Gettin' A Grip....

I decided that, since today was supposed to be a nasty day weather-wise (temps in the 20's, but falling, wind chills close or below zero...), that I would spend a little time in my shop after it got too cold to be in the barn.

My main objective was to replace these:



I realize that the photo isn't the best but, trust me, you don't REALLY want to see them clearly. They are fancy, laser cut grips that were on my 1911 when I got it. There is also an ugly eagle in the center of each grip that pokes into your hand. They made it hard to grip the weapon when firing and weren't something that I liked, anyway.

I just kept them on there until I could get new grips. It wasn't a HIGH priority - just something that I needed to do - eventually. Today, "eventually" arrived. I'd priced new grips online and at a few shops, but nothing - pardon the pun - "tripped my trigger".

I decided to make my own....

I have a couple of nice boards of a wood called Ziricote (along with several other species), that I thought would look nice as grips. I decided that I'd waited long enough, and set to work on them this afternoon.

Ziricote is a wood from Central and South America, although it does happen to grow in Florida, too. It has lines and swirls of black, chocolate, tan, beige, and other browns. It is a REALLY pretty wood when finished.

This is the first set I've ever made, so there are a few flaws but, they turned out rather nice - at least in MY opinion. I still have to rub on 2-3 more coats of clear gloss finish but, they are real close to being done.

Here is what they look like tonight. I'm not a very good photographer, but you can see the nice swirls in the grain pattern, and the different colors.



Deb wants me to make her a set with a rose inlaid on them, and I want to make a couple more sets for me, out of different woods so I can see which I like best.

ANYTHING is better then what I had...