Rancid Loosehammer Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I am starting this post with hopes that this can turn into a one-stop source of information for anyone looking for a good grip maker. It is my hope that many of you will respond with postings to introduce your favorite grip maker, complete with contact information and pictures of their work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid Loosehammer Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 As the first response to this post, let me introduce you all to Chris Whisler, master grip maker and owner/operator of Chisel and Plane Workshop http://www.chiselandplaneworkshop.com/ Chris does absolutely outstanding work, and he will make grips from any suitable wood that you want to send him. I have a “thing” for quilted maple, and wanted a set of grips of quilted maple for my Uberti Cattleman. After looking over all of the available grip blanks that Chris had on his website, and not finding any that really tripped my trigger, I bought a maple board with nice quilting figure in it from Goby Walnut online. http://www.gobywalnut.com/ I used a marker to mark out the areas of the board that I wanted the grips to be made from, and sent the board and my gun along to Chris. Here are pictures of the results. https://picasaweb.google.com/101870376335211233166/ChiselAndPlane# Chris has put these grips up in the gallery on his website. There are several things about the grips in the pics which are not standard. (1) I asked Chris to apply a good thick coat of high-gloss poly … he normally uses a satin finish. (2) The Gunfighter contours at the tops of the grips are narrower than those on his standard Gunfighter grips, again at my request. (3) The bottoms of the grips are rounded, as you can see in the pic of the grips from the rear, again at my request. Chris will do anything you want done. When I first saw these grips for real, I was just awestruck … pictures just cannot do the quilted maple justice! They fit the gun perfectly, they fit my hand perfectly and the finish was flawless. Speaking of fitting your hand; Chris asks that you send along a tracing of your hand, and he sizes the grips from the tracing. The maple of these grips has been stained to bring out the quilting. Chris did samples of several different stains on maple and sent me pictures to choose from. Chris Whisler is just a real joy to work with! During the course of getting my grips made, we exchanged over 80 emails. Only about 25% of those was directly related to the grips. Chris is very knowledgeable about single actions in general, and we carried on discussions pertaining to action work, accuracy, concealed carry, and other rambling subjects. Anyway, if you like grips of fancy wood – quilted maple, zebra wood, iron wood, burl wood, you name it – and either have or can obtain a piece of wood that just lights your fire, I cannot recommend Chris Whisler strongly enough! He also offers grip blanks in several fancy woods for you to choose from on his website. Also, if you order a set of genuine Bob Munden Gunfighter grips from Bob Munden, this is where they are made. Now I know why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocWard Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Great idea. I am hoping to get some wooden grips on my Gauchos when money allows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooting Bull Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Outlaw Grips Klamath River Woodworks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Fill 'Em 67797 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Look for a fellow here on the Wire by the name of Executioner. He does fantastic work and is a real nice guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spittoon O Tool SASS #62053 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 This pard made me some really purty grips out of Elk horn for my Ruger Bisleys http://www.stag-grips.com/ Spittoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeweler jim Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Sometimes it's easiest to go close to home and I bring extreme prejudice for my friend Raj at Eagle Grips. He's done many sets in Sambar Stag for me and other members of our posse. Also does Elephant Ivory and has some rather nice pre ban stuff that already has some aging to it. This is above all the regular woods and exotics that he can do. http://www.eaglegrips.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-BAR #18287 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Patrick Grashorn does fine work, and gives good service to boot. http://grashornsgunworks.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid Loosehammer Posted December 5, 2011 Author Share Posted December 5, 2011 If any of you have smooth ivory or simulated ivory grips and are interested in having some Scrimshaw work done, Lynn Laird does exquisite work and her prices are very reasonable. The pics here are of the right grip panel of my Ruger original vaquero. I found a pen and ink picture of Indian feathers on the web that I liked, and sent the picture and grip panel to Lynn. She did this work for a very reasonable price. https://picasaweb.google.com/101870376335211233166/Scrimshaw# Here is a link to her website. http://www.lynnlairdscrimshaw.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mack Hacker, #60477 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Terry Fant is a local grip maker in Hamilton, Tx. This is an example of his work http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd29/remcclellen/DSC00215.jpg He will do most anything you want, but he has probably made more custom grips for Bond Deringers than the rest of the world combined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rancid Loosehammer Posted December 6, 2011 Author Share Posted December 6, 2011 Terry Fant is a local grip maker in Hamilton, Tx. This is an example of his work http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd29/remcclellen/DSC00215.jpg He will do most anything you want, but he has probably made more custom grips for Bond Deringers than the rest of the world combined. Hi Mack - Do you have contact information for Terry Fant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kansas City Jack #9243 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 Gripmaker in Missouri makes some great poly grips, both stag and ivory and he has a lot more on his web site. He is also a very nice guy and will take time to explain and work with you to make sure you have a good idea of how to fit your grips. In fact he use to send a practice grip with your order. Call gripmaker.com He also has a ad in CC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anvil Al #59168 Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I use Eagle grips because the worked for what I wanted. Which was GFer grips. Ane I could afford them. But if had my pick. It would be Outlaw Grips all the way. Philly Slim posted the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Grampa Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Mack I'd also like Terry Fant's contact info please.. Grumpy Terry Fant is a local grip maker in Hamilton, Tx. This is an example of his work http://i225.photobuc...en/DSC00215.jpg He will do most anything you want, but he has probably made more custom grips for Bond Deringers than the rest of the world combined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowCatcher Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 As the first response to this post, let me introduce you all to Chris Whisler, master grip maker and owner/operator of Chisel and Plane Workshop http://www.chiselandplaneworkshop.com/ Chris does absolutely outstanding work, and he will make grips from any suitable wood that you want to send him. I have a “thing” for quilted maple, and wanted a set of grips of quilted maple for my Uberti Cattleman. After looking over all of the available grip blanks that Chris had on his website, and not finding any that really tripped my trigger, I bought a maple board with nice quilting figure in it from Goby Walnut online. http://www.gobywalnut.com/ I used a marker to mark out the areas of the board that I wanted the grips to be made from, and sent the board and my gun along to Chris. Here are pictures of the results. https://picasaweb.google.com/101870376335211233166/ChiselAndPlane# There are several things about the grips in the pics which are not standard. (1) I asked Chris to apply a good thick coat of high-gloss poly … he normally uses a satin finish. (2) The Gunfighter contours at the tops of the grips are narrower than those on his standard Gunfighter grips, again at my request. (3) The bottoms of the grips are rounded, as you can see in the pic of the grips from the rear, again at my request. Chris will do anything you want done. When I first saw these grips for real, I was just awestruck … pictures just cannot do the quilted maple justice! They fit the gun perfectly, they fit my hand perfectly and the finish was flawless. Speaking of fitting your hand; Chris asks that you send along a tracing of your hand, and he sizes the grips from the tracing. The maple of these grips has been stained to bring out the quilting. Chris did samples of several different stains on maple and sent me pictures to choose from. Chris Whisler is just a real joy to work with! During the course of getting my grips made, we exchanged over 80 emails. Only about 25% of those was directly related to the grips. Chris is very knowledgeable about single actions in general, and we carried on discussions pertaining to action work, accuracy, concealed carry, and other rambling subjects. Anyway, if you like grips of fancy wood – quilted maple, zebra wood, iron wood, burl wood, you name it – and either have or can obtain a piece of wood that just lights your fire, I cannot recommend Chris Whisler strongly enough! He also offers grip blanks in several fancy woods for you to choose from on his website. Also, if you order a set of genuine Bob Munden Gunfighter grips from Bob Munden, this is where they are made. Now I know why! I emphatically agree +1 on this! Chris made grips for my Rugers, and a couple of pictures are up on his web site: My new grips! Another view: Right Hand Pistol He's a real gentleman to work with, and he in painstaking in the details. We worked on the measurements in detail, as I wanted a Colt like grip thickness and taper, with a Colt base bevel, fitted to my Ruger frames. His workmanship, and the quality of the wood he used, resulted in two bookended grip sets, custom fitted to my pistols, that are my greatest delight. If I'm getting another SAA or Ruger fitted - he's the guy I'll go to. Shadow Catcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustang Gregg Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 rzengraving.com does scrimshaw on grips and knivemaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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