Finally, a picture of the completed grips!

[Dave]

Well, these were my very first. I think they turned out nice, and I like the style. It too bad, I held off so long getting a picture of these babies scanned cause I know the scanner would be such a low-grade picture-and trust me, these things look so much better in real life...the classy gloss black frame against the natural richness of the wood...the scanner just couldn't quite capture it. When I get a hold of a digital camera, I will definitely get more shots, from different perspectives, because looking at them straight on is actually not the best way to see them. I am planning on doing more. Right now I am experimenting with some spalted/curly maple. I also picked up some sort of exotic wood today that is by far the most incredible wood I have found...it almost looks as it its already finished with a coat of laquer, but its just raw wood, and its dense and heavy and very beautiful...although I am not quite sure what kind of wood it is..perhaps rosewood, I am not sure, but I am looking foward to making some grips out of it too:) Any constructive criticism or ideas/suggestions are most appreciated. Thanks!

-Dave

[Dude]

Very nice Dave!!! Are they as comfortable to hold as they nice to look at? Where did you learn to work with wood like that?

[deweasel697]

Wow those look great, nice job.

[PyRo]

Sweet :)

[shartley]

I like them, simple yet classy. I bet they would look great in mahogany. Good job.

[Dave]

They are extremely comfortable, and in my opinion, much more so than the DYE stickies that came with them. I personally prefer the single panel VS. the wraparound on the Intelliframe for two main reasons-

1. Less of the actual Intelliframe is covered up by grips which in my opinion is a very good thing because it exposes the beauty of the front of the intelliframe-the Iframe is a work of art. The smaller grips help balance out the grips/frame contrast

2. When I played at a big game(1st game) about a month ago, there were many time when I did not have my mag shouldered, I just had to hold it in my one hand. Also I did not have a foregrip at this point. After a certain time my hand started to get very tired from holding the gun up with only my pinky and ring finger-that is the way the wraparounds are designed for 2x frames. I actually found it much more comfortable to hold three fingers around the two groove in the grips rather than just hold it up by two fingers. Now that the whole front of the Iframe is exposed, I can comfortably fit three fingers in that area with only one finger in the trigger guard...and it is very pleasing to run with...I almost never hold the gun with 2 fingers anymore.

About woodworking...I worked with wood off and on from the time when I was a little kid...even with that, since these are my first, there are some irregularities between the two grips, but I think that will diminish as I make more grips and get in the groove:)

Thanks guys

-Dave

As for selling any, be watching for that in the near future...I need some more time and experiments with new designs and getting more consistent in the design. What can I say? I like the funky designs:)

[MikeCouves]

Niiiiiiiiice. I have been waiting on the pictures for a while and I must say I like it! Very good job I must say!!

[Dave]

here are grip set #2

They are a more modern design, and more radical to say the least. They have been fashioned out of spalted maple, which are the black lines that you see in the wood. It also has some nice figuring...not only is the wood pattern eye-catching, but the design is is more bold that the first ones, and I like to experiment with odd shapes and different designs so I am not doing the same thing all the time.

These particular grips were extremely hard to make, because the maple used was not of the hardest variety, and I had to be careful not to chip a corner off or something, or else the whole grip would be ruined...that again is something I learned along the way when making these. By the way, I do have some plain rock hard maple, it just doesn't have any figuring.

-Dave

[Dave]

sorry, forgot the actual picture! :D

[shartley]

I love those... again, darker would be more my style, but love the grain. How about bird's eye maple?

[i-luv-my-rt]

WOW!!!! Now you have to experiment with making them for an e-mag. Carve out the LCD screen area. Now that would be awesome.

Great Job!!!

[MajorDamage]

DUDE! Those look awesome! How much to make some for me for my Z-Grip!? I like the second ones better, but could you make some that are like black or red? Or like close to that? If not I may just take some of the second kind...SWEET!

ENDO!

[Mega Man]

nice. I agree with Shartley on this one, very nice yet i'd prefer a darker color perhaps a nice maple color.

[paintballer187]

i love those! they look sweet!:D

[pumpamatic]

since these are my first, there are some irregularities between the two grips, but I think that will diminish as I make more grips and get in the groove:)



Dude, any half experienced woodworker can tell you that it is almost impossible to make many symetrical designs perfect, but if you are good you can't tell unless you lay one over the other. Most the time, your final project doesn't allow it to be layed over each other.
So, um, how do you make them thin enough to be comfortable? And that brings up another point, what tools did you use to make them, and out of your own shop?
Another thing, I'm half done with a walnut night stand, and I asked my friend in the same cab/furn class to find how many mistakes he could find, I could find millions of flaws, he could only find a few. I have a theory, only the woodworker himself or maybe a master craftsman could spot his own mistakes. And remember, woodworking is all about hiding your own mistakes!!

[Dave]

yes, I know what you mean. There are subtle differences in them that probably nobody else would see. I have been working with wood a lont time, and it is true that nothing is ever perfect, but I want to try to get as close as I can. Thank you all for your nice comments...I am gonna do some experiments w/colors...


-Dave

[Magsrule3]

Those look great!Nice job!

[Dave]

I can make them as thick as 1 cm or as thin as 3 mm, it's all a preference...although I wouldn't recommend them only being 3 mm:)

I use a 12" planer, bandsaw, beltsander, vise, clamp, and various files and sandpaper.


-Dave

[Riot[Z-Grip]]

Is there anyway I can get on somekind of list with you or something that I can be one of the first to order these when you are ready to output to the public? And... is there anyway you could make these blue?

Both sets came out really good, but I prefer the new "radical" design. Nice Work!

-Pat

[sajohnston]

Coco bolo makes great grips too. I have a custom set for my .38 super and also had a friend who is a custom knife maker fabricated me a skinning knife with coco bolo handle panels. Very durable yet easy to work with.

[Russ]

Check this place out. They sell knifemaking supplies. They have a lot of different handle materials. I'm fond of the Dymondwood multi-color laminates.

http://www.kovalknives.com/