I currently have combat Pachmyers on my 6" S&W 617 and was thinking about a good size pair of wood grips for it. I was surffing Ebay and found many from Thailand. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with these sellers. They have good feedback and the prices are right. My 617 has a round butt and most of these grips seem to be made for a square butt but the seller says they can be used on either. Can this be true?

Go to the Altamont site

Altamont Company

Better grips, made in America for about the same money.
Technically you can use some SB grips on a RB frame but the back of the grips don't match & in my opinion it doesn't look good. Altamont has a great selection in both RB and SB styles.
Give them a try.

Navarre

Just checked them out and Alamont it is. Thanks!

I bought a couple of sets of grips off of EBay from Thailand and they were beautiful and one set required a little hand fitting but look great with about 5 minutes worth of effort. So of them have the prettiest grain we can't get here and they are often reasonably prices.

Here's a set on a Model 36

Altamont, made in the USA!

I've purchased about a dozen pair of the Thai grips and all of them (except maybe two or three sets) have fit very good and are very nice looking. I did have one pair that had bad hardware.

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Centennial Every Day

From one of the Thai grip guys. Great to deal with, my grips have always fit. He has a great selection of wood as well.

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Dave

Is there a company that makes or import these Thai grips?

I have only seen them on E-bay. I almost bought a couple of pairs of grips from them. The only thing that stopped me was the long ship times and they are completely up front about this.

I bought a pair of Asian grips from ebay last year. The wood very pretty and the checkering very sharp.

However, the two halves weren't cut to the same depth and there was a little wrapping as the wood dried out (I live in a dry climate area). I've been able to sand out the wrap, but there still a lot of work to do with a gouge or router before the grips will fit properly. So my thought is live and learn -- not buying another set from overseas.

Vern

What a combo, all I can say is WOW!

I guess you would have to wear a tuxedo to compliment that set up.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

I have Hogues , Altamonts , Ace, Badger , and also a pair of Thailand grips where the wood matches great . I look at it this way what ever looks good and trips your trigger go for it .

Here are a couple pair of Thai Rosewood stocks from the ebay seller. Both sets fit the (square butt) frames very snugly but required just a few minutes work with a couple of grades of sandpaper to even up the areas where the seams met at the front, bottom, or both. I finished up with some Howard's Feed-N-Wax and they look like custom $100 stocks. I'm very pleased with their feel and quality. They remind me of Herrett's Jordan Troopers with a more rounded bottom

On a Python

I have ordered a few set off of ebay and have been completely satisfied with them. The J frame grips fit my hands better than the Altamont offerings.

Here is a web site you can order direct from. Grand Blue Grips I delt with them once, good service. The only problem is you don't get the grips that are pictured like you do on eBay.

Some examples:









Beautiful, functional grips IMO. I won't hesitate to buy more.

My last trip to Thailand I obtained several sets of grips for both myself and friends. They were all beautifully grained and truly excellent quality. The Thais are wonderful at woodworking and their attention to detail is first rate. I would highly recommend these grips to anyone.

Your Altamont stocks ate your hammer too? I really like my model 637 with the bobbed hammer and the Altamont stocks makes it that much better.

Actually, S&W ate the hammer, that was factory bobbed. Grips are from Thailand.

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Dave

I bought a set. Fit was good, finish was good, grain was excellent. Checkering not so good. Examine the pics in fine detail.

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NRA Benefactor

If I am going to spend 45 bucks on those Thai grips on Ebay, I would rather double it and get some super top notch Badger grips made in the USA by a good guy or buy some Altamont grips for the same price.Thats the problem with our country, send our money to other countries and keep some guy in Thiland rich.
Eric

I bought mine because they are made from some sort of rosewood. You buy anything rosewood here and they are plywood stained rosewood.

I bought some grips from a company with "Blue" in the name and they were pure junk. Never again.

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

Though my grip desires run to Keith Brown and Nill,if I wanted a nice set at a very reasonable cost,it would be Kurac(I often find his ad,just a little too late!) or Ahrends,not Altamont.

I have seen the Thai ads on ebay too. Then I scroll down and look to the left and Checked the box that said US ONLY!!!!!!

I bought 2 sets of the Thai grips. Cosmeticaly, they are quite nice but fit is quite another matter.
Inletting was shallow and inconsistent and the hardware/screw non-standard in size and of VERY soft material and stripped very quickly.
They were good about sending replacements but, all in all, it's simply not worth the effort.
While I did not have them installed on any gun for an extended period, the quality of the materials would cause me to question their long-term durability.
Ther are better choices available.

The thing about the Thai grips is... Nobody in the US makes the styles that the Thai grips come in.

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Centennial Every Day

To me, it's the opposite- they all look like copies of someone else's grips.

For example, in this thread (top down):

fyimo's looks like a wood version of an Uncle Mike's grip. 45Wheelgun's, the same.

Walter Rego's look like Jordan Troopers (as he states) or the newer Miculek grip.

saemetric's is an obvious Colt factory copy.

pennlineman's square butts look like Hogues.

Maximumbob54's looks like a wood Hogue Bantam.

I'm not knocking them, just pointing out I see it's pretty obvious most of these are copies of designs already out there.

heres mine

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THERES NO PLACE LIKE 1ST PLACE

Stuch, that is one of the more unique pistol posings I've seen. Very interesting. Nice looking revolver, too.

dinning room table and decorative rocks i had laying around thankx.

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THERES NO PLACE LIKE 1ST PLACE

The thing about real rosewood is that it's quite rare and valuable and often is quite white in appearance. Most grips you see that claim to be rosewood actually come from one of about 100 species that resemble rosewood. Meaning they are figured and are redish in color. So I gather in the grip world the word rosewood denotes mostly color as opposed to species.

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NRA Benefactor

I bought a couple of sets of grips off of EBay from Thailand and they were beautiful

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Scott from Canton Ohio

I also bought a few pairs.I really like the K frame round butt grips they make.They fit my big hands well.

I just won a set of N Frame Combat style grips on ebay for my 28 no dash. We shall see, but a long wait for them to arrive! Bob

I purchased a set a couple yrs ago for my M60, 3". The fit could be a bit better, but for the price, no problamo..

Attached Images

M60.jpg (78.1 KB, 124 views)

Got a set of Target with finger groves for my Mod 58...newly made 58 with the IL...They fit and Look awesome....$$ was right...If any american grip makers made one like it i would have gone that route

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Winchester~Smith & Wesson~<3

I have an L Frame that I'm considering dressing up with these Thailand grips. Any issues using an HKS speedloader with these grips?

For $66.00 you can get a set of Ahrends stocks delivered. You even get to choose from several different types of wood.

plus rosewood is not rare like someone else stated...there are "rarer" more endangered species of trees deemed rosewood, but overall, the general rosewood term comes from a variety of trees. Its very common. and is also known as cocobola, tulipwood, and kingwood (typical varieties)...all of which are variations of rosewood and are plentiful. Used for tool handles, knife scales, gun grips, furniture, flooring, etc. Plenty of US sellers making grips out of real rosewoods. Heck, I see some grip companies that are solely rosewood makers.

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God Bless Our Troops.

Generally pure rosewood is a little darker than Cocobolo although Cocobolo is considered to be a rosewood. I have some Pink Ivory, Madagasgar Rosewood, Pernambuco, and a lot of other "exotic woods that would make gorgeous grips. But havent found anyone to do it at a reasonable price. I'd like to get a set of plans or see a U-tube video on someone making a set.

shipping in italy?

site? beautiful !!!!!!!!!

How does anyone order from the Altamont site?
Tried to use the add to cart and there was no way to pay. They refer me to dealers who have no way to order.

Gave up and went elsewhere in frustration

I have a set of Thai Burl wood that has such contrast,fits beautifully and cost half as much as the American manufacturers.I am now in the market for a set for my 27-2.

Got a Thailand grip for my Taurus from e-bay. Very nice and fairly quick delivery considering the distance. Great craftsmanship!!!

Check out Ahrends Grips , he has several styles of S & W grips. I just ordered two sets of Retro combats for K frame and N frame in matching cocobolo with postage $ 126. 00 total. Thats a good deal and he is an American and I like to try to keep the small businessman going when I can. Give them a look...gary

I purchased a set of the Thai grips off eBay, not for a revolver, but for a .380 auto pistol. You can tell the checkering is done by hand (if that bothers you, they always seem to have a smooth style as well), but they're made of very nice wood, and fit perfectly, no adjustment required. Absolutely worth more than I paid for them.

Attached Images

thai.jpg (72.3 KB, 87 views)

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Excuse my I.Q. but i thought the orignal "Rose wood" grips came from the root of the rose.