A thought on Grips

[Colonel Daddy]

Just took possession of a set of custom fitted Sheep Horn Grips from LSCG and they are truly awesome. Thanks again Zane! Now, a question. Seems I remember Ol' Skeeter having a set of Bison Bone grips made for a Ruger Blackhawk. I noticed that one member has a few sets of Bison grips for 1911 but is anyone making Bison grips for the Blackhawk and how are they holding up in use. Do they need any special care? Thoughts appreciated!
Have already contacted member SK about Bison Grips and awaiting reply.

 

[caryc]

Just took possession of a set of custom fitted Sheep Horn Grips from LSCG and they are truly awesome. Thanks again Zane! Now, a question. Seems I remember Ol' Skeeter having a set of Bison Bone grips made for a Ruger Blackhawk. I noticed that one member has a few sets of Bison grips for 1911 but is anyone making Bison grips for the Blackhawk and how are they holding up in use. Do they need any special care? Thoughts appreciated!
Have already contacted member SK about Bison Grips and awaiting reply.

There is a big difference between sheep horn and bison bone. Bison bone is actually bone. Most of the bone grips I've ever seen had been stabilized since bone is a porous material.

Sheep horn is mainly made of Keratin which is the same as your finger nails. Sheep horn does not need stabilizing.

 

[toysoldier]

I haven't made bone grips, but have used horse bone for inlays and a front sight on a muzzle loader. Bone being offered online is generally giraffe. I've considered asking the owners of Hedrick's Wild Animal Farm, just up the road from me, to keep me in mind if they lose a giraffe.

http://www.hedricks.com/

 

[SAJohn]

How about human bone? It is a lot cheaper than ivory and can be purchased in all but a few States like New York. The problem is that human bones are probably not big enough to make grips from except derringers. I found an example, on the internet, of a human upper jaw bone made into a knife handle but found no pistol grips.

Although I could not find actual dimensions, it might be possible to make 1911 grip panels from human breast bones.

 

[BDM1]

How about human bone? It is a lot cheaper than ivory and can be purchased in all but a few States like New York. The problem is that human bones are probably not big enough to make grips from except derringers. I found an example, on the internet, of a human upper jaw bone made into a knife handle but found no pistol grips.

Although I could not find actual dimensions, it might be possible to make 1911 grip panels from human breast bones.





uhhhhh.............no............

 

[caryc]

How about human bone? It is a lot cheaper than ivory and can be purchased in all but a few States like New York. The problem is that human bones are probably not big enough to make grips from except derringers. I found an example, on the internet, of a human upper jaw bone made into a knife handle but found no pistol grips.

Although I could not find actual dimensions, it might be possible to make 1911 grip panels from human breast bones.

Of course it's much cheaper than ivory. It's not even in the same category as ivory.

If you want some big bone just go to one of the butcher departments in your local grocery store. There are lots of big bones on cows. Personally I wouldn't want any grips made out of human bone on any of my guns. But that's just my choice.





uhhhhh.............no............

 

[Colonel Daddy]

will have to pass on the human bone idea. If I were a bounty hunter with no conscious back in the old days it might be a consideration!
Will dig into the bison bone idea a little more.

 

[Colonel Daddy]

Thanks CaryC. Yes, I was thinking that bone might degrade faster than horn. By the way Cary, I've used your beautiful Honey Mesquite on several different OM Blackhawks and still get compliments on them!

 

[toysoldier]

I can state with assurance that there are no human bones large enough for pistol grips, except perhaps the tiniest pocket pistol. One of the long bones, such as the femur or humerus, might be used as a knife handle.

 

[Rancher Will]

I enjoy seeing nice grips anytime. However I am sure no one will even complement me on the looks of the grips on my two carry revolvers.

Nearly 70 years ago an older Cowboy gave me some advice that I have used since then. As a teenager then, I owned and carried a Colt .44-40 single action revolver as a working cowboy. From time to time the other men on the ranch watched me shoot that Colt at various targets, rabbits, birds, coyotes, just about anything a kid wants to shoot. I thought that I "was pretty good", shooting that Colt, almost always hitting what I aimed at.

One day one of the older men stopped me and said, "Kid you need to learn to really know how to shoot and you need to get a gun that fits you. You take too much time aiming". He showed me his revolver and showed me the grips that he had modified to fit him. He then drew his revolver, without aiming or even looking at the revolver he proceeded to fire five shots at knot on a fence post. The bullet holes on the post could all have been covered by a playing card.

He then asked me to point my finger at the knot on the post without looking at my finger, hold my finger in place and then look to see where it was pointed. After I did this a few times, he then said "If your grips on your gun fit, the gun will point the same place your finger points every time you draw and shoot. And when you point your finger, or your gun, do not look at the whole target. Point your finger, or your gun at one specific spot, such as a single button on a shirt, not the shirt, the eye of a rabbit, not the whole rabbit, the eye on the head of a flying bird, not the whole bird, etc. Look at the spot where you want that bullet to actually go".

In the evenings in the Bunkhouse for a while the old cowboy helped my make a new set of grips for my Colt from a chunk of hard wood. By trial and error we got those grips so that I too was able to make a smooth draw from my holster, looking directly and specifically at a point on any target, without having the gun even in my vision, and hit the target without delay and without aiming the sights.

Years later when I got my Ruger Blackhawk and the S&W .44 revolvers , I ordered custom grips made for each using the measurement of my hand for the grips maker. When I got the new custom grips I replaced the factory grips on both guns and using Emory Cloth and a scraper, I made final adjustments to the grips by trial and error until both guns will fire and hit a target without my even seeing the gun in my hand. Those are the guns I still carry and use every day today.

A number of years later, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, I had an opportunity to meet Border Patrol Inspector Bill Jordan who gave me his book, "No Second Place Winner". We discussed the grips on his and my revolvers. He confirmed that he also uses custom fitted grips for the same reason and the chapter on GRIPS in his book confirms both his and my experience.

 

[Colonel Daddy]

Appreciate all the comments! Rancher Will, thanks especially for your input. Guess I will embark on a search for a bison femur and take it from there. Still feel sure I read about Skeeter using bison on a revolver!

 

[caryc]

Appreciate all the comments! Rancher Will, thanks especially for your input. Guess I will embark on a search for a bison femur and take it from there. Still feel sure I read about Skeeter using bison on a revolver!

You would have to find something big enough that when you started cutting grip blanks from it, you don't start running into the porous part of the bone. Even if you do find something, you will still have to get it stabilized.

As for myself, I wouldn't try making a set of grips out of bone unless the material was stabilized. It's just not hard enough.

 

[toysoldier]

As for myself, I wouldn't try making a set of grips out of bone unless the material was stabilized. It's just not hard enough.

Ordinarily, I would bow to your experience as a grip maker, but I have to take issue with this. I have a lot of experience in orthopedic surgery, and working with (human) bone is like working with wood. Its strength and hardness is like wood---everything from balsa (osteoporotic old women) to hard maple (old farmers who have been drinking milk from their own cows). I've seen bone so hard that screw holes had to be tapped like metal. Additionally, I have made several items from an old horse tibia that I was given by a professor at MU's veterinary school, as well as knife handles from deer cannon bones. As you noted, the porous (cancellous) bone is useless. You need a bone with a large enough cross-section of hard (cortical) bone to form a grip. I'm not sure if it really needs any stabilization, or if anything could actually penetrate. After shaping and polishing, an application of stock finish or Johnson's paste wax should be enough. Like plastic, bone will crack, so inlet carefully and don't over-torque screws.

 

[GunnyGene]

I enjoy seeing nice grips anytime. However I am sure no one will even complement me on the looks of the grips on my two carry revolvers.

Nearly 70 years ago an older Cowboy gave me some advice that I have used since then. As a teenager then, I owned and carried a Colt .44-40 single action revolver as a working cowboy. From time to time the other men on the ranch watched me shoot that Colt at various targets, rabbits, birds, coyotes, just about anything a kid wants to shoot. I thought that I "was pretty good", shooting that Colt, almost always hitting what I aimed at.

One day one of the older men stopped me and said, "Kid you need to learn to really know how to shoot and you need to get a gun that fits you. You take too much time aiming". He showed me his revolver and showed me the grips that he had modified to fit him. He then drew his revolver, without aiming or even looking at the revolver he proceeded to fire five shots at knot on a fence post. The bullet holes on the post could all have been covered by a playing card.

He then asked me to point my finger at the knot on the post without looking at my finger, hold my finger in place and then look to see where it was pointed. After I did this a few times, he then said "If your grips on your gun fit, the gun will point the same place your finger points every time you draw and shoot. And when you point your finger, or your gun, do not look at the whole target. Point your finger, or your gun at one specific spot, such as a single button on a shirt, not the shirt, the eye of a rabbit, not the whole rabbit, the eye on the head of a flying bird, not the whole bird, etc. Look at the spot where you want that bullet to actually go".

In the evenings in the Bunkhouse for a while the old cowboy helped my make a new set of grips for my Colt from a chunk of hard wood. By trial and error we got those grips so that I too was able to make a smooth draw from my holster, looking directly and specifically at a point on any target, without having the gun even in my vision, and hit the target without delay and without aiming the sights.

Years later when I got my Ruger Blackhawk and the S&W .44 revolvers , I ordered custom grips made for each using the measurement of my hand for the grips maker. When I got the new custom grips I replaced the factory grips on both guns and using Emory Cloth and a scraper, I made final adjustments to the grips by trial and error until both guns will fire and hit a target without my even seeing the gun in my hand. Those are the guns I still carry and use every day today.

A number of years later, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, I had an opportunity to meet Border Patrol Inspector Bill Jordan who gave me his book, "No Second Place Winner". We discussed the grips on his and my revolvers. He confirmed that he also uses custom fitted grips for the same reason and the chapter on GRIPS in his book confirms both his and my experience.

This ability to adjust grips to fit your hand is the major reason I prefer wood over the one-size-fits-all rubber/plastic that is practically all you can get on handguns anymore. Some folks claim that wood is "slippery", but I've never had a problem hanging on to a wood grip.

 

[caryc]

As for myself, I wouldn't try making a set of grips out of bone unless the material was stabilized. It's just not hard enough.

Ordinarily, I would bow to your experience as a grip maker, but I have to take issue with this. I have a lot of experience in orthopedic surgery, and working with (human) bone is like working with wood. Its strength and hardness is like wood---everything from balsa (osteoporotic old women) to hard maple (old farmers who have been drinking milk from their own cows). I've seen bone so hard that screw holes had to be tapped like metal. Additionally, I have made several items from an old horse tibia that I was given by a professor at MU's veterinary school, as well as knife handles from deer cannon bones. As you noted, the porous (cancellous) bone is useless. You need a bone with a large enough cross-section of hard (cortical) bone to form a grip. I'm not sure if it really needs any stabilization, or if anything could actually penetrate. After shaping and polishing, an application of stock finish or Johnson's paste wax should be enough. Like plastic, bone will crack, so inlet carefully and don't over-torque screws.

Well, you can take or leave my advice. I just know that I would not like to spend time making a nice set of grips then maybe a year or two later have something happen to them because I didn't stabilize them. It can be a hard enough job for a beginner to make a set of grips without the proper experience and machinery. Stabilizing the material just adds a little insurance and makes the material easier to work.

When I'm talking about the proper experience and tools what I mean is that I can make a pair of grips in about three hours. A first time grip maker will put in quite a bit more time. I'd just hate to see that time wasted.