There is apparently a lack of practical knowledge about what genuine mother of pearl (MOP) looks like, and how to differentiate it from the fake plastic stuff that seems to proliferate like mushrooms in a cow pasture.

In an effort to educate and protect buyers from dishonest and/or ignorant, lazy sellers, I want to offer the following:





The grips in the top photo are genuine mother of pearl. The single panel in the bottom photo is plastic (or polymer, or pearlite, or whatever other weasel-word they prefer to use to distract people from the fact that what they're selling isn't mother of pearl).

To me, the difference is apparent. The fakes are dull. The genuine article has a natural iridescence that changes and reflects the light differently as you look at it from different angles. The fakes don't do that do much, but they do typically have swirls, lots of swirls, as shown in this example.

If you'll look at the panel on the left side of the top photo, you'll see an area of iridescence that seems to be breaking through a cloudy, milky layer over it. It is almost as if there is a window in the milky layer through which one can see the underlying iridescence. This feature is very typical of natural mother of pearl; I have never seen anything like this effect on grips made out of plastic. Lower grade MOP will have more of this milky material, but even the highest grade -- in pieces large enough to permit the manufacture of revolver grips -- will and should have some areas of milkiness.

The other certain indicator of genuine MOP is your teeth. That's right, your teeth. If you drag the edges of your front teeth across a grip panel, and it feels smooth, it's plastic. But, if you feel a little grittiness when you do that -- not sandpaper coarse, but a little gritty -- then the material is genuine MOP.

All real pearl, including MOP and pearls fashioned into jewelry, has this property. You can try it on that strand of pearls you bought for your wife. The grittiness you experience in that test will come awfully darn close to, if not be an exact duplicate of, what you'll experience when you test a set of genuine MOP grips in the wild.

Hope this helps.



^^^^^Real, or fake? What say you?^^^^^

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

Good post. Thanks for the education.

This is right up there with the infamous "Supica Sniff Test" for cold blue.
I'm afraid if someone sniffed my gun and then bit the grips I would have to tell him that if he licks it , he's bought it.....

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I dont know about the pearl test, but cold blue has a definite odor that is unmistakable.

A red hot pin applied to the backside of the grip will tell one the same information (only if one owns the grip panel of course). Pearl does nothing. Plastic melts and smells acrid. Ivory smells like hair burning.

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Mike Maher #283

Any real MOP I've ever handled was heavier then the plastic look alikes as well.
Jim

The only thing I have with mother of pearl in it is this ( it's only the small dials).
But I'm not getting my teeth anywhere near it.

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Yes, this is a very good indicator I forgot to mention. Mother of pearl is very dense and relatively heavy, and will feel much heavier compared to any plastic imitations.

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

I will have to check out all my MOP knives, and take pictures.

How do I tell if this knife is MOP or bone?

Send me high resolution photos to my email address and I will give the identifications a shot. Basically, bone should not display any iridescence.

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

The hot pin test on a hidden area will detect thermoplastics (Polystyrene, ABS, Nylon, etc.) but not thermoset plastics like Catalin, Bakelite, Polyester, or Epoxy. They do not melt.

The thermoplastics you mention are easily tested with a hot pin. These plastics smoke easily for a visual test, plus give off an acrid odor that is quickly detectable by smell. All plastics can be tested with a hot pin and can be identified with certainty.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

I've heard of taking a paper clip, opening it up and heat with a small torch till red(with pliers and gloves) and then touching an out of the way place on the inside of the grip, if you smell plastic burning, probably fake?
Steve

I always go by sight and touch, real mop will be much cooler to the touch than fake, also will be heavier. ( has not failed me yet )

you know the same goes with pearl necklaces and jewelry, having worked in the jewelry business, its quite often i see fake MOP come and go, it is easy to tell the fakes from the genuine, but must have practice in this, we use high quality microscopes, but with gun stocks and knife scales its different, unless you take it out and feel teh weight, and look under the microscope, or as you mention, the coloration and pattern can be a dead giveaway




hobbies- guns knives planes
Smith & Wesson 648 22Mag K-Frame
rc gliders

I've not run into any MOP yet that was questionable. The plastics don't compare.

Check these out. Absolutely the most beautiful carved MOP stocks I have ever seen. With a dragon motif, and probably of Vietnamese origin, they now adorn my nickel square butt Model 19-4 snubby:

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

It is usually pretty easy to tell the plastic from real. The fake did not get the nickname "Mother of Toilet Seat" for nothing

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

wow, absolutely stunning, where can one squire these gems from?

Real MOP has a lot of depth and variation in the color, as shown below.

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My 38 S&W lettered that it was shipped with MOP grips, I'm not going to test it.....

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Sadly, you can't. They are one of a kind.

Rogers Grips sells some nice, plain ones for S&W J, K, and L frames.

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Five screws and 3-1/2 inches.

If the backside of the grips are a layer of black plastic ....
Jay Scott Imitation Pearl...FAKE !

That line of black plastic is a dead giveaway .
I can tell the difference by the feel but you have to be able to feel them to use that method. I wouldn't buy them unless I had the chance to inspect first ... photo's can fool but the hands are hard to fool .
..Good post on Pearls,
Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Have Patton take a look?

Just found this thread; are these grips faux MOP? The backing is wood. Thanks

Wonderful thread. Question. Only picture showing in the nickel plated M-10 w/ MOP grips. How can one access the pictures? Sincerely. bruce.

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Those are Jay Scott fake pearls.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

Thanks; found some Scott's like these online; looks like they usually sell for $40-60

The most common fake MOP,Etc, are Jay Scott and they will be so marked on the back.


Real MOP will always be colored like Mother of Pearl (Abalone shell) and will have some iridescence. Real MOP will never have any form of backing!


Once you have identified real MOP all you will ever need to do is look at them and you will know.


Or you can tap them gently with a light metal object like a pocket knife blade. Ream MOP will give a distinct "clink", like stone. Fake will sound like, well, plastic.

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Gunsmithing since 1961