Does anyone know what material is used for the medallions in the Thailand-made Pre-War stocks sold on Ebay? Are they solid metal or a polymer with foil plating? Are they glued in place or riveted?

Any help appreciated, I am trying to determine to what extent they mimic originals.

Some of the pictures I've seen appear to be glued in. Look at the back sides of the stocks in the pics. Don't know what they are made of. Bob

I don't know, but I never could warm up to them anyway because the casting detail is so washed out.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Are there other sources for newly manufactured Pre War Square-Butt K-frame stocks for less than $100?

Altamont sells what they call their 'Legacy' style, but it is only sold for Round Butt.

I purchased a replacement set of checkered wood grips for a Colt Police Positive Special , from the Thailand dealer on Ebay , the Colt medallions are .....plated plastic , or as you call it "polymer" and don't look too closely at them because the detail in the polymer medallions is poor.
I'm not complaining , the wood is nicely grained dark hard wood and the checkering and borders were well done . The price was only $39.95 so I got my monies worth . The mickey mouse medallions don't bother me for that price....I'm a happy camper !
I'm looking at the grips now ....the medallions have very little detail...just a rough looking "Rampant Colt" , no letters and silver in color , designed not to infringe on the real thing...but the polymer ones could easily be replaced with real metal Colt medallions . A hole is drilled through but the plastic medallions have a short stud that might be glued in .
Gary

The S&W medallions are plastic and glued in. Detail is "OK" . It's what you should expect for the $45 +/- price tag. If you want old school workmanship and materials for a classic revolver, Thailand is not the place to look.
( To be honest, I'm not sure anybody, anywhere makes them out of riveted metal any longer. They went the way of steel grills on our cars. )
That said, I have several pairs with /without medallions, and the fit and finish is otherwise very good IF you buy from the top sellers (which are identified here in several other threads.)

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Dave

I think the wood is likely teak, maybe stained, a very common wood used in Thai carvings. I has a reddish tint with dark streaking. I do not think the S&W Thai stocks are even very close to original S&W design. To me the diamond looks too large and the LPI in the checking looks different than the standards of the factory in the early 1900s.

Personally my opinion is, if you have a nice gun, to buy a pair of period correct stocks and have them redone. They will look great, be correct for the gun, and give years of service. If you have a shooter, neither will look right, so pick up a well used set from ebay to match the gun.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Keep in mind that there are several grip makers on EBay from Thailand. It ain't all the same guy.

This isn't a close up but it gives you an idea.



If you don't like the inserts you can either not buy them or replace them with some bought elsewhere.

tipoc

Just a random thought here; when I am holding my Thai smooth combat grips I can’t SEE the medallion (only one, right side) but they FEEL great in my hand. If I ever get to the point of noticing (and caring about) that rather minor detail, I’ll replace it, but until then...

Froggie

True, there are various Thai makers with widely varying quality. Have seen some online that have the grip escutcheon/medallion on only ONE side!

Have had varying luck with them, with my biggest complaint the escutcheons. Silver-ish plastic.
Did have someone tell me they look a little better with a black or gold Sharpie marker used to color them in a bit, wipe off excess.
Believe it or not, tried it, it does help.

One of those daggone 'get what you pay for' examples....

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

Here are mine I got off Ebay for $30 they weren't a perfect fit I had to do quite a bit of work to get them to fit on my N frame and the medallions are plastic, but for the price hard to complain.

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Randy

Merl67 you got some nice wood there. I hope they fit your hand as well as mine do. Like you say, “for the price hard to complain.” Mine are a very dark wood that looks like ebony and that was specifically what I ordered to go on my stainless guns.

Froggie

A couple of the Thai makers offer to sell the stocks with or without medallions. Which means that they can install the medallions,, one or two as you like.

The medallions themselves are sold on EBay and other places...

Lot of 2 Smith & Wesson S&W Original Grip Medallion & Washer NEW OLD STOCK! | eBay

Numrich occasionally has S&W medallions.

There are other options as well.

Tombstone Gun Grips: Medallions

SMITH WESSON SILVER Grip Medallions FACTORY OEM pistol revolver Gun PART ( RARE) - $19.77 | PicClick

tipoc

They fit my hand great I am thinking about changing the medallions out though.

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Randy

Some combats I got from Thailand look good on my M686.





And, these dress up my M63

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

Unfortunately the medallions are different sizes:

S&W = .375" (3/8")
Thais = .4375" (7/16")

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Jim
S&WCA #819