The following are just my thoughts and opinions. I've read through the "1905 with Ropers" thread several times and looked at the photos a number of times and have come to the conclusion that I just don't know if the stocks are Gagne's work. I would lean towards them not being Ropers but the inside surface and the in-letting of the stock circle have a Roper look to them, the shape and profile of the horn and the uncheckered area at the top of the grip have a Roper look also. The checkering looks wrong to my eye but again, hard to say. The lack of the jig marks is the usual conformation that most everyone looks for and these do not have them, knowing how many times I've made a new jig and experimented with different methods of holding the panel for checkering in the few years I've been doing it leads me to believe the Gagne somewhere along the line also did it another way. Because of this thought I think the jig marks alone prove nothing, other features need to also be present some of which I mentioned above. The single most important feature just might be the area behind the trigger guard. On Gagne's Ropers this area actually wraps around the trigger guard bow slightly, a fine bit of work that I do not think any other grip maker did. This feature would be impossible to add to an existing set of grips once they were finished, the jig marks however can be added to any finished grips in an effort to deceive those who might use that feature alone to make up their mind. The first photo show here is an original Roper panel on top of a panel I have underway, along with a tool I made in about five minutes with a nail and a bench grinder, another minutes work and there you have it.


The second photo shows the trigger guard area I mentioned and I tried to draw a line where the edge of the trigger guard bow would be.


This area is quite often broken away but enough is usually left that it's easy to see. I think this feature may be one of the better ones to use when trying to determine if a set of grips are "real Ropers" The set pictured in the 1905 thread do not appear to have this feature.

Hopefully some of the members that have a number of original Ropers or have at least examined them will chime in.
Again, just my thoughts in my usual ramble, not intending to step on any toes.

Keith

__________________
kbgrips.com

Good post Keith!
It is a great help to understand the nuances and craftsmanship details that help identify original manufacture. As any craftsman knows, often these tiny details are the true indicators of an individual's work. Since there is so little factual information to research, the ability to recognize a craftsman's "hand" if the only way to truly authenticate an artifact.

It is equally important to understand how details can be easily replicated by those wishing to deceive. (I'm going to make me up a "jig marks tool" in the morning) and even more gratifying to know that your respect for Roper leads you to take Gagne's achievements to another level rather than making identical copies or spurious examples.
The latest KB Roper style grips on my .357 Magnum:

Hi Keith,

After reading your post I took a look at the Ropers on my pre war Colt OMT.
They do have that trigger guard bow you mentioned. I took a couple of pictures that show the area around the trigger guard. I hope this helps.

Randy

There wont be an identity crisis with KB grips in the future.(Keith tells me that he hasn't signed all the grips he has made and, like myself has used a variety of different methods over the years. I sent a pair back to him that he inadvertently forgot to sign. )

Hello Keith
As always Excellent useful Roper stock discussion insight on your part, I really respect your comments. As you mentioned the Roper stocks do have this Unique Trigger guard lip feature. Sadly, The right panel of the -N-Sq, set I have shown was cracked but still there. I did repair it with some glue and kept the refinishing to Minimal on that area of the stock. They are currently on my 1935 Registered Magnum as shown and fit well and feel great. Someday I hope to send them your way for an expert repair of that trigger guard area as mine was just sub standard and worked at that time to keep the cracked piece with the stocks.. Here is a shot of the rear of those stock's showing that trigger guard area you spoke of, but this set lacks the Jig marks that my smaller K-Frame set has....I have also seen Roper stocks with a thin border line like this set has and other's without the thin border line on them. The Mystery continues...

Boy, aren't Keith Brown grips just gorgeous!

__________________
A Smith & Wesson beats 4 Aces