me what your thoughts are on this design.

[glocknut]

I just now discovered this thread. I've only recently become a fan of the 1911 pistols. I might be in the market for a set of grips after a while. At the moment i'm holding back on spending until i find a job. But once i do i will get a pair. I like the idea of cherry or similar in a dark glossy finish.

mike
gn

[Pete b cg]

Woodnut, you make beautiful grips. I wouldn't darken that stippled pair, leave the wood's beauty shining through.

Pete

[Woodnut]

Pete,

I agree with you on the letting the beauty of the wood shine through. But some people just like it darker than the wood.
I like this design well enough that I am building a set of Ebony grips for my gun using the design that is pictured above. I realize that the Ebony does not have a lot of grain contrast, but I think the design will show up fairly well. Guess we will see.
Carl

[Woodnut]

I will have some pre ban Ivory within about 2 weeks. I can't wait to work with it again. I worked some back in the 60's, it works so nice, and now that I live on the coast the humidity will be in my favor. It won't crack as easily as in dry areas. I will be sure to post them when I finish.

[Woodnut]

Well I got the Ivory in and sold before the blanks arrived. I am almost finished with them now. I will post some pictures later on this week. The are really nice, the blanks were cut the way Ivory is supposed to be cut, and that is an art in itself. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to cutting the blanks. That is one reason that I hadn't ventured into the Ivory field. But now that I have found someone I can trust I will be making more of them.

I am posting a set of grips that I just finished. The gentleman wanted me to duplicate a tattoo that he had on his arm. He shot a picture of his arm and sent to me and I drew the tattoo from the photograph in a smaller version. I then carved it in this nice Afzelia wood and did a black poured epoxy fill then sanded it off and re-finished the grips. Turned out pretty nice, I really enjoy this type of work.

[Woodnut]

Here are the pictures of the African Elephant Ivory that I promised. There are no words to describe the color and beauty of these grips. They were built for a Custom Caspian 1911 .45 SA. with Mag-Well. I had the frame to work from so I could get a good Ivory to metal fit, which shows in the first picture. The pictures do not do them justice. They are whiter than the pictures and very consistent in color. If you see any blemishes, it is a reflection, I am not a photographer.

All comments Welcome
Enjoy!

Cheers.

[henry77]

Woodnut, Love your work. I live in Wiggins, MS. - not far from you. Just picked up a new Springfield 1911 Mil Spec in stainless. It will need some new grips to suit me.

Will be looking at your site to try and find some that I can afford. Love beautiful wood.

Henry

[Xaiver56]

Carl, that Ivory is awesome, as always your work is amazing

[45Smashemflat]

Woodnut - great work! Here is the Nighthawk we have been discussing via PM.

[ivarr]

Originally Posted by Woodnut

Shooter45, If you read this, I am still interested in some of that Cocobolo that you have. Just contact me and maybe we can barter if you need some new grips. HeHe.

just joined TFF the other day, and am loving this thread.
i am a hardcore 1911 purist, and this stuff is heaven to me.
as a fellow professional woodworker
http://raisinhillonline.com/Home.html
i have a serious appreciation for your work.
it was this particular post that caught my attention though.
i happen to have a rather good stock of cherry and oak burl on hand with really incredible figuring, and am just this moment embarking on making my very first set of grips.
if they don't turn out as well as i hope, perhaps you would be interested in another barter ???

[Woodnut]

ivar,

Just read your post and looked at the web site, man you do some awesome work. Very nice stuff.

Listen: If you want to build your own grips and need some pointers, just let me know. I keep no secrets and will help you to no end. On the barter part, I would be glad to do that also, the only thing is I would need to know the moister content of the wood. If it is not dry enough it will warp. Looking at your work, you will have no problem working the grips. There are a few steps in the process that is a little tricky, but like I said, I will help any way I can. You may email me at h2owork@aol.com.
Thanks for the kind words on my workmanship. Always appreciated.
Carl

[ivarr]

i'll check with my moisture meter this morning, but i'm betting much of the cherry is down around 7 or 8 %

[ivarr]

well, about 2 hours work and some beautiful cherry burl was all for naught...

[johnlives4christ]

Originally Posted by Woodnut

Here is a set of Stabilized Amboyna Burl that I have just finished. They have the most beautiful grain patterns. The grain runs deep and the picture as usual does not do them justice.
Has anyone got any ideas on a design for these grips or should I leave them plain? Mayby some medallions, but what kind? Give me some ideas. Enjoy the scenery. Look deep into the wood.

leave them plain man. plain i say.

[Woodnut]

[QUOTE=ivarr;492129]well, about 2 hours work and some beautiful cherry burl was all for naught...

ivar,

Looks like you were on the right track. As you already know, I'm sure, crosscut wood is very brittle and easy to crack. If you could pick out some good blanks that is straight grain or even quarter sawn, it will withstand a lot more abuse. What is the wood in the top picture, walnut? Was that the original grips, or some that you made? As I said before, if there is any way that I can give you some direction, don't hesitate to contact me.

Keep chipping.
Carl

[Woodnut]

Originally Posted by johnlives4christ

leave them plain man. plain i say.

Thanks, that is the way they sold. The guy loved them just the way they were.
As always, all comments are welcome, keep'm comming.
Carl

[Woodnut]

Just to keep the thread updated. I am working on some more Ivory at the present, and will post them when finished. Ivory is a lot slower to work than wood, there are many things to take into consideration, such as humidity, and heat from sanding, etc.

I also have several pair of exotic wood grips I have made since the last posting. I will post some of them when I post the Ivory.

Ivarr:
I never did hear from you. I sure hope you have not given up.

[ivarr]

Originally Posted by Woodnut

Ivarr:
I never did hear from you. I sure hope you have not given up.

actually, i pretty much have.
wrecked another 3 attempts with more cherry burl, and that small stuff shaping is just not something i'm adept enough at.
i'm really just wasting valuable burl and turning it into kindling for the wood stove.

[Woodnut]

Ivarr:

Don't give up, give me a call sometime and lets discuss the problem that you may be encountering. I'm almost sure I can lead you in the right direction, and know for a fact that it gives a great sense of satisfaction once completed. Get the first pair under your belt, then it only gets better. We all had to build our first set.
Carl