People are paying a very pretty penny for S&W grips now.

Try to find a pair of combat grips.

How come none of the grip vendors will buy some goncalo alves and make a run of original S&W target, magna and combat grips?

They would be sure to sell well, a lot of people love the look and shape of the original S&W grips.

Take a look at "fleebay", lots of nice S&W grips from Thailand

__________________
Jamie wants big boom

See the following thread and then look up Culina Grips: Kurac Grips! Post your pics

__________________
SWHF #448

Take a look here. Most of the S&W clones art at the bottom of each category, but you might find what you're looking for. Round butt, square butt, and conversions.

Altamont grips are very high quality, and well finished. They have two locator/indexing pins, that keep the grips halves in perfect alignment, with each other. They are reasonably priced as well.

Handgun Grips | Altamont Company

S&W style grips are some of the most copied out there... with a wide range of prices and fanciness.

Smith & Wesson Grips - Eagle Grips, Inc. - The World's Finest Handgun Grips

Smith and Wesson Grips (S&W) - Custom Pistol Grips and Kits - CollinsCraftGrips

Keith Brown Grips - Home

__________________
Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

I'm pretty sure Culina's combats are the same shape as the factory grips, and they're certainly nicer.

There was a reason people took the grips off and threw them in a junk drawer. The ergonomics of most stock original grips were not good. The first time I shot a M-28 6" with Magnas and full loads, it hurt so much I made a set of home made grips. I've never used a set of factory grips, that didn't need to be modified to be comfortable. ymmv

My husband (Kurac here on the forum) makes grips based on the Smith & Wesson grips in a wide selection of woods including Goncalo Alves. This wood is not nearly as available as it once was but we do get in some. Goncalo Alves starts off as a light wood and it slowly darkens over time. It has a pretty iridescence to it as well. Our website is www.culinagrips.com.
The first two sets below are in Goncalo Alves. The third is Cocobolo and the last is French Walnut.

[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]


[IMG][/IMG]

Thank you for posting. I'm unable to find any prices on your website?

I would love to see reproduction combat grips made out of synthetics like Rogers/Safariland grips, but then again those are pretty close themselves.

There are price ranges under "Grades and Finishes". You can also email me at culinagrips at gmail dot com for a price quote for anything specific and to answer any additional questions you might have.

If you go under "Grips for Sale" and click on the orange link it brings you to Photobucket to view in stock grips and sold grips if you want to get an idea of the looks of different woods. Each picture has information in the title and instock grips have a price. Some people have difficulty navigating Photobucket and it is definitely difficult to do on a phone. If you have problems navigating I am more than happy to email individual pictures.

Thank you,

Jennifer Culina

Thank you for responding. I may be in the market for a set soon. I'll give them another look.

Google Culina grips. I just bought a set of his n frame combats. The fit and feel like factory, but the wood quality and finish is quite a bit nicer. They are typically a discount to the going rate of old stock Smith combats.

Unsolicited testimonial - generally, you get what you pay for. I have Keith Brown and John Culina grips, and if you want the *last* set of grips you'll put on a gun, both are excellent choices...and their prices are not out of line for a set of combats. Put another way, you can buy originals, which are likely to be 50-year old (or older) wood. Durability can be an issue, less so for combats vs. the checkering and edges of targets or magnas.
Yes, there are replica grips from a number of makers, some of which are good, others not so much. Eagle, Altamont and Hogue are valid choices. Iff'n you're looking for shooter grips, there are other choices. I bought a set of S&W combat N frame grips at a nearby gun show, and after the seller knew I knew what the market was and the condition of the grips, we came to a good deal for both of us quickly. eBay? Maybe...but mystery wood from Thailand could be good, could be iffy. Probably an adventure.
IMO, Jennifer's email is a good starting place for a fine set of quality grips, and you can buy with confidence. Best of luck!

__________________
50 Years of DSOTM

Beautiful wood and beautiful work.

It's beyond my comprehension why anyone would buy foreign-made grips from Thailand or the Phillipines or anywhere in Asia when this level of quality is readily available right here in the good ol' USA.

All look nice, but French Walnut example is beautiful!!! Bob

Here is how Nice Kuracs look on Guns:

On my 19-4:



On my old 29-2 (I sold the gun, but kept the Grips):



On my 629-1:



Lots of folks out there make excellent grips, Kuracs are my personal favorites.

I shoot this model 28-2 a lot, and I keep the Kuracs on this gun. They are beautiful, but they are also useable.

Tom R is right. Our grips are meant to look nice but are also meant to be functional. They do vary from Smith & Wesson grips some and of course how much depends on which decade you are talking about. Our grips are meant to be comfortable. Most styles have a palm swell and hand fitting contours. Our grips will not be for everyone as tastes vary, but we do try to please our customers. Some grips can be modified with specs you give us as long as they fall within our specs as well.