How much should I pay for this Kimber?

I'd probably give him $1000 worth of work. I don't know what kind of work you are doing, but that should be a darn good deal for you.

paperwork says Kimber Custom / Helton Custom

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What paperwork would that be? Did he buy the gun from Dave Helton, or did Dave do some work on it and there's a receipt for that work?

The gun looks like it has a bit more than 100 rds through it... but that's not a big deal. It may... and I say may, have some extensive work performed by Dave Helton. If it does, it might be worth considerably more than $1299.

primalmu's estimate of $1000 is fair, and I'd certainly seriously consider the gun as trade for labor... but you might want to do a bit more research to determine it's actual provenance.

I know that gun... can't tell you how, but I do.

It's been worked on by Dave Helton, but it's not a full Helton "package", which runs around $1300, not including the gun. It's a nice enough gun and Dave's work only adds to the value, but straight up, I'd offer around $900-$1000 in trade for it... and no more.

C

If you are looking to spend something in the range of $1k, I would buy a new 1911 from a manufacturer with known quality. Once you get accustomed to the pistol you can easily have it upgraded based on your specific needs. The handgun you are looking at has a bob tailed frame which may or may not be to your liking.

1 dollar Bob.

Seriously, there are a lot better choices in the market at that price range, lots and lots right now. Not only that, but for a little bit more you could even get a 1911 used from a known smith. Lots of bullseye guys retiring, selling their very accurate guns.

Friend might have only put a couple of boxes through it, but it's had more than a couple of boxes fired through it. Friend bought it on consignment, so there's no way to get an accurate round count. I probably wouldn't buy it @ $1000, but what I might do in your situation is entirely different. If the guy can't afford to pay you what your work is worth, but is willing to trade the pistol for your services, then YOU get to decide how much his pistol is worth.

The base gun appears to be just a standard Kimber Custom, which I'd pay about $650 in top condition. You need to decide how much the bob job and other custom work is worth to you.

Since I can't actually inspect the thing, I can't suggest whether or not the custom work brings the value up, or by how much. I can tell you that I wouldn't give one of my customers more than $500 in trade, though. I hate bobtails.

Yep, he bought it on consignment. Someone else did the work on it and later sold it.

MachIVshooter said:

The base gun appears to be just a standard Kimber Custom, which I'd pay about $650 in top condition. You need to decide how much the bob job and other custom work is worth to you.

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Yup, I agree. The gun itself is Kimber's base gun, their bottom-of-the-line, no-frills "custom". It's not a bad gun. But they sell for $600-$700 depending on the state it sells in and the condition.

I hate bobtails, too. I wouldn't want it for myself at any price.


I'd say that around $900-$1,000 in your labor in trade is fair.

Thing about custom work on guns is they just don't get back what the original buyer puts into them. The more custom work that's put into it, the less appealing it is to a wider audience. You can always find someone who would have wanted that for himself, but the more custom features the less that particular combination might fit the potential buyer.

Like in my case, I won't own any bob-tailed 1911. Even if it had other custom work I'd have wanted done on a gun.

It's not that I hate bobtails, but I wouldn't want one on a full-size gun.

If it didn't have the name of a reputable smith on it, I wouldn't buy it at all. To me it's about like a guy who is trying to sell a car with a bunch of add-ons that he installed himself. HE THINKS; "It's worth more because I put more stuff on it." I THINK; "It's been messed with."

I concur with the $900-ish range. But if he tried to take it into a pawn shop, he would probably get $5-600 for it.

800.00 would be fare to him. It is a used gun now.

I have no idea on round count, but it certainly hasn't been beat up.

I'd value it as 1000.

Rockfish, you share the home town of one of the world's finest 1911/2011 Pistolsmiths, Chuck Warner. If he's half as nice a guy in person as he is online you might could get him to take a peek at what you've got or at least have him field a few questions.

I view this as a golden opportunity to have a decent 1911 finished off with a bit of frame straightening, a high cut on the front strap and perhaps some checkering. Mr. Warner ran a special around this time last year and had added a very unique treatment, something like fishnet. http://www.warnerpistols.com/

Well We have agreed to a trade value of $750.00 towards my work.

Thanks for the reminder, Actually I know Chuck, he was out of town this week but I managed to reach him yesterday and we are meeting tomorrow. Ill have him go through the pistol thoroughly.

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Now I envy you on both counts! I think you came out ahead and both parties got a fair deal.