unusual & interesting grip woods

[BB Rvlr]

I would love to hear what "out of the usual" woods people have had revolver grips made from.

The reason I am asking is because I cut a hawthorn tree down for my dad this weekend and the first thing that struck me about the wood is how dense and heavy is is. My dad who is a retired carpenter was also surprised by this. It appeared very light (almost white) but had some interesting figure and color where the branches came out of the trunk.

I know there are a couple of grip makers who frequent this forum and I would like them to share their thoughts too.

 

[contender]

I recently got some stuff called;
Ite, or Lapacho wood. it's used as decking I think. But the piece I found has some excellent burl in it. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[Volusianator]

I've never seen them, but if you could fashion some out of Purpleheart I think they would look very nice.

 

[Bob Wright]

I had never seen grips made from mesquite wood until I contacted Cary Chapman, who has been known to post hereabouts. These are the results:

The .44 at top has Bolivian rosewood, the .45 macascar ebony:

Bob Wright

 

[MaxP]

Those are really nice!

 

[VAdoublegunner]

I always thought American persimmon wood might be interesting for a pair of grips. I know that it was/is used for golf club woods. I'd like to have a set for one of my Blackhawks. Persimmon is a true ebony, but it is lighter in color. Besides, I like to eat them in the fall.

I also don't see a lot of grips made of pecan.

 

[caryc]

I always thought American persimmon wood might be interesting for a pair of grips. I know that it was/is used for golf club woods. I'd like to have a set for one of my Blackhawks. Persimmon is a true ebony, but it is lighter in color. Besides, I like to eat them in the fall.

I also don't see a lot of grips made of pecan.

People don't usually stand around admiring the grain in a persimmon wood golf club.

There are a lot of hardwoods. A lot of it is used for flooring and custom cabinetry. But what most people forget or don't think about is that there is very little viewing area in a plow handle type gun grip.

As I've said before, one can look at a piece of wood that might make a beautiful top for a jewelry box, but if you cut something as small as a gun grip out of it, you lose all that pretty grain.

It takes exceptional wood to make a pretty gun grip. I once had a guy send me some left over wood that he had from having some flooring done in his house. I forgot what exactly the wood was but when I got the Bisley grips done, it was just a pair of brown grips with very little grain if any visible in it. I would have never considered making a pair of grips out of that stuff but the guy insisted that was want he wanted.

If you have any wood that you think might make good gun grips, do what I usually tell people to do. Take a 3" by 5" index card and trace out a gun grip on it. Now carefully cut out that gun grip shape leaving the outside of the card in tact. Place this card on the wood to see what a gun grip would look like if cut from it.

You can also put some rubbing alcohol in a plastic spray bottle and spray the wood with it to see what the color would look like with finish applied to it.

The alcohol will evaporate and not soak into the wood. Do not do this with water as you don't want to introduce any moisture to the wood.

 

[41manor44]

BB Rvlr I have some panels that are from some different wood. The top one is red heart and the bottom one is purple heart and walnut.

 

[41manor44]

Here's several sets of panels that are a combination of redheart and purpleheart.

 

[BB Rvlr]

If you have any wood that you think might make good gun grips, do what I usually tell people to do. Take a 3" by 5" index card and trace out a gun grip on it. Now carefully cut out that gun grip shape leaving the outside of the card in tact. Place this card on the wood to see what a gun grip would look like if cut from it.

You can also put some rubbing alcohol in a plastic spray bottle and spray the wood with it to see what the color would look like with finish applied to it.

The alcohol will evaporate and not soak into the wood. Do not do this with water as you don't want to introduce any moisture to the wood.

Great advice Cary. Thank you! I also have some mulberry pieces at home that I don't think would pass your test.

Does anybody have experience with hawthorn wood?

I find this very interesting. Keep the replies and pics coming.

 

[Salmoneye]

I made these out of Red Cedar a few weeks back...Everyone was telling me that it was too soft...Other than learning to be careful while drilling, I have not been able to ding them up yet, and they have been on my daily shooter...

 

[JEFraze]

I have been wanting to make a set of grips for my Super Blackhawk out of Iron wood. I have seen some before and Iron wood makes a beautiful grip or knfe handel.

 

[caryc]

I've made iron wood grips in the past and they did turn out beautiful. However the stuff is called iron wood for a reason.

I don't make them any more. I might make a pair for myself if I ran across a particularly beautiful piece of wood but the stuff just eats up too much sanding media; belts, discs and sleeves that it gets rather expensive.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

Does anybody have experience with hawthorn wood?
I find this very interesting. Keep the replies and pics coming.

I found your story about the hawthorne wood and the origin of it interesting.

In some cases it may not be a particular grain or appearance of the wood itself, plucked out of some anonymous rain forest in some foreign land, that makes it special. Sometimes one may want to have a set of grips made from a certain piece of wood or tree for a special reason. That's one of the reasons I would like to have a pair of grips made from persimmon. I have a Japanese maple tree that is dying in my yard. For many reasons, I would like to have a set of grips made from its wood since it has a special meaning to me, and will at some point regardless of whether they are they are the most attractive or not. It seems a more fitting end and remembrance than just ending up in the fireplace.

 

[Volusianator]

I made these out of Red Cedar a few weeks back...Everyone was telling me that it was too soft...Other than learning to be careful while drilling, I have not been able to ding them up yet, and they have been on my daily shooter...

LOVE the knots!

 

[caryc]

Does anybody have experience with hawthorn wood?
I find this very interesting. Keep the replies and pics coming.

I found your story about the hawthorne wood and the origin of it interesting.

In some cases it may not be a particular grain or appearance of the wood itself, plucked out of some anonymous rain forest in some foreign land, that makes it special. Sometimes one may want to have a set of grips made from a certain piece of wood or tree for a special reason. That's one of the reasons I would like to have a pair of grips made from persimmon. I have a Japanese maple tree that is dying in my yard. For many reasons, I would like to have a set of grips made from its wood since it has a special meaning to me, and will at some point regardless of whether they are they are the most attractive or not. It seems a more fitting end and remembrance than just ending up in the fireplace.

No one said sentiment can't enter into the reasons for a particular wood. I doubt there was any sentiment about the piece of flooring material the gentleman sent me for his grips. Other than remembering when he got his new floor. Maybe he really loved that floor. :shock:

If you're going to use that Japanese Maple, make sure you prepare the wood correctly or you'll just end up with firewood.

 

[BlkHawk73]

Have a pair of curly red oak on a BH and some Koa on a brass Bisley. I tend to favor the less fancied up grains and patterns.

 

[twobisquit]

I have often thought that I would like to get a piece of wood from the stairway of my grandparents farm. The people that own it now would think I'm a nut if I asked

 

[Salmoneye]

I tend to favor the less fancied up grains and patterns.

If I think of it tomorrow, I'll post a pic or two of some Ash that I did...

Beautiful medium brown color, but straight grain, and 'boring' according to some I have shown them to...

 

[Salmoneye]

These are the Ash grips I mentioned...Not the most 'interesting' wood, but good and solid, and IMNSHO they are better looking than OEM stained Walnut...Nothing but maybe 5 coats of BLO on them...

Quarter sawn with a chainsaw lol...

 

[BB Rvlr]

Cary C... Will you provide recommendations on the proper way to season wood. In other words; if you were to make a set of grips fro a piece of wood that a customer got from a living tree what is the best way to dry it so you will have as few problems as possible while making them?

 

[caryc]

Cary C... Will you provide recommendations on the proper way to season wood. In other words; if you were to make a set of grips fro a piece of wood that a customer got from a living tree what is the best way to dry it so you will have as few problems as possible while making them?

Well first you need to cut it into something resembling boards. Remember that boards cut from a tree go long ways with the grain running the length of the board.

If you're just going to use it for gun grips, then 2 or three feet in length will be fine. Then thicker you cut them the longer they will take to dry. When I make a set of grips the thinnest I want is 1/2" and that is sanded smooth on both sides. If you're going to rough cut the wood, I would cut it into maybe 1.25" thick. That way book matched grips can be made from it if you have some real pretty grain.

Then you have to seal the end grain of the boards. This can be done with paraffin wax. Just melt it and brush it on the ends. This is done because as a board is drying it will lose most of its moisture out of the end grain. You need to prevent this because the boards will dry too fast and start cracking on you. Stack your pieces with something like 3/4" by 3/4" strips between them to let air circulate to both sides of the boards. They need to be out of the weather and sun like in a garage or someplace that is kind of climate controlled.

It could take as much as a year for them to dry. You can buy a moisture meter if you want to check them. I purchased some beautiful mesquite from a guy that rough cut it with a chainsaw. The average thickness was 1 1/2" to 2". He cut it into chunks between 6" and 8" in width and 12" to 18" in length. Even being rough cut with a chainsaw it worked out well for me.

You could also check around your area and see if anyone has a kiln dryer. They could probably dry it for you in 6 to 8 weeks.

You want the moisture content to be around 6 to 8 percent. If you use the wood before it's dry enough you may wind up with a beautiful set of grips that starts to shrink and crack or warp on the gun.

 

[Salmoneye]

You can use Latex paint to seal the end grain also...

Figure a minimum air drying of a year per inch of board thickness...

Knew a guy that used a 'poor man's solar kiln' to speed up small stuff...Old Subaru wagon pointed south-west...

8)

 

[caryc]

You can use Latex paint to seal the end grain also...

Figure a minimum air drying of a year per inch of board thickness...

Knew a guy that used a 'poor man's solar kiln' to speed up small stuff...Old Subaru wagon pointed south-west...

8)

The only problem with that is, you've got the heat up in the day and the cool down during the night. I wouldn't do that with any wood that I valued.

People have even used micro wave ovens. A very fast way to crack your wood. The moisture in the wood turns to steam expanding and cracking the wood.

 

[BB Rvlr]

Thanks for sharing Cary! The pieces I cut are shorter that you mentioned but I may cut them into boards and treat the ends to see what I end up with.

If all goes well I hope to be giving you some business once they are dried.

 

[caryc]

Thanks for sharing Cary! The pieces I cut are shorter that you mentioned but I may cut them into boards and treat the ends to see what I end up with.

If all goes well I hope to be giving you some business once they are dried.

Shorter will dry faster.

 

[tulsamal]

A native tree in Oklahoma is Osage Orange. I have a couple dozen of them growing in various parts of my 90 acres. There are a medium size thorny tree with droopy branches. They produce a green fruit that looks like a green grapefruit. Big giant things that are inedible. But the wood is something else. When you cut it, it is yellow. Dark yellow and that yellow sap will stain your clothes. It is a natural insecticide. No bugs will touch those trees.

My number one use for them is as firewood. Nothing else on my property can touch them for that. If you cut them and let them age for a year, that wood gets really, really solid. Very hard. It will burn for hours and release a tremendous amount of heat while retaining its shape. Doesn't just fall apart into ash in a few minutes like some wood. You put two or three big pieces of Osage Orange into the stove and you will be warm all evening. And if they aren't 100% dry, you will get a fireworks show as well. That sap produces a lot of sparks. Thousands of them. Don't use it in a open fireplace.

The wood is so hard that I've wondered before if it would make for some good grips. It does lose most of the yellow color as it ages. The Indians here in the state prized it for making long bows. They called it by its French name: Bois D'Arc. It was also used for fence posts. Tough wood!

Gregg

 

[caryc]

The only problem with Osage Orange is that it is not a very pretty wood. Just straight grained and rather dull.

 

[Salmoneye]

You can use Latex paint to seal the end grain also...

Figure a minimum air drying of a year per inch of board thickness...

Knew a guy that used a 'poor man's solar kiln' to speed up small stuff...Old Subaru wagon pointed south-west...

8)

The only problem with that is, you've got the heat up in the day and the cool down during the night. I wouldn't do that with any wood that I valued.

People have even used micro wave ovens. A very fast way to crack your wood. The moisture in the wood turns to steam expanding and cracking the wood.

You have heating and cooling in any air drying shed, or solar kiln I have ever seen...

Most people around here don't place green wood in a kiln...They bring it to mid range by air/shed drying before they kiln anything...

The guy I mentioned uses small solar powered fans for airflow around his wood...

 

[T.A. WORKMAN]

Here is some more of Carey's work,,, Olive Wood grips on a couple early NM .41 Mags.