The first finally came in the early ’80s - a talented stock maker for Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing, the producer of those beautifully crafted Sharps Model 1874 recreations, made some for me.
My one-piece-style grips have been made by a variety of craftsmen. My favorite wood is usually fancy walnut but rosewood is beautiful also.
Right now I have one-piece Colt SAA grips made of water buffalo horn, elephant ivory, bison thigh bone, stag antler, hard rubber and various types of wood. Even better I’ve never seen a glued set separate. However, to simplify matters grip makers today produce each side’s panel and then glue them together with a spacer. The Italian Colt replica grips I’ve examined are made the same way. In the early days of Colt revolvers, the grips were actually cut from a block of wood and inlet so the grip frame fit around it. At the end of the day, I’d ruined valuable vintage grips from a sample Colt by dropping them on concrete, and my block of wood looked like a chainsaw maniac had been turned loose on it. Therefore, I decided to try my hand at it. He was a lot friendlier but just didn’t want to mess with making one-piece style single action grips. On another trip, I tried a fellow in California. Like most things you can’t have, my desire for one-piece Colt SAA grips became a near-obsession. Now I’ve had over 2,000 published and still have never mentioned the company’s name! At the time I’d had a mere three articles published in firearms periodicals. When I explained why I walked through their door, the greeter said, “Sure, we made those for Skeeter but we won’t do it for you.” With the dash of cold water, I left. So, in the spring of 1973 I made a lengthy detour on my travels to visit the outfit. Skeeter mentioned the company in Idaho made his. The difference was Skeeter’s were beautiful. Of course I was aware of one-piece grips as they were on virtually every replica Colt revolver coming from Italy.
It showed an exquisite set of one-piece grips on a Colt SAA. One that has influenced me unto this day came out in the late ’60s or early ’70s. The Badger Oversize Finger Groove grips have a blind screw, which goes in from the one side where it is visible, and screws into the inside of the second panel, and therefore not visible from the other side.Like so many readers of my age I grew up on Skeeter Skelton’s great articles. Both the Altamont and Badger grips are secured by a screw that goes in through the side of the grips. Hogue grips generally have their own unique screw assembly mechanism that screws in from the bottom of the grips. SCREW MECHANISMS: We supply screws for all of our revolver grips.
For several guns we also carry the Hogue Rubber bantam grip, which is equivalent to a boot grip. We carry a large assortment of Hogue Finger Groove Rubber grips which are made from a molded rubber monogrip. It is often hard to tell the difference between the Bonded Ivory and real ivory grips unless you look at the underside of the grips. Bonded Ivory grips are also made from a plastic polymer and look like real aged ivory. Pearl grips are often available in white, pink and black pearl and are made from a plastic polymer to enhance durability. The Hogue Fancy Wood grips are generally either Pau Ferro or Goncalo Alves, which range from a medium to dark Walnut color. MATERIALS: For most of our revolvers, we carry simulated Pearl and Bonded Ivory grips, as well as Rosewood, Walnut and Silver/Black grips. STYLES OF GRIPS: 1) Classic Panels – slot into the grip frame 2) Boot grips – wrap around the grip frame with molding for two fingers below the pointer finger, and pinky hangs off the end of the grip and 3) Oversize Finger Groove grips – wrap around the grip frame with molding for all 3 fingers below the pointer finger, including the pinky. We have a variety of styles and colors available to fit your diverse needs. Our grips are all expertly crafted from high quality materials made here in the USA.