[BeanTown]

Any thoughts out there about the desirability of solid sterling silver grips on a gun?

I am a fine metal caster by trade, and daily I use the “lost wax” method of casting to cast silver and gold into beautiful jewelry for the average consumer. Recently I have been looking at my little hideaway backup gun (a .25acp Colt Junior) and thought “now that would look really nice with a set of solid silver grips.” So began my task.

First I was going to just make a rubber mold of the thin colt grips (for injecting wax into to make as many grips as needed...) and cast a pair of silver duplicates, but then decided to try my hand at something a little more customized, so I used the grips as a template and carved out a nice set of my own design which fit my hand quite nicely. I made a rubber mold of these, made a few sets of wax grips, and cast two pairs in solid sterling silver.

Now they are currently being polished to a mirror finish and being prepped to be put on the gun.

So I ask myself, is this something other people are interested in having?

I have seen a few posts here and there online about silver grips on NAA mini revolvers and the Guardian, but I wanted to find out what the demand is for this type of thing.

I’ll post some pics when the grips are done.

Beantown

[Andrew Wyatt]

can you do a sterling silver ar-15 grip?

[BeanTown]

Pretty much any grip can be cast in silver if there is a "model" grip that can be used to make the rubber mold from (either an original off the gun or a "spare-parts" grip). That mold would then be used make the waxes for casting, and then it would be the same process as I described before.

It would really depend on the piece though.

I haven't seen an AR grip for a while, and some modifications could be necessary for a quality casting depending on how the original was originally made. Hollow pieces can be a pain depending on how they were constructed. If it was cast as one piece with minimal internal undercuts, no problem. If it was cast in two or more parts and joined, then a silver version would have to be cast in pieces and then assembled or soldered in a similar manner to have a proper replication.

Any final fitting of a silver grip onto your AR would have to be done by either yourself, a gunsmith or a local jeweler.

Beantown

[buy guns]

post pics when they are finished, i would really like to see them.

[BeanTown]

As a preview:

Attached is a picture of the Colt Junior with the original wax grips that I carved out and made the molds from.

That's the only picture I have right now, but I hate suspense, so I had to post something! :-)

The rest will come soon.

Beantown

[Marko Kloos]

It seems to me that lost wax casting would be an ideal method to cast bullets out of silver, right?

A sixpack of .38 caliber silver bullets loaded into nickeled cases would be a cool accessory for a gift gun.

[RWK]

BeanTown,

With respect, I guess I have a question/problem. Getting back to basics, grips are supposed to, well, GRIP. Now most fine silverwork is smooth and slick – you use the words mirror finish. That would seem to be fairly unsuitable for a firearm – especially for a VERY SMALL Colt .25 “Junior” autoloader – and particularly if the shooting-hand is wet or sweaty. It might even undermine safety.

I suspect your custom silver grips would be beautiful – works of art – but not practical for the reasons cited above.

[Ultima-Ratio]

I think that some of the Mexican Silver grip panels are around online that have several styles of palm swells available and even semi-precious stones for mostly 1911s and Colt P model SAAs

[browningguy]

The story is, the 1911 with Mexican silver grips is still the sign of a pistolero down around the border. I think one of the gun mags just had something about them a couple of months ago.

[BeanTown]

- Now most fine silverwork is smooth and slick – you use the words mirror finish. That would seem to be fairly unsuitable for a firearm – especially for a VERY SMALL Colt .25 “Junior” autoloader – and particularly if the shooting-hand is wet or sweaty. It might even undermine safety.

I suspect your custom silver grips would be beautiful – works of art – but not practical for the reasons cited above.
-snip

Dear RWK,

First, it's nice to see you're from Virginia, I went to Mary Washington College there in Fredericksburg for a few years before transferring up here to Beantown. Good people there. Wish there were more here. Anyway...

I appreciate the point that you are making and your concern about safety, but the thing about silver castings is that they can be as smooth or as rough as you want them to be. If I wanted deep checkering with "double diamonds" and a slim profile, or ribs, or any other currently popular grip stying, then I could have done that... and it would have been just like the original non-silver grips of wood, synthetic polymer, or polished bone, etc..., only made of silver.

I wanted smooth silver grips, so I made them smooth, just like a nice smooth pair of custom polished walnut grips on a dressed up .45. Now they won't actually be a "mirror", slippery like snot on a glass doornob, but even if I did decide on a high polish it would just dress it up a little. They would be no slicker (and no more practical) than a pair of polished ivory or mother of pearl grips, and, in my opinion (admittedly only about a grain of salt's worth) would pose no greater threat to shooting safety than any smooth grips, and both were available for the little Colt Junior, I just chose to make my own. I suppose I could ask When was the last time you had a piece of sterling silverware fly from your hands while it was being rinsed off? I have found it to have a bit of "tack" to it actually.

Please realize also that this gun is not something that I would be busting down doors with ala S.W.A.T. or bursting out of a lake gun blazing to defeat a boatload of drug runners and the like. This is not a tactical gun, this is not a first line of defense gun. It is sort of a backup to my backup, a collectible that I have chosen to dress up a little with a pair of grips that can be worn because I like them to look that way. I thank you for your opinion though and am glad to see the forum looks out for its members safety.

Beantown

[Standing Wolf]

I like the idea. I hope you'll show us some finished work.

[Sven]

Interested to see how this turns out!

[Archie]

As mentioned, there are (were?) a few companies who made various metal grips for handguns. Most all are for fancy dress up, but one or two are (were?) for IPSC type race guns. The weight of the metal grip soaks up a lot of recoil.

I think they were sell somewhat for 'fancy-go-to-meeting' grips, or for one's 'barbeque gun'. I would think that some degree of 'gussification' would be in order. Something on the order of scroll or floral engraving, or the owner's name either in script or signiture. Not unlike a grownup version of the cap gun grips of my long departed youth.

But we also have to factor in the cost of such ornamentation.

I've got a couple pistols for which I could use fancy grips. If I can afford the fancy grips.

[sm]

BeanTown-
I can appreciate the craftsmanship. :cool:
You going to use vacuum or centrifigal ?

Marko's,

Yes the "silver bullets" Do make fine gifts.
Using Silver "stock" and a lathe turn one down to match any bullet design, The Win STHP works well. Now in a case with a dead primer, Polish the brass case and gold plate. Rhodium flash the Silver bullet . [ nail polish to mask what one does not wish to plate]

If a "live silver bullet" is needed, pull the bullet, turn one in silver, Rhodium the bullet, and very very carefully re set the bullet to not scratch it after throwing the appropriate powder charge.

I dunno if they work on werewolves or not, the fellow with the .38 spl and .44spl loads - I made them for ,last I heard hadn't fired them. :)

The .22lr and .22 magnum rimfire works :p

There is a lady with one around her neck, for 30 yrs "she bit the bullet" putting up with her husband. [ joke for years of marriage] you will see my initals and "30 yrs" as the stamping on casehead.
Just overlook the fact it is a 9mm - okay? Yes that is a real genuine sapphire in the hollowpoint , bezel set :)

There is a duplicate wth a ruby , when they hit 40 yrs,[ casehead has my initials and 40 yrs] ... and at 50 years of putting up with him...ooops they did make it 50 years., that one is different, it is a ".44 mag,", 18k yellow gold case with a hollowpoint platinum bullet, rhodium flashed, with a diamond set in the hollowpoint , platinum neckchain ..:cool:

For the 50th

Made from scratch, using real cases, cartridges, bullets for design, details, spec's - match exactly...except for the casehead markings...I used 14kyg for the primer.

[GunnySkox]

Some day, when I've got money, I'm going to have to buy a 1911 that's chock-full of pimp-shine, and, as they say, "I gots to get me some of those" silver grips!

So much pimp-shine, so little time..

~Slam_Fire

[FSCJedi]

SM or Beantown,

What would a box of 50 live silver 9mm bullets run me (standard ball, not HP)? If you'd rather discuss this via email, feel free to drop me a line. I am and have been for some time very interested in acquiring some of these. I'd like to have whatever the 147 grain equivalent would be. The heaviest 9mm bullet I can find (you know, just in case I have to shoot a lycanthrope or vampire). Sealed primers would be AWESOME if doable. Boxer or Berdan doesn't matter to me seeing as how these are special bullets.

What about silver round balls for my .36 cal. cap&ball 1851 Navy revolver? My guess would be it'd need to be the .357 diameter instead of the .380 one.

Again, I am very interested in hearing from either or both of you on this matter. :D :cool:

[Werewolf]

Are you going to be treating the silver with any type of coating to keep it from turning black.

Many's the time I spent an afternoon polishing my mother's silver when I was a young lad. Not a fun thing to do and it seemed like no sooner would I get the stuff bright and shiny that it'd start turning black again post haste. Touching of the silver by human hands just seems to speed up the process.

Consequently there is no great love for silver by me.

Now gold on the other hand...

[RWK]

Sincere thanks for the education. I never understood that “rough” silver castings were possible, and I appreciate learning this. I really like Mary Washington, but the “University of Mary Washington” new-title just does not sound right to me.

Regards.

[Dr.Rob]

Very cool idea for a presentation firearm... or an old gun recently refinished.

I think an old six-gun would look slick with a Silver grip.

What do a set of those run?

[Marko Kloos]

I am and have been for some time very interested in acquiring some of these. I'd like to have whatever the 147 grain equivalent would be.

The problem with silver as a bullet material is is lesser density/weight versus lead/antimony. If you take a 147-grain lead bullet and reproduce it out of silver with a lathe, the resulting silver bullet will be a fair bit lighter. I have no clue how a silver bullet behaves in terminal ballistics, but I would think that your point of impact would be way off with the same gun/sight combo.

[BeanTown]

Very cool idea for a presentation firearm... or an old gun recently refinished. I think an old six-gun would look slick with a silver grip. What do a set of those run?

Well, it would depend on the type of grip (slim auto grip panel or single action thick grips, etc..) but the set that I'm working on right now would run around $150 if I were to sell them (I did make two sets :D ). If this was a set that I had to make a new pair of models and molds (one for each panel) for the grips, that would add another $75 to $100+ to the cost depending on size, etc... Any carved imagery or added frills would be determined into the cost by the extent of the design.

The cast silver grips that I am working on are rather substantial grips that are not thin skinned hollow panels fabricated out of sheet silver. They are solid grip panels with minimal material removed from the reverse side.

Real fancy stuff with gold plated highlights, etc. would start to bring the cost to a higher level of the $400+ range. Set the grips with diamonds and we're talking some serious money. :cool: (hmm. I have a nice parcel of 2mm black diamonds that might spice my next project grips up a bit...)

Beantown

[0007]

Could you do matching mirror panels(left side right side) - ~1/8" thick maybe - that could be inlaid into both side of a set of ebony grips for say a pair of engraved Ruger Vaquerros? :D

[BeanTown]

Yeah~ Pictures!~

Well, one picture anyway.

Here's a first pic of the right grip fitted on my Colt Junior.

It was the first one through the coarse and fine finishing cones, and has a nice shine from the burnisher, but still has a few spots that I am not happy with and will be going back over and buff out. A high shine could be put on with some hand polishing on a wheel, but I might just leave them at the level this one is at right now.

More pics soon when the other three grips are done. (this was the "point man" of the grips to see how well they would do going through our mass fininshing process)

- Beantown

About the inlay question, the inlays could be done with not much fuss. Inlays are usually not cast though, they are cut from sheet silver and formed to fit with the grip shape. The Inlaying of the inlays into ebony though I don't have any experience with.

[BeanTown]

That last picture was done on my scanner, and doesn't really catch the shine of the grip very well.

My only other option was a pic with my quickcam, so here is a shot showing the gleam a heck of a lot better.

Beantown

[BHPshooter]

That looks awesome.

I'd love to have some truly custom grips for my BHP someday...

A question, if I may: isn't making grips out of solid silver sort of cost prohibitive? About how much would something like that cost (just for the materials)?

Wes

[BeanTown]

Well, the rest of the grips are through the mass finishing, and only await final touchups and a hand posishing on the wheel.

Here is the first of two pictures of the left side.

Beantown

[TaranScorp]

Real Nice :)
If the original grips are checkered will the silver grips be sorta checkered also?
I would like to get a couple silver grips for the Browning Hi-Power.

So what are the odds?

[BeanTown]

Here is the second picture.

- Beantown

To address the "how much would the materials cost" question... I appreciate your admiration of the picture of my grips.

Thank you. :D

However, and I really really really mean no offense in answering this often asked but painful inquery, to be honest that type of question sort of insults my work. It is like asking an oilpainter how much the canvas and paint cost while walking through their art gallery, or a customer in a jewelry store rattling a finely crafted custom gold ring in their hand as if they could judge its worth by the cost of the metal's weight alone. If these sort of things didn't require the time, effort, training and talent to do them, as well as the cost of obtaining, running, and maintaining the equipment they are made with, then everyone would be doing it. That being said, silver is the least cost prohibitive of the fine metals, but the cost fluctuates daily with the precious metals market.

Just for perspective, there is a set of silver grips on ebay right now (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=39425&item=3690691024&rd=1) that weigh in at 3.5 ozs and are currently at a bid of $475. My grips that I have here are not carved like these, but are 6oz of silver per pair and I would probably be selling them for around $150. It all depends on what the market is, who is looking for what, and what an artisan decides their work is worth. When I am finished with these grips I myself will be putting one pair on ebay. It will be interesting to see what bidders value my work at.

I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers with any of this.

Tired... Hungry... must rest...

- Beantown again

[BeanTown]

TaranScorp-

I'll have to get a set of stock Browning HP grips to work on. I was thinking of either BHP grips, Colt 1911 grips, or CZ-75 grips to start off with, but I think since two people so far have shown interest, I'll work on some for the Browning.

As for the checkering, yes, if the originals were checkered and the silver grips were made from models of the originals, then yes they too would be checkered.

I'll let you know as things get going.

Beantown.

[TaranScorp]

I have a set of thin Micarta checkered grips coming in a week that I won on Ebay. If they would help you out let me know and I could send them to you. I have a pic of them if your interested in seeing what they look like.

[BeanTown]

TaranScorp:

Sure you can send me a picture of them. I'll email you off list.

Beantown

[BeanTown]

Just a general FYI if anybody following this thread is interested.

One set of the grips is now being listed on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3692712499

Beantown

[BeanTown]

Hey all:

Well, the first set of Colt Junior grips sold, and I had a number of people asking for more sets so I am putting the set originally intended for my own gun up on the auction block soon.

The grip models have all come in for the Browning High Power (standard and slim), Colt 1911, and Colt single action army (may be more difficult b/c of integral washer in grips... might have to use a tap and die set to get this one to work right.)

So... here is a nice crispy picture (sorry about the other fuzzy ones) of the grips. They came out really nice :-). The ones on the left are sold and are getting ready for shipping, the ones on the right I will attach a closer picture of to my next post..

Beantown

[BeanTown]

Attached is a new, fresh and crispy (no fuzzy pics or flat blah scans anymore!) picture of the next set of silver grips going up on the block...

:cool:

Beantown

[schromf]

E Bay is not very gun friendly, alot of "gun" people don't even bother looking there. Check out gunbroker.com you will get a wider firearms audience.

Your grips are pretty, next question is though are you going to offer dressed up, either with carvings, or checkering grips?

The right set of grips would look very good on a single action army. Kind of a Teddy Roosevelt look.

[BeanTown]

The four sets of grips that I am using for reference models all have checkering. The BHP have standard checkering, the 1911 has a custom pattern with large diamond areas (will look real nice in silver) and the Colt grips are checkered with a beveled base, a rearing colt pony and an eagle w/shield and "e-pluribus unum" banner.

Attached is a quick picture of them all together.

Beantown

[Michael Zeleny]

Can you cast a set of sterling wraparound grips for a SIG P210 from a factory pattern?

[rem]

Originally posted by Thefumegator
A question, if I may: isn't making grips out of solid silver sort of cost prohibitive? About how much would something like that cost (just for the materials)?

Wes


Well since you didn't get an answer here you go. Currently the price of silver is roughly $6.75 an ounce. He said he used 6 ounces for his .25 grips, so that would be $40.50 worth of silver.

[magsnubby]

BeanTown,
I like the way your mind works. "I wonder if..." and then you tried it. Those are some beautiful grips.

How about a pair of wood grips with silver inserts?

[fistful]

Sick, sick, sick.

I've always hated ivory and pearl. I've learned to hate aluminum, carbon fiber, rubber and plastic grips. And now...now I know true disgust. You must be stopped.

Only half kidding.:mad:

[VaughnT]

Silver inlays, maybe even a bit proud of the surface, would look wonderful on my BHP and 1991.

Great work, hoss. I'm thinking of designs.....