I posted the other day about altamont grips and with some recommendations from other members on here I decided to go with ahrends from gripseller on ebay.

Well they showed up the other day and look beautiful except..... the fitment seems way off. I'm absolutely shocked at the way they got and not happy about it. I've been in contact with gripseller and they have been wonderful...... ahrends on the other hand has not. I haven't heard a single word back from them in almost a week. It's a little concerning as well. I don't think I could blindly send then a money order or check in the mail and expect something in return since they don't take credit card or PayPal. I'm glad I went through ebay to make my purchase. They just don't have the selection in stock like could be ordered directly.

Anyway on to the grips. The left side sticks above the back strap by almost a 1/16" and the right side is nice and flush with the back strap. The other thing is the front of the finger grooves opens up enough to stick two to three business cards in the gap. If you loosen the screw the gap closes but not the screw is loose. If you tighten the screw the gap gets larger. Also you can squeeze the gap together when the screw is normally tightened.

So I don't I guess give it another day or two to see if ahrends comments back but I think in the end I'm going to send the grips back. Its really a shame because they really look nice with the bubinga wood and it matches my holster almost perfect.

Am I being overly picky? I guess I would just expect more for almost $80 grips on a $700 revolver.

What do any of you think? Thank you!

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And a picture of the gap on the front

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I do not think those are Ahrends.

They better be because that's what I bought and that's the packaging they came in from gripseller on ebay.

It might be your frame.

The frame on my 657PC is a real hard fit, some of my ahrends grips that fit my other N-Frames perfectly, when placed on the 657 have gaps between the grip and the frame.

I had to keep swapping grips around until I found a pair that fit ok on the 657. The odd part was, all of the grips fit great on my other guns; tight and without gaps.

So I'm assuming you mean sort of like stacking tolerances and they just don't fit this particular gun right? I'm also assuming there is nothing I can do besides another set of grips to see if that helps?

I think you're entitled to better. I'd get a refund if I could. When your very first experience is a poor one it can be tough to go back to the well.

But I've bought 4 sets for 3 different N frames and they were all perfect. The first set was from gripseller on ebay and they were perfect. I liked them so much that I ordered 3 custom sets from wood I supplied. I sold the first set here in the classifieds and I assume they fit someone else's gun since I didn't hear otherwise.

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Carry.."hope" isn't a strategy

The excessive wood at the backstrap can be sanded down but there is nothing you can do about the gap shown between the trigger guard and the grips. That gap is the only thing I would find unacceptable.

I didn't know that Ahrends used laminated wood.

I have had Ahrends for K L & N frames they all fit perfect with no gaps anywhere. I would get my money back from the gripseller lady Terri unless she has something else to exchange them for that you would be happy with.

Yeah I'll wait to hear back from her today and see what she says. I didn't think it was normal for them to look like this.

I've talked to her numerous times even before I ordered a pair. I really wanted maple but she didn't have any in the style I wanted.

She has another set of bubinga listed so see if those are any better. I hope they are because I really wanted to buy a matching pair for my 1911. And possibly another pair for a project I have coming in the next week or two hopefully. Thanks again guys! I'll post what happens when I get a resolution.

They do look off for sure. Strange as , like otheres I have purchased several sets of Ahrends grips that were All perfect fit and finish.
Terri will take good care of you and don’t get discouraged. This does happen from time to time. Even with the best of grip makers out there.

P.S. Bubinga grips would look excellent on that gun.

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I reckon so

Seems like you need to pay beau coup $$$ for grips that fit properly these days.

Bought 4 sets from Gripseller and all fit good. All for L frames. All round butt. Tight fit but they are supposed to be so. Good luck.

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SSG Ret.
TN & TX ARNG 66-06

She is sending me another set to compare. Terri from gripseller has been great. Ahrends on the other hand...... not so great. I've sent him numerous emails and never heard a word back. I've even called and left a voicemail and still didn't hear back from them. Never will I do business directly with ahrends. Like was stated above it's hard to get a sour taste out of your mouth after the first bite.

As long as gripseller keeps up on her excellent customer service I will have no problem buying from her again. The new grips will be here Monday and I'll be sure to post what happens.

Send em' back.......poor quality!

I had a less than great experience with Ahrends too. My gripe was with wood figure, not fit however the resulting customer service was very similar. When ordering, I called to speak with someone personally and described in detail what I wanted but what arrived might as well have been white oak. I sent emails and left voice messages that were never returned so I sold the three sets of grips.

Ed

The people at Ahrends are good people and make great grips! Since the mans wife died things probably have been more hectic than before and I am sure they are very busy.

I REPLACE THE FINGER GROOVE RUBBER GRIPS ON ALL MY RB S&Ws WITH AHRENDS SMOOTH TACTICAL CONVERSION GRIPS, IN TUNG OIL FINISHED, MORADILLO WOOD. I ORDER THEM DIRECTLY FROM KIM, BECAUSE FINDING THAT EXACT GRIP ON EBAY, IS A HIT OR MISS PROPOSITION. I HAVE POSTED EXAMPLES IN THE PICS BELOW.....

I HAVE RECEIVED NOTHING SHORT OF PERFECTION, IN FIT AND FINISH. ALL OF MY TRANSACTIONS HAVE BEEN PROBLEM FREE. I WOULD EXPECT COURTEOUS SERVICE, IF I HAD TO RETURN A SET OF GRIPS TO KIM--BASED ON THE ONE TELEPHONE CONVERSATION THAT I HAD WITH KIM'S WIFE (NOT ABOUT A COMPLAINT--JUST A QUESTION)

THE GRIPS THAT YOU REC'D FROM GRIPSELLER, ARE TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE ! ! ! WITHOUT KNOWING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KIM AND THE GRIPSELLER---IF IT WAS MY PROBLEM, I WOULD HAVE RETURNED IT TO THE GRIPSELLER, THE GUY WHO CASHED YOUR CHECK, FOR A REPLACEMENT SET. THEN LET THE GRIPSELLER DEAL WITH KIM. AS A VOLUME PURCHASER, I'M SURE THAT HE HAS MORE CLOUT, THAN YOU DO.....

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Yeah that is what I'm doing. She sent me a second set that will be here Monday to make sure I'm happy with them. If I'm not she said I'm more then welcome to return both sets. I really like the look or the grips. They are excellent in that aspect. Just not happy with the fitment. Hopefully it will be all resolved Monday.

I really hope I can work this out because I'd like to order two more sets of grips for another 625 and a 1917 I'm working on. The other 625 I'd like the larger square butt conversion grips in bubinga for and the 1917 I'd like to get a set of concealed boot grips in maple.

I've purchased a number of grips from the likes of Ahrend's and Altamont, etc.

I've been disappointed lately with fit. Despite a snugly-tightened screw the grips still move, or slip, or don't quite fit the frame. Frankly, I'm disappointed with the lack of quality control.

I HOPE THAT IT ALL WORKS OUT FOR YOU.....

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Shoulda gone with Altamonte.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

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Support your Police, & NRA

So at this point idk what to do. The new set of grips are better but still not what I expected. Maybe this is the way it's going to be or the way they are and I'm being to picky.

The back strap still sticks up more on the left side of the grip then on the right side. The gap in the front is better at the bottom but worse on the top. I'm not sure at this point if it's worth just sanding them out and working the inside to fit better and then reapply polyurethane myself or sending them back and going altamont.

So again I'm asking for the opinion of my fellow forum members. What would you do? I might sure how it could be the gun but now I'm starting to wonder......

I'm also on vacation in the Pennsylvania mountains and phone service isn't that great so I can't upload pictures but they basically the same as the first ones posted.

I can't tell you what to do, but can tell you what I have done the last couple of years. I decided to hell with budget stocks and have been buying Culina stocks and replacing my Ahrends. Not that I have had fitment problems with the Ahrends like you are having, but the Culina stocks fit my hand better and the workmanship and finish are fantastic. But, they aren't cheap; I've paid between $185 and $220 plus shipping each for the 4 pairs I have bought so far.

Ahrends fitting is very good. Since you have tried two sets and both sets seem to have similar issues, I am thinking it might be your frame. Frames do vary slightly and some can be surprisingly out of spec. We had a similar fitting problem once and luckily the person was local so they could bring the revolver to us. My husband measured the right and left sides of the frame and they were very different from each other which was strange. He was able to make the grips work but that is because he had the revolver. I have seen people post extra thick frames and extra short as well. It happens. The rubber grips do a good job of hiding irregularities.

I would try various other grips to see if you can get a better fit. I would try some S&W factory stocks first. If they don't fit then you know you have a real problem. Having a properly fitting and comfortable grip is the only way to enjoy shooting it.

That's exactly what I did this morning. Being on vacation we are at my brothers house in the mountains. So we got out his S&W 29 44 magnum and tried the grips on my 625. Of course the 29 is a square revolver and besides the fact of the gap at the bottom..... those S&W coke bottle grips fit perfect. The backstrap was nice and flush with the wood and the front seam was almost like it didn't exist.... I was amazed. I wish the ahrends grips fit this nice.

Here is the pictures

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I really don't know what to do at this point

That's really strange. I have near a dozen pairs of Ahrends grips and have never had any fitment problems whatsoever on my K and L frame revolvers.
Maybe it's an "N-frame thing"?

I have a pair of S&W grips that are off a bit. Everywhere I read, all the grip makers talk about slight variation in frames, but they should close IMO. I was going to look into Ahrends. I contacted them. They told me 4 to 6 months, and they want your money up front. I bought Culina's, but I am a bit concerned about them. They went on perfectly but really tight. Like a press fit. i contacted them, and Jennifer said they should shrink a bit.

But. my .02 is, I think the culina's are better than what I see in the pics unless your frame has a lot of deviation from std. parameters

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I just received my 5th set of Ahrends grips, this set is for my model 25-9 Sq.butt N frame and they fit like the proverbial glove. I’m kind of dumbfounded over your delima.

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I reckon so

Yeah I'm not sure either because like I said I put on a set of Smith and Wesson coke bottle grips and they got perfect besides the fact they were square frame grips. But there was no gaps and misalignments like these. Once altamont reopens on the 9th I'm going to order a set from them and see what they look like.