"Laminated" grips are ???

[Anonymous]

Just ordered spare grips for my Bearcats from Newport. Come with blued screw, so I ordered a stainless screw, too.

In Googling for other grips, I found some old posts here about Ruger's laminated grips, and no one could quite decide how they were made. They look to be just what it says, several layers of wood laminated together. I would assume by some sort of epoxy.

The Bearcat grips look to be about seven layers of rosewood, and a glossy, maybe polyurethane, finish. I have a set of lam grips for my Single-Six that look the same. It came with solid rosewood.

Anybody have more official info?

I like them just fine, I just wish they fit like Lett's did. The solids were a touch more attractive, but I think the laminated may be more durable.

 

[lfpiii]

Originally invented by the Dymond Wood Company. Most gun grip makers purchase laminated sheet and carve out their designs.

Sometimes refererred to by the generic name of COMPREG, DymondWood® is a highly engineered wood/plastic composite, that has the physical and mechanical properties of high density hardwood, acrylic, polycarbonate plastics and brass. Here, brightly dyed northern hardwood veneers are combined with engineering grade resins, heat and pressure to create a product that has the best characteristics of each. DymondWood® is distinguished by its unique strength, durability, dimensional stability, and weather and moisture resistance as compared to regular wood.

Current Ruger grips are carved by Altomanot Grip Company.

 

[CraigC]

Birch is the wood commonly used for laminates, it is a very light colored wood that is easily dyed in the desired color. I see lots of folks falsely referring to rosewood colored laminates as simply "rosewood".

 

[slofyr]

..Originally invented by the Dymond Wood Company...

Aka plywood which was developed in WW-II for boats. The grip version of the laminated veneer is far denser and either pressure injected with resin, or resin saturated under vacuum.

 

[mraywi]

I think the laminates are a big improvement over the old grips lookswise!

 

[stantheman86]

Altamont uses Dymondwood for the OEM S&W grips too.

 

[WAYNO]

My jury is still out on plywood grips.

Quality laminates have some advantages...Their resistance to absorbing moisture and retaining their geometry in spite of changes in ambient conditions. A great advantage in rifle stocks, but not so important in handgun grips. They can also be made in color patterns to suit any buyer.

Personally, for such a little chunk of wood, I prefer real, solid wood.

The bottom line...Laminated grip material is less expensive, but not always. :wink:

WAYNO.

 

[mattsbox99]

Birch is the wood commonly used for laminates, it is a very light colored wood that is easily dyed in the desired color. I see lots of folks falsely referring to rosewood colored laminates as simply "rosewood".

Yep, true Rosewood comes from the Amazon rainforest and has been banned in the US for over a decade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood

 

[caryc]

Here is a sample of Ruger's grey laminate. This is the light grey and black they used first, not the dark dark grey and black they later used.

It has a lot more layers than people think. There's 14 layers per inch.

 

[Anonymous]

So basically, high-tech plywood. Still when you think about it, they should be a lot sturdier than solid wood, maybe even tougher than polymer grips, and they do look good.

 

[caryc]

Don't knock "plywood" people. It sure was a boon to the housing industry.

Trouble is that every new house I see being built around here is sided with particle board now. At least they still use real plywood on the roofs.

There used to be an old fashioned word for those polymer grips.....oh yeah, it's plastic. :mrgreen:

 

[StanMemTn]

Great photo, caryc! Thanks for posting!

 

[44shootist]

i like Laminate grips best like the look and that they will never warp or crack like solid wood, and have replaced all my warped and or cracked grips with laminate.

 

[caryc]

Great photo, caryc! Thanks for posting!

Here is a pic of the other color Ruger used, although they never made grips from it, only rifle stocks. I actually like it better than the grey "Pepper" laminate.

 

[Chief_10Beers]

I like them, I think they look good on Stainless GF............................

 

[CraigC]

Yep, true Rosewood comes from the Amazon rainforest and has been banned in the US for over a decade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood

Uh, what? Rosewood is a very ambiguous term and only Brazilian rosewood has been banned. There is no shortage of other rosewoods and it does not all come from the Amazon. Lots of woods are referred to as rosewood but are not true rosewoods. The wood Ruger used for factory grips for so many years is referred to as "African rosewood" or bubinga but it is not a true rosewood. Cocobolo and tulipwood are true rosewoods and both make beautiful custom grips.

 

[Snake45]

Personally, for such a little chunk of wood, I prefer real, solid wood.

WAYNO.

Me too. A solid piece of walnut or other nice hardwood just looks nicer and classier than ANY kind of plywood. I understand why makers put plywood or plastic on rifles (good walnut is getting expensive), but IMHO there's just no excuse for it on a handgun.

 

[44shootist]

It's not plywood, plywood is made from pealed layers with every other layer running cross wise.
Laminate grips the grain all runs the same way, it is not pealed layers, thin layers made of solid hardwood, the more layers the stronger it is.
Laminate grips will never crack and warp like some of my solid wood factory ones have, they are far superior to solid wood in strength and looks, I get compliments on my grips all the time.
Ever make a bread board or butcher block? same thing and made like that for the same reasons.
Guess some of these guys would call my solid maple butcher block reloading bench top plywood cause they don't know any better, lack of education I suspect.

 

[Snake45]

Laminate grips...are far superior to solid wood in streath and looks....

I have no idea what "streath" is, but as to looks...that's strictly a matter of opinion. And mine is that solid wood looks better and even feels better than plywood.

And some people like to say "polymer" instead of "plastic," too. Sounds "classier," I guess. :wink:

 

[caryc]

It's not plywood, plywood is made from pealed layers with every other layer running cross wise.
Laminate grips the grain all runs the same way, it is not pealed layers, thin layers made of solid hardwood, the more layers the stronger it is.
Laminate grips will never crack and warp like some of my solid wood factory ones have, they are far superior to solid wood in streath and looks, I get compliments on my grips all the time.
Ever make a bread board or butcher block? same thing and made like that for the same reasons.
Guess some of these guys would call my solid maple butcher block reloading bench top plywood cause they don't know any better, lack of education I suspect.

Plywood is "peeled" because otherwise they would have to search the world over for 5 foot diameter trees to cut the stuff from. I guess you would also say that plywood is not a laminate?

As a grip maker, I have made grips from the laminates and I don't consider it any stronger than conventional wood grips. And as a grip maker I don't consider it better looking than conventional fine figured wood in any way. You have your ideas and I have mine.

 

[Colonel Daddy]

Yep, true Rosewood comes from the Amazon rainforest and has been banned in the US for over a decade.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosewood

Uh, what? Rosewood is a very ambiguous term and only Brazilian rosewood has been banned. There is no shortage of other rosewoods and it does not all come from the Amazon. Lots of woods are referred to as rosewood but are not true rosewoods. The wood Ruger used for factory grips for so many years is referred to as "African rosewood" or bubinga but it is not a true rosewood. Cocobolo and tulipwood are true rosewoods and both make beautiful custom grips.

And then there is Indian rosewood, from.......India. :roll:

 

[Colonel Daddy]

I had a difficult time finding grips that both felt right and looked right on a chromed OM .45 Blackhawk with Super Blackhawk grip, hammer and trigger until I came across a set of New Model Super Blackhawk Hunter laminated grips from a SS model. They felt and looked perfect on my chrome plated OM.

 

[powder smoke]

Lamnate = Plywood it's that simple.

I like the solid woos grips IMO plywood has no advantage except if you are going to abuse your gun and expose it to large amounts of moisture. Laminate like plywood is cheaper no secret why they use it! Some enthusist like the look to each his own. ps

 

[louiethelump]

Laminate does NOT equal plywood..............

Both plywood and the grip material we are talking about are laminated. Sorta......... Plywood is really just glued in layers......

The grip material is impregnated with the epoxy/polymer/plastic (if you wish to call it that) and this goes all the way through the wood as well as fastening the layers together. In plywood it is just glued together.

The laminated grip material is more of a stabilized wood, and since the poly goes all the way through the wood, it needs no outer finish. The grips are just sanded and polished. You can alter the laminated grips, sand your alteration smooth, buff it up, and the finish comes right back.

Yes, it is mostly manmade, and of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it is a very good material for grips and stocks. Keep in mind that when you pay 100 or more dollars for grips from one of the custom grip makers who sell "stabilized Maple burl" grips for example, and produce a beautiful product, you are buying the same thing, only without the thin layers that add the distinctive look of the laminated grip. Only the Maple is just one piece with the same plastic impregnated through it, "stabilizing" it.

Louie

 

[caryc]

Lamnate = Plywood it's that simple.

I like the solid woos grips IMO plywood has no advantage except if you are going to abuse your gun and expose it to large amounts of moisture. Laminate like plywood is cheaper no secret why they use it! Some enthusist like the look to each his own. ps

Exactly, laminated wood is used for one purpose, the colors that can be incorporated into it. That's it, nothing more. It has no magic properties.

A lot of the colors produced are fugly as sin as far as I'm concerned but, to each his own.

 

[caryc]

Laminate does NOT equal plywood..............

Both plywood and the grip material we are talking about are laminated. Sorta......... Plywood is really just glued in layers......

The grip material is impregnated with the epoxy/polymer/plastic (if you wish to call it that) and this goes all the way through the wood as well as fastening the layers together. In plywood it is just glued together.

The laminated grip material is more of a stabilized wood, and since the poly goes all the way through the wood, it needs no outer finish. The grips are just sanded and polished. You can alter the laminated grips, sand your alteration smooth, buff it up, and the finish comes right back.

Yes, it is mostly manmade, and of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it is a very good material for grips and stocks. Keep in mind that when you pay 100 or more dollars for grips from one of the custom grip makers who sell "stabilized Maple burl" grips for example, and produce a beautiful product, you are buying the same thing, only without the thin layers that add the distinctive look of the laminated grip. Only the Maple is just one piece with the same plastic impregnated through it, "stabilizing" it.

Louie

I don't know where you got this information but laminated wood such as the sample I showed is not stabilized. It is laminated layers of "dyed" wood, not stabilized wood. It is nowhere near as strong as real stabilized wood.

The laminated woods used for gun stocks are not stabilized. Laminations such as the brand name Dymondwood are stabilized but not generally used for gun stocks or grips.

A completely stabilized rifle stock would be pretty heavy and most people would not want to be toting it around all day.

Take a look at Boyds laminated rifle stocks, they are not stabilized material.

I recently had a customer send me his Bisley grip frame and he sent along the stock grips with it. They are the ones appearing on Rugers guns now. They did had the appearance of polished stabilized wood. They could possibly have been Dymondwood. I can't say they weren't.

I still say that a full Dymondwood rifle stock would be too heavy.