Griffon 1911 Observations

[1911Tuner]

Howdy all you kiddies out there in 1911 Land.

During Ken Grant's visit, I had the chance to do a teardown and inspection on his Griffon Commander clone...the first one that I've seen up close and personal. Never really paid'em much attention...until now.

As my feverish little fingers opened up the gun, the first thing that I noticed was that the upswept ducktail safety was machined steel.

The next thing that my wondering gaze fell upon was that the sear spring was that funky-colored Norinco thing...

By the time I'd gotten it all the way down, I was lookin' at an all-steel 1911
that is a dead ringer for a Norinco, inside and out...except for the ducktail.


The gun might be assembled in South Africa...or wherever it's bein' imported from...but it's bein' assembled with Norinco parts, right down to the springs. I'd bet a two-dollar bill to a rollin' hula-hoop on it...AND...
the innards aren't quite as rough around the edges as the Norincos.

Mayhaps we have discovered a way around the Clinton 'Rinco politics...
I intend to investigate this further. If everybody already knew about this, please be kind...Remember that I also ignored the Norincos until it was almost too late. Duh!

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

How funny... and I almost ordered one of these a while back too... haven't seen too many recently now though. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Trey]

What kind of frame do those come with? Cast or forged?

What is wrong with a machined steel grip safety?

 

[1911Tuner]

Wrong?

Howdy Trey,

The frames and slides are forgings or machined barstock. Yep...There's a difference. Not a thing wrong with a machined grip safety. Just the first
upswept ducktail that I've seen that actually IS machined. The aftermarket counterparts are castings or MIM. Impressive.

 

[wildehond]

local stuff

Well, our South African products are not always the prettiest but they tend to be quite solid. Everything around here has to be. Unfortunately our product are still seen as third world quality. Ask NASA about the new radio telescope that is being build here. It far exceeds their specs and the local engineers even bettered some of the supplied parts.

The Z88 is a licensed copy of the Beretta, and some people say it is just as good as the original or even better.

Sorry I just had to get that in.

wildehond

 

[TODD3465]

Hmmm.. sounds like something worth checking into.

 

[DMK]

How do the Griffins compare in cost to the Norincos?

 

[chevrofreak]

I've never been a 1911 fan, and I'm still not, but if the gun is around $300 I might have to add one to my collection just for the hell of it......

 

[1911Tuner]

Compare

Not sure DMK, but Ken's gun had an upswept safety, extended slidestop...which he replaced with a standard type...and a speed safety,
that were also machined. I believe that he told me he gave somethin' around the 350 dollar range for the gun. A Plain-Jane model would probably be about in the same category as the Norks...and they're supposedly available without the false comp cuts in the slides. His had those...which I didn't like...but others may be okay with'em.

He said that after he replaced the slidestop, the gun has run without a hitch.

 

[ken grant]

Griffon

The GRIFFON also had night sights[green front-dovetailed,red rear] also beveled mag. well.
CDNN had them at one time for $349.95.

Tuner! Just came in from our trip and clicked on here.Words can't describe how much we enjoyed our visit with you and Kelie. My wife is still talking about it. She said that she meant to take pictures of both of you as well as the dogs,but we got outside talking and she forgot.
Guys,Tuner sat at his kitchen table and tuned an extractor and finished off the butt end,blued and reassembled the pistol and then stripped the Griffon and at the same time carried on a 4-way conversion with the women and myself.
He also showed me how to do several things with a 1911
He is a great guy and has a very pretty wife and great looking dogs. Wish I could have spent several days chatting about things with him and not just about 1911's
THANKS
KEN

 

[craig]

tuner is a great guy. he helped me with my springer mil spec.

 

[carpettbaggerr]

Is the Griffon the one with those funky portholes in the slide? If the quality is as good as the Norinco, I might be able to overlook them.

Is there another torture test in the works, Tuner?

 

[1911Tuner]

Funky Portholes

That would be the one...It's my understandin' that they can be had without the pseudo compensator...but I could have been misinformed.

Torture test? Maybe...If I can come up with one that'll fit my budget or find somebody crazy enough to loan one to me for a trip through the wringer...