I posted this on a 1911 forum, but thought CGNers might get a kick out of em, too...
Fellow Gun Nutz -
Here are a couple of interesting pairs of grips that I acquired around 30 years ago. First, a brief preamble to explain their supposed origin:
Back in the early '80's, a gunshop nearby (Lever Arms, in Vancouver) acquired a couple of crates of 1911A1's, supposedly recently released from behind the "iron curtain" in eastern Europe. The proof of this is, of course, not available, although I was there when the rusty nails were pulled to open the first crate. The guns inside were, for the most part, heavily coated in cosmoline & wrapped in wax paper, but many were nonetheless in poor shape, missing lots of parts, or too corroded to be brought back to life. The best of them, at least as perspective shooters, had been heavily buffed (no original markings left & new serial numbers stamped in) & nickel plated. I bought several, intent on building at least one good shooter out of the parts of the 4 that I bought.
Interestingly, each had different grips, some of which I thought were interesting, but not my style. Somewhere, I have more, with red & white checkers, for instance, that appear to have been made of a bakelite-type material, although 4-5 house moves later, these are hiding on me.
Now, however (30+ years later), dragging some of them out again, I find myself interested in the grips all over again.
The first pair are crudely cast metal, quite heavy, and appear to be possibly Mayan in design. I still don't know what they're made of - the magnetic, thermal transference, and specific gravity tests I did seems to eliminate silver, brass, tin, pewter, steel, tungsten, and a host of other common metals. They appear as though they're gold-plated silver, but I don't believe that's the case. They do fit a 1911 well, though. How such a pair of grips could possibly have found their way to eastern Europe during WWII is a mystery, indeed.
[/IMG]
I had initially written off the next pair as cheap plastic. I have since done considerable research and testing, and determined that they are genuine tortoise shell. As trade in this material has been effectively banned since 1947, it seems likely that these are likely exceptionally rare. Held up to the light, they are quite beautiful - the growth rings become visible, and the scaled pattern from the shell itself is clearly visible on the back of each piece. What annoys me is that I have at least one other pair of these...which are in hiding with others that I haven't yet located.
[/IMG]
Anyway, I thought the collectors of weird & wonderful grips among you might have some comments or observations...
Fellow Gun Nutz -
Here are a couple of interesting pairs of grips that I acquired around 30 years ago. First, a brief preamble to explain their supposed origin:
Back in the early '80's, a gunshop nearby (Lever Arms, in Vancouver) acquired a couple of crates of 1911A1's, supposedly recently released from behind the "iron curtain" in eastern Europe. The proof of this is, of course, not available, although I was there when the rusty nails were pulled to open the first crate. The guns inside were, for the most part, heavily coated in cosmoline & wrapped in wax paper, but many were nonetheless in poor shape, missing lots of parts, or too corroded to be brought back to life. The best of them, at least as perspective shooters, had been heavily buffed (no original markings left & new serial numbers stamped in) & nickel plated. I bought several, intent on building at least one good shooter out of the parts of the 4 that I bought.
Interestingly, each had different grips, some of which I thought were interesting, but not my style. Somewhere, I have more, with red & white checkers, for instance, that appear to have been made of a bakelite-type material, although 4-5 house moves later, these are hiding on me.
Now, however (30+ years later), dragging some of them out again, I find myself interested in the grips all over again.
The first pair are crudely cast metal, quite heavy, and appear to be possibly Mayan in design. I still don't know what they're made of - the magnetic, thermal transference, and specific gravity tests I did seems to eliminate silver, brass, tin, pewter, steel, tungsten, and a host of other common metals. They appear as though they're gold-plated silver, but I don't believe that's the case. They do fit a 1911 well, though. How such a pair of grips could possibly have found their way to eastern Europe during WWII is a mystery, indeed.
I had initially written off the next pair as cheap plastic. I have since done considerable research and testing, and determined that they are genuine tortoise shell. As trade in this material has been effectively banned since 1947, it seems likely that these are likely exceptionally rare. Held up to the light, they are quite beautiful - the growth rings become visible, and the scaled pattern from the shell itself is clearly visible on the back of each piece. What annoys me is that I have at least one other pair of these...which are in hiding with others that I haven't yet located.
Anyway, I thought the collectors of weird & wonderful grips among you might have some comments or observations...
