Any of you fellas use replacement grips made of corian? Are there any disadvantages? Any opinions on Collins Craft grips?

I made a set for an old model Ruger BH, and they work very well.

I bought a pair of Corian grips in simulated ivory tone over eBay. I got what I paid for. The fit is terrible and the beveling on the edges looks like a crummy high school shop class project. However, the Corian itself feels very good in the hand and is very tough. I thought maybe with a razor knife I could true up some and no way. So I would say it is a very tough and durable material for grips. No idea how solvent friendly it is though. Being that it goes into counter tops and sinks I would think it’s solvent tough but sinks don’t see gun cleaners. If I ever see the same style of 1911 grips but this time with double diamonds cut into them I might try them again if the price isn't sky high.

I hope my wife doesn't see this.

I have no experience with corian grips, but I do have experience with Don Collins and the grips he makes. One of the best makers out there and a true gentleman to boot. You could do a lot worse than a set of his grips. I'd say they're on a par with Spiegels.

I really like the looks of the white corian round butt to square butt conversion grips for N-frame, that Collins makes. I plan on putting them on my 629-4 Mountain Gun. These are the only conversion grips I've seen that leave the front and back of the grip frame exposed similar to magnas but with a more streamlined look.

I've worked a lot with corian. Made some grips for a single six, and several custom counter tops. It's some rugged stuff that should make great grips. It can chip if dropped, but it's more dense and tough than the typical Ajax polymer grip material, at least in my experience.

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Hastings

Here's a poor photo of Some of Don Collins' Corian grips on my model 22. Don is a premier grip maker. Corian is dense, and subsequently much heavier than wood.

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Tom

Tom M.

That's beautiful. I'm going to have to get a pair like that for my 22-4. Any chance of seeing some more pics of that revolver?

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Hastings

Here's a pair of Don Collins' white Corian grips on my 29-2:



I had Don contour them to match the old "coke bottle" grips made by Smith in the 1950's, here's a pic of the contouring with the grips on my 27 no dash:



They also look great on stainless, here on my 624:



Corian is different from micarta: to me, it is "colder," in that it doesn't warm to your hands like linen micarta does. That said, Corian does not stain or discolor like linen micarta can, and it is impervious to solvents. It is also highly scratch resistant. Corian is an excellent grip material, and Don Collins is an excellent craftsman. You will not be disappointed with Corian grips from Don.

Too bad they don't make a Corian color in aged ivory, but the white does look nice

I have a corian 1911A1 grip made by a guy up in PA about 10-12 years ago. Great fit and looks great.
The color is not white but more like cream color.
Instead of keeping the material shiny he did something to it to look slightly matte. It looks much more like genuine ivory than white, shiny corian grips you normally see.

Gentlemen,

Many thanks for your input. Beautiful stuff. I'm currently working with a 25-9 (45 Colt) that I picked up used a few years ago. The gun is tight and has cleaned up really well. It doesn't look like it has been fired much at all. Terrific cylinder and bore dimensions. It came with those dreadful Pachmayr grips. The gun looks like a keeper but the rubber handle has gotta go!

Corian makes a color called 'cameo white' that might be the aged look you want. Those grips on the first few revolvers look to be 'glacier white' Corian.

I find them to be slick, heavy and cold to the touch in the winter. I also find them to be pretty to the sight.

Any specifics on where I can get some corian, I'd like to try it.

Dick

I bought a set of Corian grips for my Model 22-4 from Don. I sent them back as I thought the feel of the material was really cold and.....well....creepy. The grips also seemed REALLY heavy for a pair of magna style stocks. The pair I received had an unpleasant flat contour as well.

I returned them for a refund. Don is great to deal with and he processed my refund promptly.

I'd certainly purchase from him again, just not Corian.

I have a bunch of it, but only suited for '45' style grips. Not thick enough for anything else. Years ago when it first came out we used a 'diamond ', blade to cut it. I think a carbide blade might do the job- maybe.

Regarding the thickness of the Corian sheets, you can double up the thickness and using their "glue" make a relatively invisible bond between the two sheets. Corian is not that tough to "whittle" into whatever shape you need.

Mark

Here is a set:

I have made a couple of grip sets for my model 40-1 of Corian and find its workability about the same as hardwood. The smaller grips were my first attempt and they are nice but I see where I could have improved on the fit. The second pair is a duplicate of the factory wood stocks and I took more time and fitted them better. I love the looks of the Corian on Nickel guns and after seeing some pictures of them on your blue guns...they look pretty nice on those also.
I purchased all the raw materials from Ebay. Bob

That's some nice work, sir!

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

Excellent work MAG-NUM.

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Centennial Every Day

So how much are you charging?

AND, y'all who wish to try to "whittle" fabricate Corian into grips, you can get plenty of scrap from countertop fabricators. Nice pieces come from sink cutouts and the color variations are outta site.
Corian is a solid surface material which basically says it is through and through solid material with NO air pockets/voids or color variations.

Mark

Don also makes grips in black Corian.

MAG-NUM, that is a dam purty revolver, great job sir!

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45.acp-why shoot twice.

Corian is too brittle. I was installing a pair on an N frame and was tapping on to the grip frame only to have it shatter like glass. I didn't have lot in them (gun show purchase), and don't know who made them. But I was not impressed with the material.

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Vintage S&W DA Revolver Fan.

Perhaps that should have been a warning....Probably some lesser material that looks similar. I've been abusing Corian products (including counter tops and stuff make from scraps thereof) for some time, and have never done more that make some small chips and scratches.

(Yah, I know it's an older thread, but why start another if this one's still useful? And 'twern't me that brought it back.)

I have to agree- Corian is tough stuff. If you had something that shattered, it wasn't Corian, or you were working is sub-zero temperatures.

There's a reason it is so widely used for kitchen counter tops and sinks. A material prone to shattering wouldn't last very long in a hard use kitchen.

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ