Why Wood?

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Nushif

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This is a bit of an odd question, I think, but I think it is a legitimate one ...

Why did people start putting wood on handguns in the first place?

Lemme clarify this:
Early cannons needed to use wood, because a full iron gun was not mobile enough, and iron, bronze and brass was simply too scarce to make an entire gun out of.
We then moved on to flintlocks, which had wood on them for much the same reason, then on to cap and ball ... (I know, I know, I am truncating this, but bear with me)
But at which point did gun engineers, maker, smiths decide we had to have wood on these things?

For instance, let's take the first modern (almost) all metal handgun. I think it would be something along the lines of a revolver. That thing is made about 80%+ percent out of steel or something similar. It is also a radical departure from previous gun designs. So why keep this little piece of wood, when one could conceivably just make the same shape out of metal in the process. It's not like these older revolvers were what we consider "light" in the first place.
Then to amplify this we have the advent of the first semi-autos. Truly an actually revolutionary design. And for some reason ... instead of just enclosing the magazine or making the handle out of metal ... they use wood.
Why, for instance ... when the first semi-auto came out (the Borchart C93) did he make the handle out of this piece of wood? The thing looks heavy as all hell, and the miniscule amount of wood on the handle can't possibly make that much of a weight difference.
So why did wood become the industry standard for guns?
It's like the inventors of the airplane saying "Hey, we really love this whole like ... tarp thing on top of our cars, so let's use that ..." and then they make an F-16 tears later with a tarp instead of a solid canopy.

So, on an all steel gun, that theoretically doesn't even *need* the cutouts for where the mag goes ... why drill some holes in it and slap wood on it ... instead of just keeping it a solid metal piece?

What do you think?
 
Leave a gun with metal grips out in the sun for any appreciable amount of time.

Then do the same with a gun that has wood or polymer grips.

Pick up each of them and see which feels more comfortable.
 
So you think it's all heat?
I'd buy that, to be honest, although consider now a 1911. Heated up the front and back of the gun would still be hot.
 
Grab a piece of metal that's been oustside in subzero temps, and you will figure it out pretty quickly.............:evil:

IMO, it's a comfort thing, to most people wood just feels better than steel, esp. in weather extremes. My $.02.
 
Working with wood is an art form. Working with metal is an art form. All metal (or all polymer) guns are aesthically unappealing to many. Mixing wood with metal makes them more attractive which is a huge selling point.

Essentially, it's the reason why military weapons are very uniform and standard to the point of being, well not ugly, but lackluster. They didn't need to look nice, because they were going to soldiers in the field who wouldn't care what they looked like, as long as they worked.

Wood is also cheaper than steel, especially in the early days of gunpowder. More abundant and easier to work with.

For personal ownership, a lot of folks would rather have something they can admire the beauty of, rather than a mundane piece of steel and wood. Although, there is even beauty in the mundane, just ask any milsurp collector. A personal gun is a source of pride, the nicer it looks, the more you can oneup your buddies around the bar be que.
 
Interesting discussion here. I like it.

To throw another thought out there, then ...

So the current argument is both comfort (which with partial grips, I don't quite buy) and aesthetics ... which begs the question ... if not wood, how about glass, or some other material that's equally aesthetic?
Any thoughts on this?
 
Wood has long term durability even if not properly cared for. It can take an impact and suffer damage the likes of which would shatter glass. Also, remember Bakelite? Other materials have been used, and with success.

Other natural materials have been used as well, but are simply not cost effective to mass produce, such as Ivory and pearl.
 
I've seen all steel pistols going all the way back to flint and wheel locks. They look nice. I think people just like wood. An exotic hardwood can really dress up a gun without the overpowering (IMO) pretence of engraving and plating etc. I originally intended to put finger-grooved polymer grips on my latest 1911, but the wood that came with it was so pretty, I just couldn't bring myself to replace it.
 
Wood grips can be sized to fit an individual hand: an all steel pistol handle had better fit from the start.

Wood feels warmer than bare metal on a cold day.

Wood is easier to checker for a good grip than metal.

A nice piece of wood makes an eye pleasing contrast to blue steel.

Added:
... if not wood, how about ...
Click to expand...
Tommy L. Bish "Home Gunsmithing Digest" showed the making of a set of jade grips for a one-of-a-kind single shot .22 pistol.
 
Plus its easier to cut wood to a shape than to do the same with metal. This would have been useful with grips especially.
Click to expand...

This IMO. They started using wood before plastic was available. It fulfilled plastic's role as a being cheap, lightweight, easy to shape, easily tailored, easily customized and readily replaceable. Those wood grips add character and give you the option of sanding them down to fit your hand better or checkering them to your desire. Kind of like the first attempt at interchangeable backstraps and side panels.
 
Producibility, tooling cost, thermal characteristics, less vulnerability to corrosion, doesn't have to be oily, less wear and tear on the hand if checkered, easier to hold onto if not, not a "strategic" material...
 
Having made a set of walnut grips for one of my sixguns, and working with other grips, I find wood to be very appealing as a material, and durable as well.
Same goes for rifle stocks, up to and including those on my muzzleloaders.

One thing I learned and have passed on in print..and will do so here..is that if you hunt, take along a can of neutral shoe wax. In the event your wood rifle or shotgun stock gets a ding, give it a wipe with the shoe wax, which has carnuba in it. and that seals the scratch until a more permanent application may be used.

I finished an entire muzzleloader stock with that stuff once and it sheds water like a duck.

I also like stag handgun grips...and ivory polymer (the real stuff cracks and it is outrageously priced!) but I think wood is the popular choice for good reasons, many of them explained earlier in this thread.
 
Mr. Brown said,

"A nice piece of wood makes an eye pleasing contrast to blue steel".

It looks great on stainless also.




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I've seen ivory, mother-of -pearl, leather, bone, antler, horn,wood of every description, metal, fiberglass, lexan, plastic, and about every other substance that an individual could think of used on a gun. But the same thing applies to other things made during the same time frame. Furniture comes to mind. A lot of it come about with people wanting to personlize their possetions. Most people could work with wood, or had access to eomeone who could. Can't beat it for beauty, durability, comfort, workability, and availibility.
 
Mr. Brown said,

"A nice piece of wood makes an eye pleasing contrast to blue steel".

It looks great on stainless also.
Click to expand...

That's all being a little subjective. I for one think that looks awful. Plastics for me, please. Wood only belongs on... well. I'll think about that. Certain polymers are more durable than wood, but there are tradeoffs (like UV exposure which makes most polymers more brittle.)

Wood/plastic is easier to shape into grips than metal itself. It's also lighter than most metals used in frame construction, so a grip panel covering a hollow section of the frame is a weight saving measure.
 
It started in the early days of guns. Iron was expensive, Steel was scarce and VERY expensive. Harder to work and requiring expensive and scarce technology. Wood was everywhere, cheap and requiring nothing more than chisels and knives to work. Metal working needed forges, anvils, hammers (specialized hammers) tongs quenching baths and a lot of technique. It was hard to drill and it took centuries before the techniques of rifling were available.

Then there was TRADITION. We've always done it this way. Besides there is something warm and beautiful about a nice piece of wood.

Lastly why not?
 
Original Post; Why did people start putting wood on handguns in the first place?

NO PLASTIC ! LOL
 
To all the other good reasons for originally using wood grips I'll add that wood is a much better natural shock absorber than iron. Try shooting a .357 snubby with steel grips.:eek:

Tinpig
 
wood

finely machined blued steel and perfectly shaped and checkered wood.what else could be prettier?what a lot of people dont realize is that our forefathers looked at guns as works of art.they appreciated them and cared for them well. when something can save your life at any moment yu will tend to cherish it.wood on a gun has become a tradition.a american tradition. lots of people put wood on their guns but it seems only americans and the english put as much emphasis on it as we the true sportsman do.i dont have anything against black type rifles, i have some.
 
To all the other good reasons for originally using wood grips I'll add that wood is a much better natural shock absorber than iron. Try shooting a .357 snubby with steel grips.

Tinpig
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking. I remember years ago when I was an apprentice I had been using a wooden handled tinners hammer on the job. Some of the guys I worked with were using setting hammers that were basically solid piece of metal in the form aof a hammer head & a shaft with leather wrapped around it for a handle. I thought those hammers might be better so I bought one. A short time after this I was sent to the shop & had to spend the entire day knocking ductwork together with a hammer. When I left that day my arm was sore. It had never gotten sore like that when using the wooden handled hammer. It does make a difference.
 
That's all being a little subjective. I for one think that looks awful. Plastics for me, please. Wood only belongs on... well. I'll think about that. Certain polymers are more durable than wood, but there are tradeoffs (like UV exposure which makes most polymers more brittle.)

Wood/plastic is easier to shape into grips than metal itself. It's also lighter than most metals used in frame construction, so a grip panel covering a hollow section of the frame is a weight saving measure.
Click to expand...

:what: Have you never heard of gun karma? When you say something like that say "I was just kidding", in a very loud voice, three times. If you don't all of your guns could turn into Glocks while you're not looking. You could throw salt over your sholder too.

You don't want to start out on the ugly side.......who knows where it could end. :D
 
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