In other words the final polishing is done with the wood fitted so the end result is a perfect fit. One reason after-market grip makers might shy away from Colt SAAs is this - at the factory, grips are fitted before the final polishing of the grip frame.
With my history of wood butchery I prevailed on another stock maker to fit them for me. Another time the nice folks at Eagle Grips sent me a set of panels made of rosewood. The wood was fancy walnut salvaged from rifle stocks broken in shipment. 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. Like so many readers of my age I grew up on Skeeter Skelton’s great articles.
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