Custom 1911 gurus: who are the top names today?

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1KPerDay

1KPerDay

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I'm doing some research and wanted to ask the "in the know" 1911 community who their favorite full-custom smiths are today. I think I've got a reasonably good handle on the semi-custom hand-fitted Wilson/Nighthawk/Dan Wesson/Ed Brown market, but I don't know much about the truly high-end.

thanks for any info!
 
1KPerDay said:
I'm doing some research and wanted to ask the "in the know" 1911 community who their favorite full-custom smiths are today. I think I've got a reasonably good handle on the semi-custom hand-fitted Wilson/Nighthawk/Dan Wesson/Ed Brown market, but I don't know much about the truly high-end.

thanks for any info!
Click to expand...

Once you get to a certain level it is all about the aesthetic of the builder and how it meshes with your wants. This is not in any real order. The problem these days is getting on one of these smiths list. Most of their books are closed or they have a 2+ year waitlst.

Ted Yost
Stan Chen
Jason Burton
Don Williams
Chuck Rodgers
Lou Biodno BEC Customs
Karl Benning KBG Customs

The best 1911s I have were made by Ted Yost and Don Williams from Colt base guns.

Ted Yost

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Don Williams

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I'm very partial to the work of Stan Chen.

1. Making his own frames and slides gives him great control of the final product.
2. His texture work can be a matter of taste, I prefer it to checkering, but really makes the pistol stand out while still being understated
3. His magwell (non-SI) is outstanding without adding any length to the frame.
4. His thumb safety and beavertail grip safety are very nice, but I still prefer a rear sight from Ned Christensen
 
Chuck Rogers, Joe Chambers, John Harrison, depending on what you’re looking for.

Rogers builds exclusively for the defense minded, Chambers builds for accuracy but branched out into defense, and Harrison makes a solid, old school beautiful and reliable pistol.
 
Seems to me there is a point of diminishing returns. Anything above the top guns listed by the OP, what is the purpose.?
It's more of artwork and prestige, Sure I love top quality stuff but it's still just a gun
Dan Wesson is good enough for me.

But then I do not do Rolex watches either.:)
 
Rule3 said:
Seems to me there is a point of diminishing returns. Anything above the top guns listed by the OP, what is the purpose.?
It's more of artwork and prestige, Sure I love top quality stuff but it's still just a gun
Dan Wesson is good enough for me.

But then I do not do Rolex watches either.:)
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Certainly valid points. The "best of the best" in any format (cars, planes, boats, motorcycles, guns, watches, computers, whatever) may not be actually the practical best or even the most reliable in varied conditions. But creating functional mechanical art is more about the experience and the pride of ownership than pure economic pragmatism. Me, I'm mostly a honda accord/SIG P226 kinda guy. But if I had the dough... I'd have at least a couple custom 1911s from the dudes above.
 
Rule3 said:
Seems to me there is a point of diminishing returns. Anything above the top guns listed by the OP, what is the purpose.?
Click to expand...
1KPerDay said:
But creating functional mechanical art is more about the experience and the pride of ownership than pure economic pragmatism.
Click to expand...
You can't really argue with either of the above.

A custom 1911 really is a piece of functional mechanical art.

Rule3 said:
Dan Wesson is good enough for me.
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I don't think you even have to get to the OP's list to reach the point of diminishing returns. An upper tier Dan Wesson or a Springfield Armory Professional will do anything they will

Having said that, I have sold all my lessor 1911s and use a defense focused custom for IDPA competition or carry. It was built by an up and comer who studied with some top names...thought I'd get in on the ground floor...but who seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. I have another that is "in the que" with an "OG 1911 smith". I haven't completely given up on eventually owning a full house Chen eventually
 
I played that game with a Python waiting for some years on Jerry Moran's convenience.
When M. Ayoob said he had changed specialties from Pythons to Contenders, I gave up and sold the gun.

I didn't get my gun from another guy until I chanced to get his wife on the phone instead of him or a flunky.

No more. If I want a custom gun, I will haunt the sales sites and see if I can get by with somebody else's choices.
 
The joy of shooting a mid-tier 1911 for the years I would have been waiting for one of those high end 1911s made the decision for me. I admire, but lust not for one of those masterpieces.
 
Jim Watson said:
I played that game with a Python waiting for some years on Jerry Moran's convenience.
When M. Ayoob said he had changed specialties from Pythons to Contenders, I gave up and sold the gun.

I didn't get my gun from another guy until I chanced to get his wife on the phone instead of him or a flunky.

No more. If I want a custom gun, I will haunt the sales sites and see if I can get by with somebody else's choices.
Click to expand...

I wasn’t actually complaining. I want a Stan Chen 1911, and this is the only way I’ll ever be able to have one. There’s no opportunity cost to me in continuing to wait — the deposit amount is pretty trivial, and there’s no base gun involved.

Stan is a stand-up guy, and he recently refunded the deposit of someone who had been waiting a little longer than I have and who decided he didn’t want to go through with a build anymore. I don’t anticipate ever making that decision, but if I did, I have no doubt Stan would do the same for me.
 
tarosean said:
To have something no one else has?
Look at the machine work on this gun. How many hours do you suppose it took? Do you work for pennies per hour?? Why would you expect a professional to do so?
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I had Ned Christianson add those Conamyds to the front strap of my aluminum framed SIG 220...also opened up the magwell, rounded the trigger guard, and made a custom rear sight...back before his wait time got into 4+ years. I sent it in within a week of talking to the phone with him and it was back within a month...that included sending it out to have the frame refinished.

They work really well...much better than checkering
 
I was scolded on another board because I said the fixed sight on a Yost gun looked like a Heinie with the hangy down part cut off for a simpler installation. And that a Karl Beining gun still had the Heinie trademark after that alteration.
I was sternly informed that Karl has not been in the business as long and still has to resort to commodity parts while well established Ted hacks the same thing out of pig iron, which makes it better, somehow.
Reminds me of the guy who said he demanded hand checkering, that the gunsmith OWED him a case of tennis elbow. My local smith got over that real quick and built a fixture to mill front strap checkering.
 
The early Gold Cups right out of the box ,with a 70N serial are very accurate guns, if in good shape & not modified.
Every 1911 should have click adjustable sights & accuracy guarantee of 3" @ 50 yards, or better.

March auction- Screenshot_20220923-192932_Chrome.jpg
 
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Spats McGee said:
I ran a couple of searches on the names I saw (Stan Chen and Ted Yost) and what I saw was amazing.
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I've known Stan for a while...before the group Louder Than Words build the collaboration guns. I was introduced to him by Ned Christianson, who had done work for me, at a SHOT show. They were both thrilled when I introduced them to Bruce Gray...who they had idolized from when they started in the business.

Stan was just starting to seriously consider having his own frames and slides manufactured because he was tired of the time he had to spend correcting the flaws in Colts before he could start his modifications. It is that attention to detail that you pay for when you have a top tier smith build a custom 1911
 
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