One bit of information that I haven't really shared with anybody because the "factory stag/ivory" question can be pretty toxic at times.
The big question I always had is that the very first invoice for the first six pair of ivory that were ordered (from J.L. Galef) cost Ruger $11 a pair. I don't remember where I saw a pic of the invoice now, but it was published and the invoice says something to the effect of "with installed medallions". These grips were used to put on the six "A" through "F" letter prototype Single-Sixes so the guns could get out to gun writers for review, because the black checkered hard rubber panels were not yet available. I will note that every pair seen on these letter prototypes do have the medallions in identical positions. The grips appear identical in all the pictures.
My nagging question was...if this invoice says "with installed medallions", do the other stag/ ivory invoices from the other 3 makers say the same? Or why don't any/all of those invoices say something about installed medallions (rightfully, another step) before being sent to Ruger, if indeed they were installed by the makers? (Three different companies after J.L. Galef).
By far the overwhelming opinion (not mine) is that each of the manufacturers "must" have installed the medallions. This helps to substantiate in everybody's mind the reason for the wide range of locations that the medallions can be found on stag and ivory that today are considered factory, again by a majority of owners and collectors.
But the question burned...do any of those other stag and ivory invoices say "with installed medallions"?
I finally got an answer from JD a few years ago who said, no...none of the later invoices say "with installed medallions".
So then I brought up the thought with him that there was a very good possibility then that Ruger must have been the one who installed the medallions...to which he replied...maybe Ruger did some....maybe the makers did some...we'll never know. Yes...we will never know, but it is still a burning question, eh? Why don't any of the other three makers invoices say "with installed medallions" when it was probably Ruger's specific instructions that J.L. Galef make those first six pair "with medallions" as noted on the invoice?
Excepting the invoices that are known to have been destroyed, there are 72 other invoices to Ruger for stag and ivory grips in JD's addendum that do not mention Ruger's specific instructions to install medallions.
JD also said that breakage at the factory was not a big deal for stag or ivory because there was plenty of margin in the markup...that their losses could easily be paid for. I can't quite see how this could be a true statement, and maybe JD was just speaking off the cuff, but it is published in his most recent book that Ruger was charged $8.25 for each pair ivory from Superior Pearl and Horn. After that, they purchased pairs of ivory XR3 from American Gun Handle and Novelty Co., for $8.10 a pair.
Ruger paid $4.25 a pair from Superior Pearl and Horn for pairs of stag. The book doesn't say if this price got any better from the other three stag grip suppliers that Ruger later used.
OK...on page 319 of the same book there is a copy of the August 1, 1955 Jobbers Sheet which lists the Jobber price for ivory at $9 and stag at $5 (Retail was $16.50 and $8.50 respectively, and the dealer price was $12.50 and $6.45 respectively).
This makes a grand best profit on Ruger's end of 90 cents (!!) a pair for every pair of ivory they shipped to Jobbers and 75 cents for every pair of stag shipped out. Break a pair of ivory and you need to sell nine more pair of ivory to break even. That's not my idea of "plenty of profit". Even if Ruger sold ivory direct to the customer, they would have made a maximum of $8.40 profit on ivory. Break one pair and you have to sell another pair to break even.
So then...JD's addendum to his book states that of the first fifty pair of ivory received from Superior Pearl and horn, 21 pair were returned four months later. Of the first 50 pair of stag received from Superior Pearl and Horn, 35 pair had been returned nearly five months later.
Why would they have been returned? Grips out of spec somehow? I would think that Ruger would have sent a blueprint of some sort to the grip maker, or even a grip frame, so the grip maker could at least get the shape of the grip right, to fit the grip frame, after all...why would you cut them out incorrectly when these grips are only going to fit the XR3 frame? Get them wrong and the maker starts losing all of that lovely profit. Whatever the problem though...it must have been solved as there weren't any other pair of ivory returned.
Broken grips? In my opinion, something was wrong with the spec, and the critical point in any of ivory or stag would have been either fit or more likely the thickness of the panel at the medallion area, already weakened by the medallion stem. The thickness of the medallion area has to be precise. That the grip makers made them precise in the medallion area can be seen in what I consider the earliest stag grips (good dark color and nice burl) because these have a very noticeable tapered slab cut from the middle of the grip down to the medallion area. I suppose the maker could hand "grind" the slab cut down to spec but it would seem to be a lot easier if some sort of template were used, just like gun stocks are pre-shaped. Time is money, so why would you make such drastic slab cuts by hand?
Why a precise thickness at the medallion area? Not only to match up as good as possible with the rear of the cylinder frame, but also because of the medallion thickness. I believe the medallion hole drilling was done in a two step process. Drill the medallion stem hole and medallion inset, and flip it over and drill the counterbore on the backside. If the grip is too thick, you'll crack the grip when you stake the medallion. Too thin and you have the stem and or top of the medallion poking above either surface and a rotating medallion (I think stag panels could get away somewhat from having a portion of the medallion area too thin...but not the majority of it).
Don't get me wrong...rotated medallions are not a diagnostic of faked stag or ivory...it could also mean the panels have shrunk slightly.
Just some food for thought.
Chet15
