What are these made of? I would think gutta percha, but gutta percha seems to hold up a whole lot better on revolvers that have seen hard use, such as the Colt Single Action Army revolver. Not with regards to wear, but with regards to the degree of brittleness. Why is this so, as my observations suggest a great many of these with otherwise satisfactory grips are missing slivers or larger sized pieces from their stocks.

This is why I prefer the Third Model Perfected as the walnut stocks are not prone to this.

Factory letters by Roy Jinks will read: hard black rubber.

They were not gutta percha, but hard rubber.

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Don Mundell

Okay thanks. Any ideas why these tend to be more brittle than comparable period hard rubber stocks, such as those found on a New Model No 3?

There are many factors. The main cause is exposure to the elements, such as sunlight. I've seen NM #3 stocks that were exposed to sunlight where one stock turned brown and brittle. The other stock was still black.

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Don Mundell

As an aside for those not too too persnickety, Hugh May ([email protected]) has reproductions of such quality as to have ended my search for suitable SS grips----which is to say I got a pair from him so as to render one of my 2nd Models presentable while I came up with the real thing-----------------and I haven't bothered looking for the real thing ever since they arrived.

Ralph Tremaine