Of The Hand Gallery/Q&A/For Sale Thread

razor_blade · #1 02-10-2012, 11:56 PM

UPDATE TIME!!! So, I have a ton of grips on the way, and a couple finished, including one with a beveled end. I decided to do it my way, which is a little different from others your might have seen. Well, here is that grip first:

It is Birdseye Maple, and I think it came out marvelously! The knotted hard part of the wood took less of the plasticizer, so it retained more of its natural color.

You can also see, in these horrible pictures, what we are going to do with beveling. The black piece is there for reference.

It is a subtle change that feels great, without a magwell. It is going to cost nothing if you are custom ordering and $10 to add to an existing grip.

The next one is what I like to call a nightmare.

This is a nearly finished version of black plasticized Box Elder. I say nearly finished, because it is only half polished. It has a very organic feel this way and is really strange to look at. I am going to enlist the help of a higher power (better photographer) to help me capture these in their full beauty. I may offer them just like this, or polished up more, we will see. If you buy it, I will finish it to however you want it.

The last piece is the mystery wood. Just like mystery meat, only less tasty!

Any guesses on what it is? Nope, all wrong. It is Box Elder again! It looks very Amboyna-ish, due to the dye we used in stabilizing. Neat pair.

For Sale:

1. Birds Eye Maple, Beveled, Plasticized, Ambi-cut: $100 shipped

2. Box Elder, Dyed blacker than your heart, Plasicized, Semi smooth finish, Ambi-cut: $95 shipped

3. Am-Box Elder-nya (haha), Plasticized, Ambi-Cut: $95 shipped SOLD PENDING FUNDS

4. Spalted Maple (last pictures in post), Plasticized, Not Ambi-cut (one of a kind piece of wood, unreal in person): $105 shipped

Thanks again! Also, we are accepting custom jobs, as long as we are comfortable with them. I have taken pictures of the woods we have to offer right now, and will send links to the wood species you are interested in. Feel free to contact me with requests for the grips of your dreams! (Please no requests for the woman of your dreams, they have mail order catalogs for that)

Original message:

Hi COTEP friends! My father in law and I are starting an exotic wood grip company and are in the process of getting an online store put together. I would like to use this thread to showcase some of the work we have done, as well as answer any questions people might have. Since we are a true custom grip manufacturer, we can do nearly anything. However, some jobs, due to timing and specific tools, might not be immediately possible. WE will do your best to accommodate, but if you have an idea, shoot me a PM and I will see if I can do your project. Also, the grips we sell are initially cut in the way I feel looks the best. If you want me to modify them in some way, I will do my best to do it. Obviously, I can't un-bobtail grips, but I can bob normal ones. Inlays and mixed woods are also a possibility, just remember, the more I have to do to figure out and produce the grips, the more they are going to cost. Anyway, on to the stories and pictures!

A little history on the grips: I have been a 1911 fan/owner/enthusiast for about a decade and am somewhat mechanically inclined. After ordering grips from several different custom and non custom sellers, I decided that none of them offered the combination of aesthetics and fit that I wanted for my pistols. After speaking to my highly talented, woodworking father in law, he offered to make some grips to fit my pistols and tastes. These grips are the fruit of his labors. The woods used are either stabilized or plasticized, in his shop, using combination of a vacuum kiln and a hydraulic pressure pot. The results are durable and beautiful. The contour of the grips matches perfectly with a Smith and Alexander magwell, but looks great without them too. Here are some on pistol pics:

While I am a new seller here, I am honest, fair, and have excellent seller ratings on many websites (I can link to them if needed). Not to mention that it would be a terrible way to start a new business venture by screwing my first customers! :biglaugh:

Finally, I will do my absolute best to be on here at minimum of once a day, Monday-Saturday. If you need to reach me, PM or email works great. As I sell grips, I will modify this post to show all sold and offer new grips in the reply section.

Enjoy and thanks for looking!

razor_blade · #2 02-10-2012, 11:58 PM

By the way, I will be listing some more on Sunday night or Monday. Let me know if there is something you specifically want. I am also in the process of getting a VBOB and will get those grips cranked out as soon as I can. Hopefully that saves you from asking about bobtailed grips.

NAMVET72 · #3 02-11-2012, 01:44 AM

Thanks Ryan for Posting Your Craftsmanship.

Nice pics.........

Tell them what wooods you can get...............................

razor_blade · #4 02-11-2012, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NAMVET72

Thanks Ryan for Posting Your Craftsmanship.

Nice pics.........

Tell them what wooods you can get...............................

Honestly, the sky is the limit on wood. If it is for sale somewhere, we can get it. I am going to do a run of insanely figured Desert Ironwood in the near future. A lot of our pieces are going to be from Amboyna, Box Elder, Walnut, Ebony, and hopefully some Australian Eucalyptus species. There are also going to be some things that no one has ever seen before, some grip materials that will be unique to us. I can't wait to show them, but I want to have one available before I tell you what it is.

AutoMag · #5 02-11-2012, 03:53 AM

Very nice razor!!

Zilmo · #6 02-11-2012, 01:03 PM

Do you offer any stippling or checkering on your beautiful grips?

AutoMag · #7 02-11-2012, 01:26 PM

I think that checkering would ruin the looks of that beautiful wood!!

Just my opinion but I learned long ago that it does not count for much!!!

razor_blade · #8 02-11-2012, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zilmo

Do you offer any stippling or checkering on your beautiful grips?

I am not sure, I will mention it to my father in law and see what he thinks. Stippling will be easier to do, but I like checkering better.

Thedragonslayer · #9 02-11-2012, 01:33 PM

Razor those are some beautiful grips!!! Awsome!

Thanks for posting!

razor_blade · #10 02-11-2012, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AutoMag

I think that checkering would ruin the looks of that beautiful wood!!

Just my opinion but I learned long ago that it does not count for much!!!

I agree, but if someone wants something, and I think I can do a good job of it, I will try it. If it looks like crap, I won't offer it. I am a custom grip maker, but I reserve the right to refuse requests that devalue my work.