what are some "go to" custom grips co's. for the K frame stainless guns? What looks the best. Rubber grips are for shooting, not going to BBQ's

In the $40-$80 range there are myriad grip makers, but for my money I go with:
Ahrends
Altamont
Hogue
all make nice, wood aftermarket grips - of those 3, I prefer Ahrends.
If you're looking for something special, John Culina produces awesome grips, but they'll run north of $150...but worth it!

Culina combats on my 66. Dreamy to shoot - I love em!






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

__________________
Pass it on.
Mark

Ahrends Retro Combat grips on my 617. I recently stripped the poly finish and refinished them in pure tung oil.

__________________
"In God We Trust"

Ahrends Retro Combats or Retro Targets , in the real exotic wood of your choice . The wood is not plywood aka "laminate" and Kim Ahrend knows how to shape grips so they fit the human hand.
I have a set on an N-frame model 58 (my avatar) and a K frame model 64. Very reasonable prices . Best money I ever spent and nice folks to do business with also.
I ordered mine unfinished and used Tung Oil to hand finish them.
Gary

Craig Spegel.
Good selection & excellent craftsmanship.
Denis

There are all kinds of quality grips makers. They make products that vary in quality and price. It all comes down to personal preference.

If you want grips for actual shooting/duty use, I would recommend Karl Nill grips. Their history is based on competition shooting. Therefore most of their grip designs are made to aid shooting.

I have found most other grips makers only like to reproduce "factory" styles, and those styles aren't the best for actual shooting. However, some are very attractive and would be good for displaying or show.

Ahrends make some high quality grips at very affordable prices. They have many options for S&W revolvers, and I have them on my 629.

There are so many good options, again, it comes down to your personal preference and how much you want to pay.

I would also vote for Spegels, but keep in mind his wait list is about a year, maybe more by now.

Ahrends are a good choice. As gwpercle said, the solid wood options are best. The Ahrends grips I had came with the tung oil finish, which I highly recommend. It's smooth, so it won't catch on your cover garment, if you're going to carry concealed, but when you get it in hand it's non-slip.

You might also want to check out Eagle Grips. I have an older set of their Secret Service boot grips for my 642, and I like them. I haven't tried them on a K-frame, though. Eagle has other options if you prefer another style of grips.

Herretts are a good option if you want a true custom grip. You send them a tracing of your hand and they'll shape the grips specifically for your hand. I don't have any experience with their revolver grips, but they come highly recommended. Can be pricey, though. It's been a while, but the last time I looked their custom revolver grips were well north of $100.

I don't have any experience with Culina's, but they're highly recommended and every grip I've seen from them has been beautifully crafted.

I have no experience with them, but BluMagnum Grips look great, albeit pricey. I'm sure they're worth the price, though. I'm rather partial to their Skeeter Skelton-style grips.

Craig is down to less than a year.
Denis

Don't forget the reproduction stocks from Thailand on Ebay.

__________________
Fred
S&WCA 3238

I've been pleased with Culinas and Nills and Spegels.....and let's not forget Keith Brown!

As part of a custom build, I had Craig craft a set of panels in the rough, slightly over-sized, send them to my gunsmith doing the build on a 686.

He fit 'em perfectly to the gripframe, returned 'em to Craig for final finish, including no-gloss & hand checkering.

In the modern gun world, you just don't get this level of fit out of most mass-produced gunmakers.

True custom grips, by an outfit willing to work with you, are worth every penny you spend.
Denis

tryin to see which color looks best on ss or hard chrome

Try Badger.

I really like Culina's.

Either REALLY dark, or REALLY light.

I sent a PM to Culinas wife, gonna check them out, then maybe badger and Ahrends. They all seem yo fit better than the Houges

Also Eagle grips make some real beauties. Their Heritage line look just like the old coke grips!

Here's a thread on Kim Ahrends' stocks.

Kim Ahrends stocks and my pistols

Unfortunately, photobucket locked out a lot of the pics. Here's some of mine that Kim made from wood I supplied. I got them unfinished so I could modify them to suit me and finished them myself. Mine are done with tung oil, but anybody is capable of shooting a set of grips with a rattle-can of poly.

__________________
Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

I too like dark wood on stainless or nickel. These are Ahrends. Culina makes some great looking ones in Ebony I wouldn't mind having. I also prefer tung oil finish over lacquer for both form and function.

Attached Images

IMG_5195.jpg (46.6 KB, 153 views)

If you like figured wood, you might check on Herrett's. My pre-27 with its Herrett Ropers. Gun stocks by Herrett's Stocks, Inc.

Stu

+1 for Herrets.

When I shot a lot of true 44 magnum loads thru my model 29, nothing was as comfortable...neither wood nor rubber...as my Jordan troopers.



The shape didn't lend itself to rapid DA fire, though. The gun tended to dive into the hand, changing the grip after a few rounds. So I checkered them at 18 lpi and now they have a home on my 625 steel challenge gun.

__________________
Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

re you confusing aftermarket with custom grips big difference in MHO
Culina , Ahrends , Spegal, Brown are in a class above aftermarket

__________________
age is just a number

IMO, anything not factory is aftermarket.

There are some talented artisans making and selling grips for hundreds of dollars. If they're making and selling them "off the shelf", those are aftermarket production grips.

Anyone who makes a set of grips to order, no matter how big or how limited their "production" operation, is making custom grips.

Not all "custom" grips are anywhere near the quality of "off the shelf" production grips.

__________________
Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

Looking at these photos,my brains say WOW...and my checkbook says ''keep dreaming''.These are beautiful chunks of wood!!!
Qc

Ahrends charges $10 extra to use customer-supplied wood. I sent the wood and for the 3 sets in post #19 he charged me $87 each a couple years ago.

__________________
Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

Culina and Ahrends...on just a few of mine.

But Culina are my favorites on polished stainless.
IMG_1208.jpg

IMG_1189.JPG

IMG_1231 (2).jpg

I absolutely love my Culina English Walnut stocks on my 8 shot Model 27.

And some Culina Birds Eye Maple Combat stocks on my beater Highway Patrolman.

__________________
USAF AMMO

I like birdseye maple in particular for stainless, these are Spegels. I take delivery raw, put a dozen coats of handrubbed tung oil on them. Tung is a rich amber color, and even tho the coats are probably molecules thick many layers does impart some wonderful warm pigmentation on birdseye:

Here are a couple Culina's on my 66's

Culinas grips on my 25-2

__________________
age is just a number

Culina,
Osage orange



Cocobolo





Walnut

These are Altamont combats on my 686-4. More economically priced than some of the custom beauties posted here, but they work for me.

__________________
John

Be aware Ahrends post beautiful pictures of Cocobolo grips but will no longer make them due to import regulations. Not even if you supply the wood. They are one of the original grip suppliers for the grips to my 686 Stocking Dealer Special so I will have to substitute Moradillo. They also do not do revolver grips in ebony.
I have bought 3 grips from Altamont and am pleased with the shape, fit and finish. All for the price of the imports

For something different, take a look at Grashorn Gunworks.

http://grashornsgunworks.com/

__________________
Eccentric old coot

Two different style grips, that Keith made for me for my two Model 66 3" revolvers.

I can recommend ......

Spegel been using his "Boot Grips" since the mid-80s for concealed carry of 2 1/2 and 3 inch K-frames and his 'Extended Boot grips" on several 4 and 6 inch K, L and N frame centerfire revolvers........ look good to great ( several ''grades" of wood available) and a great 'shooters grip"

Grasshorn Stag....... no bark on my Reg. Magnum, w/ bark on all my blue .22s....... 17s and 18s....... with T-grips....... and my BBQ 4" 19.

Keith Brown........been exposed to his grips through the NE Ohio Bunch get togethers......exhibition grade all the way!!!!!! IMHO way too nice for everyday carry ....... well except to a BBQ!!!!!!!!

Can't believe nobody mentioned making them yourself. Blanks are pretty cheap even in really fancy wood and it does not take much as far as tools go. Grips that you make yourself are always going to fit better than those made by someone across the country.

I made a set of 586 grips out of a bunch of spiders once. Spray them with a few coats of clear paint so they hold the shape good. Mix them in with some clear resin and pour into a mold that I made from the original grips. Pour some opaque white and blue resin on top so there is a solid background and mix it together just enough to swirl the colors together and get it into the clear stuff a bit. Turned out really cool. The RO at the shooting range gave me $500 for them first time I brought them out there. Have to get around to making some new ones.

Next idea is make a set of grips from a handful of muck from a bog. All sorts of cool stuff in there. Dry it out then mash it into a tight block. Soak in wood stabilizer and put in a vacuum chamber. Then carve it into grips. You get sticks and leaves and moss and little plants and bugs. Might be really neat. Or maybe not. Won't know until I try.

These Hogue "Exotic Wood" came with my 686 along with the original black rubber grips. Doubt if I ever take them off.

Attached Images

	S&W 686 A.jpg (60.7 KB, 42 views)
	S&W 686 B.jpg (56.8 KB, 50 views)

I use Ahrends to make truly custom wood grips. Rounding off the sharp edges, and thinning them some makes the fit perfect for me. Those on the 19 were once grooved square butt grips.

Attached Images

	2015-03-31 19.17.56.jpg (73.7 KB, 68 views)
	2015-03-31 19.17.21.jpg (74.0 KB, 59 views)
	2014-12-08 06.03.54.jpg (110.0 KB, 56 views)

I’m liking your ideas. I’m pretty good with tools and hands but cannot figure out how to get the grips to match the intricacies of the frame. I already looked this up on YouTube and didnt find anything. If you could show us how to carve our own grips on YouTube that would be a hit. Same goes for the resin mold. The spider thing is a hoot. The muck maybe not so much

Back when "used"Smith wood grips were $5 and could be found in a big boxes in every local gunshop....... I'd modify them to my liking.... shorten targets and round the bottom edge ....... cut down round butt banana/target grips to make "Boot grips" long before I'd ever heard the term "Boot Grips"

Not sure who made these way-too-thick laminated customs that were on a K22 that i bought, but i'm considering turning them into boot grips.

Attached Images

	2015-04-30 12.05.25.jpg (78.5 KB, 46 views)
	2015-04-30 12.05.53.jpg (68.2 KB, 33 views)
	2015-04-30 12.05.07.jpg (59.5 KB, 28 views)

Good luck ....... customizing grips was a fun winter project..... especially when you only had 5 or 10 bucks in the ''donor" grips........ FWIW on some of my boot grips I'd leave the bottom of the frame covered with about a 1/4" of wood.....other were shortened flush.

These days everyone seems to think that building or customizing a gun is done with a credit card and a screwdriver. Then go to the shooting range and dazzle your friends with your amazing shopping abilities. People made guns for 500 years without the use of a computer and 400 years without the use of electricity. The riflemen that fought in the Revolutionary War did not get their guns from either Gunbroker or Buds.

This kind of stuff really is not all that hard. The guys making the fancy custom grips are not using using witchcraft. All you need is a few chisels, a rasp, and sandpaper. Look up inletting to see how people have been getting things to fit together since Moses was a kid.

My first set of Culina's: Movingui wood on my Model 19. I suspect these won't be the last I purchase from John and Jennifer.

Kim makes a great feeling grip, looks fantastic, and doesn't cost a "arm & a leg.

Attached Images

IMG_0262.jpg (172.7 KB, 43 views)

That’s awesome, and I respect your skills. Now, can you build me an Ark please? I work 60 plus hours a week and so does my wife. Their isn’t enough daycare available to cover those hours if I could afford another cent, and if I could, some few ‘minutes’ of it would definitely be spent in my pops ‘shop’; with all the circa 1950/60’s, belt-driven craftsman drill presses, wood/Metal lathes, band saws, jig saws, you name it. If you’re retired or independently wealthy, I get it. And am jealous. But for The REST of US...... my vote is Kim Ahrend makes a damn fine product. Hyahh! Git!