Custom 1911: Yost, Liebenberg or Other?

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Valera

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Good afternoon,

I have been a long time reader and this is my first post.

I'm interested in getting a custom 1911 made that I'll pass down to my future kids some day. I've been looking around for a while now and the name Richard Heinie is always at the top of the list, but, unfortunately, he is retired and I don't think there's a way to get on his list. I was pretty much settled on sitting down with Paul Liebenberg from Pistol Dynamics; when I talked with his staff, they were very courteous and informative. However, when I was talking to my friend yesterday, he made a call to Ted Yost from Heirloom and told me that he could start building for me relatively soon.

I find myself at a fork in the road again. Should I go with Liebenberg, Yost or even some other highly esteemed pistolsmith? I know there's no "best" when it comes this, but I want someone who is often seen above the rest.

Thanks for your time.
 
It all depends on what you want. Each high end builder will have their own take on the classic.

If it where my money I would look at a Ted Yost, Jason Burton and Bill Laughridge of C&S. I like the style of their work.

Really when you are paying one of these masters it is hard to go wrong. If I was looking for an heirloom I would look at the C&S's repo like the one below.

jpg2.jpg

If I was looking for a fighting pistol Ted Yost and the others at Heriloom precision would be solid choice.

1.jpg


1.jpg
 
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It sounds like you want something to look at rather than carry or shoot a lot. If that is the case, Jason Burton does beautiful work.
 
As much as I want a prize 1911, what fun would it be if I can't take it to the range to run a few drills? I want something of a balance between aesthetically pleasing (finish-wise) while still practical and resilient. Paul's Signature line looks like what I'd want. I guess I wasn't aware of Yost as a possibility before last week. Is he comparable with Paul?
 
I would say Yost is probably the premiere GunSmith today, and the best known. Not to say there not some Outstanding masters out there. Williams, Tussey, LaRocca, Warner, Garthwaite just to name a few.
 
Yost and Liebenberg both make awesome 1911s. Hard to go wrong with either choice. I suggest you spend some time looking at the guns on their website and going with the smith whose style appeals to you most.
 
You can't go wrong with either of those two, Yost is definately on par with Paul L., they're both elite smiths.
 
You may want to ask a member here with the handle of 'bac1023'.

He collects 1911's and owns examples of most the top gunsmiths, including the two you've asked about.
 
MY personal favorite top tier 1911 smiths are Bruce Gray, Ned Christiansen and Stan Chen...however it doesn't sound like you're in the mood top wait for them to get caught up on their backlog. They build very distinctive 1911s with their owe trademark features

You really owe it to yourself to take a look at a top 1911 site like Louder Than Words
 
I've had a 10mm gun built by Ted Yost and it was great. Not to disparage anybody else at Heirloom Precision (as far as I know I've never had anything to do with any of them), but if you want a 1911 to be, well, an heirloom I strongly suggest you specify that Ted Yost build it personally. If you have to wait longer then so be it.

Sort of related to that (but not really), as somebody who has bought a bunch of custom 1911s here's a word of warning: not all shops with a famous name on the front door have all their guns made by said famous name. In one case my full custom job was actually made by the shop FNG and not the name engraved on the frame. Once it started double-firing I decided not to have anything to do with them anymore. They're out of business anyway so there's no point in naming names now. Buyer beware, etc.

As a side note, for most people wanting a high-end 1911 the simplest and shortest path to satisfaction is honestly probably an Ed Brown. I've had some great experiences with various one-man shops, but it can also turn into a cosmic hassle even with what I'd consider "good guys." And most people don't have such esoteric needs that you can't call Brown and have them whip it up for you in 4-5 months...a long wait by normal standards, but 1/2-1/4th the wait of many one man shops. I'm not going to get into the semantic argument of what a "real custom" is but they're very nice guns by any standard.
 
Don't forget Jerry Keefer and Joe Chambers. They build some FANTASTIC pistols. Well worth checking out. Chambers customs have incredibly tight tolerances. These are very high end pistols, 3-6k.
 
A good starting point would be to go to http://www.louderthanwords.us/ and look into one of these highly skilled gentleman.

I can personally recommend John Harrison, as I own an example of his work.
Click to expand...

Yup a lot of heavy hitters are over there. IMHO when you get to a certain level it is all about personal preferences and finding the right guy who matches up with what you want.
 
I've been following a couple of the 1911 smith boards and have been repeatedly impressed by...

1. the craftmenship of the top smiths (amazing talent)
2. the character of the top smiths (some verry nice and helpful gentlemen)

be prepared to drop 3-1/2 bills
 
SSN Vet said:
I've been following a couple of the 1911 smith boards and have been repeatedly impressed by...

1. the craftmenship of the top smiths (amazing talent)
2. the character of the top smiths (some verry nice and helpful gentlemen)

be prepared to drop 3-1/2 bills
Click to expand...
.....And be prepared for a 2+ year wait on a full house build. Mine didn't take nearly that long (John actually turned it around very quickly, with most of the time being related to sending the gun out for bluing/anodizing and tritium bulbs), but then it wasn't a full house build either.

True heirloom quality guns, "peerless" builds if you will, take mucho dinero and mucho patience. But they are worth it.
 
Some other smiths that should be mentioned:

Clark Custom Guns
Rogers Precision
Severns Custom
Novak


Jason
 
I own several custom pistols that Ted worked for me, including a Delta Elite, and a BHP. I have a few more pistols that Ted did some miscellaneous work on for a buddy of mine who Ted was helping develop his gunsmithing skills. I've also handled several other pistols and a couple of rifles, and even a revolver or two that Ted built. All exceptional work. He's a heck of a nice guy, too.

As was mentioned above, check out louderthanwords.us. There are several top smiths who are on the board and who post frequently, including Ted Yost, Jason Burton, Steve Bailey, Ted Williams, Stan Chen, Chuck Rogers, John Harrison, Ned Christiansen and CT Brian. Plenty of other popular smiths check in there from time to time, including Chuck Warner, Chris James, Chad Kandros, Dave Berryhill, Richard Fletcher, Marianne Carniak, and others.

-Matt
 
Does anyone know how much is required for a deposit? I think I remember Pistol Dynamics saying they want 40% in order to purchase materials and the rest upon completion.
 
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