Colt 1970's Trooper Mk III grips what kind of wood?

[OilyPablo]

Does anyone know for Colt Trooper Mk III grips, what kind of wood Colt used in the 1970's?

I did a refinish job on a set of grips for my other Trooper Mk III that were frankly trashed. Most folks said I should just throw them away. I'm not sure what was on them (blood?), burned (?), at least two, maybe three attempts to refinish before I got them. I used a couple types of strippers and soaks, to get them mostly clear of old finish and still had to sand a little. Supposedly the gun had been in a fire, was rusted to heck, etc really bad. A mate of mine got all the good parts for the mechanicals (new Trooper Mk V barrel, new Mk III, etc).

Anyway after a couple days of stripping, and just a little careful sanding, I knew the wood to be walnut. It's odd, my older pristine Trooper Mk III, the grips don't look walnut.

 

[OilyPablo]

Searching the web seems to point to walnut only.

 

[Tusker10mm]

Troopers

I had a couple of these. Still have the stocks. They were taken off when new, guns were trader off but the original stocks remained. For all the world they seem to be Walnut. I don't have the screws though.

 

[BobWright]

So far as I know, Colt used walnut for all their handgun stocks.

Be aware that walnut varies from the deep purple/brown to the light orange/brown, depending on the vicinity where it is grown. Also whether the planks were "baked" to caramelize the sugar content. Walnut harvested from Mississippi is far different fro California walnut, for example.

Bob Wright

 

[blarby]

They are indeed, American Walnut.

 

[Jim K]

Bob is correct. But also note that the type and amount of stain can make a difference in appearance. Maybe if it's late Friday afternoon and the guy who stains the stocks want to get his quota done and go home....

Jim

 

[OilyPablo]

Thanks guys! In the sunlight the 1972 looks very light and orangish. Here they are on my cleaning bench, before I refinished darker newer revolver:

 

[OilyPablo]

No one commented on the ribbed barrel.