My foray into custom exotic wood 1911 grips

[SRT1]

One more set for today. These are done in Afzelia Burl. Beautiful wood. What else is new?

 

[JoeSlomo]

SWEET!

My fave is the marble wood.

 

[SRT1]

Marbelwood is indeed unique and beautiful. Hang around Joe, we've got more beauty to explore in here. Thanks for posting.
This set of grips is going out to a customer today with a couple of other sets. I just finished them last night. Check out the beauty of this crosscut spalted Maple! The colors, the pencil line spalting. Wow! Another case of nature doing all the hard work. These panels have been cut for a magwell. It is the first of two that I'll post today - the other one is another spalted wood that's even more "intense" for lack of better wording. It'll give you something to look forward to this afternoon.
Anyway, here's the first set in crosscut spalted Maple.

 

[SRT1]

As promised, here is the other set. These are done in one of my all time favorite woods - spalted Tamarind. Check out the fine line spalting, the colors, the crosscut graining. Wow, this wood is great! This set is going out to a customer, but the block will yield about 15 more sets of this calibre, so there's more fun to come. People sometimes ask me why I love working with wood so much.....
Enjoy!
SRT

 

[JoeSlomo]

That last set is MIGHTY fine!

You sir, are a craftsmen and a professional.

I respect and admire folks who take PRIDE in what they do and develop SKILL and knowledge in the pursuit of excellence in their chosen field.

SALUTE!

 

[SRT1]

Thank you Joe, but it's really the wood. Really. I have the easy part - make a few cuts and soak up the undeserved compliments.
Thank you though.
SRT

 

[SRT1]

Here are some pics of new grips on my CDPII
First is stippled purpleheart grips. This wood is naturally purple believe it or not. I'ts from Africa, and when you first cut (if fresh) it is brown, but with exposure to the suns UV rays, it turns Purple all on it's own. Hard and dense, it's a great wood for grips. Really unique! I stippled my own pattern on the panels. I think they look cool.

 

[SRT1]

Some Bubinga with Wenge grips.

 

[SRT1]

Here's a pic of some bubinga grips from the weekend. I stippled the center of each panel leaving about 1/2" all around smooth as glass. I'm trying to decide if I like them or not.

 

[SRT1]

Todays eye candy comes in two flavors, Afzelia Burl and Corrugata Burl. Both in Officers size. Both were finished last night in the shop.
The first one here is the Afzelia Burl from Southeast Asia. Great color, and beautiful graining.

 

[SRT1]

The next set is in Corrugata Burl which is from Australia. Aussies have some of the worlds most beautiful wood and this is just a taste. Very "rich" burl pattern here.

 

[SRT1]

Anyone here ever worked with pheasantwood before? I cut into my first block last night and can't wait to get some grips done in with them. Very unusual and beautiful! The colors all seem to melt into each other in a cloudlike effect. The wood is a little green so will require a couple days of drying before fabrication. Hopefully pics will be up after the weekend so you can see what I'm talking about.

 

[SRT1]

Got the pheasantwood grips in process. They're gonna be cool!
Here's some pics of grips finished last night. The first set is in Zebrawood which is African. I usually crosscut this wood, but wanted to see what grips would look like in grain cut. A pinstripe tuxedo for your .45.

 

[SRT1]

Next set is in Redwood Burl which is beautiful, but light and somewhat fragile for everyday wear and use. These will end up on a safe queen pistol.

 

[SRT1]

Last set is just the opposite of the redwood grips. While still stunningly beautiful, Marblewood is very hard, dense, and heavy and can put up with much abuse without showing it. These are crosscut and show off the great pattern flowing through the wood. If you dont' crosscut this wood, those chocolate colored areas are jsut brown streaks running through the wood.
I'm trading a friend this set and a set in Amboyna Burl to put on his Kimber Ultra Carry in stainless in exchange for him putting rear brakes on my Explorer. We all have different talents. Bartering is great and saves everyone some money!

 

[SRT1]

Here's a pic of the first thing I ever made with pheasantwood. Very interesting wood to play with. These grips are crosscut which gives the "soft" look while still showing the smaller, tight graining. I have a set that's not done yet in grain cut and it gives a much more "jagged" appearance that shimmers and changes as you get it in the light. Pretty cool. I'll post them up once they're done, but here's the crosscut for now.
Seems to take polyurethane alright (my preferred finish for smoothness, water resistance and over all toughness), but lacquer would be less hassle if you're working with this wood.

 

[SRT1]

Here's a set in highlly figured Makore wood. See those things that look like little dark spots in the pic? That's actually frost figure that dances in the light. Very cool and very tight figure in this wood. Soemtimes you find that one special board.......

 

[SRT1]

got a new block of ambrosia maple in the shop and here's what it looks like. Ambrosia Maple is a great wood which is just standard Maple until the little Ambrosia Beetle works its magic in the dead tree. As the beetle (from 1mm to 3mm in size) eats into and through the wood, it secretes saliva and other fluids which stain the wood in this unique way causing the colors and patterns that you see. Blues, reds, greys are all common in this wood, but the patterns are always unique. Great stuff!

 

[Murdoch]

Beautiful work...I've thought about trying my hand at this myself sometime, but I'm not by any means a great woodworker. Got to start somewhere though!

Ever do any J-frame grips?

 

[SRT1]

Murdoch,
You really should try it! It's fun and has the nice aspect of short term satisfaction to it as you see what you're working on take shape and the beauty of the wood coming out. It's addictive though, don't say I didn't warn you!
I haven't yet done revolver grips, but I am getting curious about the whole field of weapon grips, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I have a wall full of templates in the shop.
Thanks for the kind words, hope you enjoy the pics.
SRT

 

[the_fallguy]

I really enjoy checking out this thread every once in a while. You are producing some really beautiful grips there! Are you ever going to make any for pistols other than the 1911?

 

[SRT1]

Thanks Fallguy, glad people are enjoying the pics of the woods.
To answer your question - Yes, I plan on branching out into any and all handgun grips. I'v ejust been addicted to .45's to this point. Now that all my friends have .45 grips, I'm going to start borrowing their other grips and work my way through their collections. I'm always looking for new things to do.
Thanks for the kind words, and hope you keep enjoying the pics. We still have some other woods in the shop that aren't up yet.
SRT

 

[the_fallguy]

I look forward to your next several posts. You have grips on here made from woods I've never even heard of! I especially like how you've been cutting the blanks out of the same piece of wood so they mirror the same pattern on both sides of the pistol. That's ingenious.

For the record, there is a decent demand for P7 grips right now, and only one company that makes after market wood grips for them. I'm sure the P7 grips would be a lot more work to produce than the 1911's, but I would love to see you make some. I bet they would look simply amazing.

 

[SRT1]

Thanks fallguy! Sometimes you wonder if anyone is enjoying the pics or not. Glad to hear you like them. There are so many beautiful woods around the world that most people have no clue exist. Woods don't have to be from some foreign country to be "exotic" either, you can find an odd board in woods that we consider bland and normal like oak - a special board that exhibits very unusual characteristics for that wood. You just have to look for it, and most people don't want to bother.
Anyway, here are some woods that will be shown here throughout next week that are in the shop right now:
Curly Pradauk
Macassar Ebony
Moradillo
Black Limba
Jarrah
I'm sure there will be others, but those are on the drawing board to start this weekend. That Macassar Ebony is going to be a treat for the eyes as it's a very unusual block. The crosscutting shows a pattern that seems 3 separate offshoots grew out and left a striking pattern. I guess that'll give people something to look forward to.
Thanks again for the kind words, glad you enjoy it!
SRT

 

[MaterDei]

Those are beautiful. What do you think would look good on a Kimber Stainless? The Kimber stainless is matte, unlike the shiny Colt.

mind if I just call you csponge from now on?

csponge would be carbonsponge. You'll have to call him cssponge.