BK Grip Adapters for S&W J, K, L and N Frames

2-CLIP ADAPTERS NOW AVAILABLE

I now have 2-CLIP BK Grip Adapters for the S&W J, K, L and N frame revolvers, as well as for certain Colt double action revolvers. These have a second set of copper tabs which provide additional stability when the adapter is mounted on the gun.

Any color you want as long as it’s black or ivory.

Price per adapter is $25 (for Missouri customers it’s, $27.25) plus whatever the current rate is for a Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box.

ORDERING: The only way to order is through the web site, BK Grips | 2-Clip Grip Adapters for Revolvers It shows availability, and you can check out with PayPal (only - no more mailed payments.)

Ordering by mail is no longer supported.

MULTIPLE ADAPTERS:

If you want more than one there is only one shipping charge.

Thanks for your interest.

FULL DISCLOSURE - PLEASE READ​

There was a long thread on my development of these adapters at BK Grip Adapters . You can take a look at that for background and some comments on the prototypes. In addition, please read the following stuff.

FITTING IN GENERAL: Remember that these devices are designed to be used with standard S&W service or Magna grips, which leave the front strap exposed. They do NOT work with grips that fill in or cover any of the metal behind the trigger guard or on the front of the grip frame.

FITTING FOR J FRAMES: There are reports of poor fitting on an M&P340 Scandium frame model. Until we can resolve whether this was an undersize sample or a slightly different frame size on that model gun, it’s probably best not to order one of these adapters to use on a 340. You can check this thread for photos of the fit on various J frame guns: BK Grip Adapters

FITTING FOR K, L and N FRAMES: The larger adapter was made for square butt K frames. The prototypers found that it also fit round butt K frames, and both square and round butt N frames. L frame guns use K frame grips, so they should be taken care of as well. (X frame shooters - well, I assume you're not using Magna grips, so these are not for you.) You can check this thread for photos of the fit on various K and N frame guns: BK Grip Adapters - Square Butt K Frame prototypers wanted

FITTING FOR COLT REVOLVERS: Adapters for D ("small") frame Colt revolvers are checked for fit on a long-grip-frame Detective Special, but the clips are spaced to fit properly on the later, shorter grip frame models as well. Customers have found that they fit on certain medium and large frame Colt models as well, and there are details under the Fitting tab on the web site.

FITTING OTHER MODELS: One tester reported that the K frame adapter (I think it was) fits at least OK on an old H&R 38 Hammerless model. Who knew? Other users have reported that the J adapters work fine on Charter 38 and 44 revolvers, although some find the "tail" of the adapter is a bit long, something easily remedied with a file or sharp knife. I have hints that the J adapters also work on the old S&W Safety Hammerless (lemon squeezer) guns, but have not seen a photo to confirm. Still other users have found that certain adapters can work with Ruger revolvers, and there are details under the Fitting tab on the web site.

COSMETICS: These molds make nice adapters, but there can be an occasional problem with tiny bubbles at a few points on the edges or slightly rougher surfaces in a few spots. These are cosmetic flaws only. Basically, anything that you can feel when you're gripping the gun normally with the adapter attached will be smooth as can be, but if you look closely you may be able to see and feel cosmetic flaws on edges that you don't ever touch in regular use. Sometimes there is a large bubble/gap along the top curve of the adapter as it comes out of the mold, which I remove by filing down the "ears" on either side of the top curve a bit. This does not affect the fit of the adapter to the frame, as it indexes on the inner groove of the top curve and the two clips, but if you hold two adapters up together you may be able to see that one seems larger than the other. Again, a purely cosmetic difference with no effect on utility.

IRREGULARS: Occasionally an adapter comes out of the mold with all the correct dimensions but with some kind of blemish. Early on there were small swirls of a different color - the picture of an irregular on the web site shows one of these. (Nobody has been able to explain how or why this happened, but it did.) Sometimes there are lines or matte spots on the surface that you can see when the angle of the light is right but can't really feel in normal use - I think these may result from an accumulation of release agent on the mold surfaces, but cannot prove it. (The materials I use are extremely fine grained - if I left a fingerprint on the master when I make a mold, every adapter that comes out of that mold would show the fingerprint.) In any event, these are adapters that are perfectly functional, but which I don't want to represent as "normal," so I sell 'em as "irregular" for $5 off.

I'm offering these adapters as utilitarian devices for folks who want to improve the grip on a working gun. Please order and use one in that spirit.

I don't say this to turn you off. Just to let you know that these things aren't cosmetically perfect. They're the same quality that the prototype testers have reported on the S&W Revolver forum. For example, if you look at the pix that Maximumbob54 posted on page 4 of the BK Grip Adapters thread, you can see some tiny irregularities at the top curve of the left side of the adapter. Those are the kind of cosmetic challenges I just can't always lick with my current process, but which have absolutely no effect on the utility of these things. (If it helps, think of them as evidence that each adapter is individually made by hand - yours will be unique.)


PACKAGING: There is no “packaging” to speak of. These are mailed in a Priority Mail flat rate box. The adapter is in a zipper sandwich bag wrapped in a piece of rolled copy paper to keep things from rattling around too badly in the box. You can use the paper to start a barbecue fire, and reuse the sandwich bag for some non-food application. (So if anybody offers one of these things on ebay as NIB, they're jerking your chain.)

CAPACITY: Production capacity is quite limited - I can finish at most 24 adapters in a day, and that's a very long day. I have not been able to find any cost-effective process for "factory" production. So you may find that one or more items is out of stock at any given time - that has become more common as demand has increased. The web site won't display an item that's not available, so if you're looking for a J, K or D size adapter in black or ivory and don't see what you're looking for, please check back later - I do make an effort to keep all 6 versions in stock, and web site inventory is updated within minutes of finishing a new batch.

.38 H&R Hammerless / J-frame adapter

The j-frame adapter works just fine on the old H&R. Frame width
is the same, measured by eye-ball. TACC1

pwhphd said:

I bought an early BK for a J-frame and have used it on three different snubbies. I have shot numerous rounds with it and it shows no signs of wear or weakening. The fit and finish was as good as the Tyler T-Grip. I think you will find that they are not the same plastic used in the old Pachmayr or Smith & Wesson adaptors. The material is more like the polymer that is used in modern handguns. I'm no chemist, but after using the BK grip, I favor them.

Click to expand...

For the chemists out there, the specification given for the 2-part urethane I use for these adapters is a Durometer (hardness) of 72 on the D scale, and a tensile strength of 3,200 psi. I'm NOT a chemist, but I've seen 72D described as "bowling ball hard".

Once cured these things are truly hard - if I wait more than about 20 minutes after they come out of the mold to try to carve off the sprue and parting line flash, they're almost too hard to cut with a knife, and I switch to a spiral mill in a Foredom tool to grind away what needs to go.

2-CLIP ADAPTERS NOW AVAILABLE

I've revised the classified ad to show that the 2-clip adapters are now available, in both J and K frame sizes. Price has been raised to $25 to reflect improvement in the state of the art. (I've waited years to be able to use that phrase.)

Here's a picture of a 2-clip J frame adapter:



So if you've been waiting for a better adapter, wait no longer.

Thanks for your continuing support.

BK Grip Adapters - Testers Wanted

Well, it has been a year since I started making BK grip adapters, and what a year it has been. While I'll never make enough out of this business to retire in luxury, the experience of dealing with many of you as customers has just been stellar. What a great bunch of people you are. I especially appreciate the help many of you gave at the start, testing and commenting on the original products, and for the continuing support some of you give to the product in various threads when the opportunity arises. I know I have gotten some customers from those favorable remarks.

Now I'd like to ask for some help again. As some of you know, I have not been able to produce (to my satisfaction) a "silver" adapter, which some would prefer for their stainless and nickel guns. My efforts with various paints have all failed - daily wear and regular shooting wears the paint off the high points in a month or two. (I carry my J frame daily, IWB. When I go shooting I'll put at least a hundred rounds through it at a session, and I try to get to the range at least twice a month. So I don't just shoot 5 and then move on to other guns. This is the kind of usage that I want a painted finish to be able to stand up to.)

Now I've done some more painting, but it will take me (literally) years to check out each of the combinations I've come up with, if I try to test 'em all myself. So I would appreciate it if some of you can help with the testing.

Specifically, I have 12 adapters (half J and half K) painted with different types of stainless/silver paint. I've attached a picture of 'em drying last week. I also have 4 adapters (2 J and 2 K) painted in gloss black (I can imagine some of you might like a glossy black for some of your guns.) Some of these adapters are cast in gray resin, some in the black my customers are used to. Some are primed, some are not. Some of the painted surfaces feel a little "gritty," while others are pretty smooth. This may be a characteristic of the paint or just my spraying technique (all paints came from spray cans.)

What I am looking for are people (1) who carry their revolvers every day, preferably inside the waistband where heat and humidity will be higher, AND (2) who do (or who will, for the test) shoot those revolvers regularly during the month, preferably carrying them to the range in the regular carry rig, so they get shot in the condition they're carried.

If you'll agree to put the adapter on and carry and shoot the gun for a while, I'll sell you an adapter for $10 plus the usual $5.15 postage. Tell me silver or black, but my choice of which one of that color you actually get. You'll agree to let me know how it holds up over time, preferably with a picture or two if it starts to fail. (The adapters are numbered, so I'll be able to tell what combination you're reporting on.) You can post the results to this thread if you like, so everyone can see what (if anything) is working. The forum rules don't allow the posting of feedback here, so please contact me by PM or, preferably, by email to [email protected].

I must be honest and say that, given the universal failure of paint to adhere to these things so far, I can't hold out a lot of hope that any one of these adapters will stand up to regular usage. If yours fails, well you can wipe the paint off with paint thinner or lacquer thinner and have a "regular" adapter for your efforts. (Of course it may be gray, and/or it may have some surface imperfections, but it will be perfectly functional.) Or you can try your own surface coating - more than one person has suggested the rubber stuff you dip tool handles in, for example.

If you're interested in helping to test one out, drop me an email at [email protected] and let me know which size and color you would like. I'll let you know if what you want is available, and the PayPal account or mailing address to use if you want to proceed.

Thanks again for all your past support, and thanks in advance for those of you who would like to help with this testing.

None of the silver painted adapters held up well enough in actual use for me to offer silver as an available color.

Sorry about that, and thanks to all who tried one of the experimental models and gave feedback. I'll just stick to the solid colors from now on.

Here's a cross section

I tried an experiment today, which turned out badly. I put the molds in a vacuum pot while they cured, thinking it might help suck out the last of the tiny bubbles that occasionally mess up the edges of a particular adapter. Well, it sucked out bubbles, all right, but left massive voids which did NOT refill as the resin set up.

So those adapters got cut up (I'm cheap - the copper clips were worth saving) but I thought some of you might like to see how the clips are molded into the adapters. (Please ignore the skewed look as the vacuum kept the resin from completely filling the mold, and ignore the bubbles - those aren't there in adapters I let out the door.) I believe I have said before that the bottom of the copper clip has a hole in the middle of it, so the resin flows completely through it and "connects" the resin above and below the clip base. Once the resin sets up, that clip just ain't coming out without some major surgery.

Thanks for the continuing business.

ninjagrips said:

Sorry I kinda just skimmed the thread, but have you tried cold casting with aluminum powder?

Click to expand...

I am generally aware that there is such a process. My materials supplier has epoxies and aluminum powder to do cold metallic casting, but it requires dedicating a mold to the process and the cure time is 24 hours. In addition, their overview of the process has as its first step "brush a 0.25 inch coating on the inside of this mold . . . " Since my adapters are 0.25" thick only where the "upper" clip is molded, and thinner to much-thinner everywhere else, I have not given serious thought to trying it.

I am exploring small injection molding systems, which would offer a much wider array of colors than I can make with my current materials and dyes, and much faster production than my current pour-two-at-a-time system, but so far I have not found an equipment setup that makes economic sense. (To use "regular' injection molding companies, the cost of the dies is prohibitive for the volume of adapters I sell.)

Thanks for the thought, though.

Allow me to ask a production question for any of you who may be engineering types or otherwise have experience molding small parts with metal inserts. If you have suggestions, please do NOT respond on this forum, but send an email to [email protected].

I have been looking for a more "industrial" method of making these adapters than the one-at-a-time pouring method I have been using from the start. I would also like to make 'em in a way that insures each adapter is identical to the last, so that I would not have to check the fit on each one against the proper gun.

I have explored 3-D printing, but am told by several providers that it's not feasible to "print" the copper clips into a product. I also gather that to get the surface smoothness of my existing product would take a relatively high end printer, and so would be VERY expensive per part. (I get the sense that, in general, 3-D printing is best used as a prototyping tool, not an ongoing production process, although I've seen rumors/reports that GE supposedly 3-D prints jet engine turbine blades. Must be one helluva printer.)

I have also explored injection molding, but the local molding shop I visited kept a sample adapter for a couple of months and came back with a "we can't figure out how we'd do it" email. I sent a follow up email asking a couple of detailed questions, and proposed a solution to what I thought might be one problem, but haven't had a reply. This may just mean they're not interested in a small-lot job that would be more trouble than they want to bother with. But if it does indeed mean there isn't a feasible way to make a mold that will incorporate the copper clips into a part with the shape of my adapter, I'd like to know it so I can stop thinking about it. I think the molded-in design I use is one of the advantages my adapters have over those with staked-on clips, and I would want to retain that in any alternative production process.

So - if any of you with knowledge or experience in the molding business have any thoughts along these lines that you'd be willing to share, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Again, NOT on this segment of the forum - there aren't supposed to be any general discussions carried on here - but by email to [email protected]

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Irregular Black Adapters Available

Sometimes you just don't want to throw things away. Over the years I've pitched any number of grip adapters that came out of the molds with one flaw or another. But I recently had a few "irregulars" that were just fine except for one or more gray/white swirls in the coloring. My material supplier guessed it had to do with inadequate mixing of the black dye into the raw materials, but couldn't be sure.

In any event, I've decided to let these go at a $5 discount for anyone who would like something a little different, or just wants to save a few bucks. Functionally identical to the "regular" black models, but with some white "blemishes" in the coloring or some edge flaw - the surfaces you touch in regular use are all normal.

The one pictured on the web site is the "worst" in terms of extent of swirling. More likely it will have only a tiny speck or an edge flaw that you might not even notice. My choice which one gets sent in any particular order, and when they're gone I don't make any more (on purpose.)

Detective Special Grip Adapters now available

I have made molds and have cast both black and ivory grip adapters for Colt Detective Special revolvers. Presumably these will fit other "D" frame models, but I only have a Detective Special, and so can only speak first-hand to that fit.

My test gun is an older "long grip frame" model, on which these adapters fit just fine. Someone else has checked and confirmed that the second clip clears the grips on the newer, "short grip frame" models. So this adapter should be good on all of the Colt "D" frames.

Same materials, same price, same shipping, same service as the BK Grips adapters that I've made for (almost) 5 years for S&W revolvers. So you know what you're getting.

A Colt customer recently advised that the D Frame adapters also fit properly on Colt E frames. His particular gun was an Officer's Model, but I gather there were many other models made on this frame over the years.

For any of you with a Colt New Service, a customer has discovered that the D adapter fits the Colt large New Service frame just fine.

Discontinuing payments by check or money order

After spending 15 minutes today standing in line to get INTO my Post Office to check my box for a check I was expecting - they still allow only 6 people inside at once - I have decided it's no longer worth the hassle to take payments by check or money order that are mailed in. So as of now, the web site will only accept payments by PayPal for BK grip adapters.

I know this will be an inconvenience for a few of you, and I'm sorry about that. But I've felt for a long time that the percentage of orders that come in by mail is so small that I really don't want to spend the time to deal with it. Today was just the final straw.

As for inventory, I will try to get some black D adapters made in the next day or two. Both of the S&W sizes sell out almost as fast as I can make them, and sales of the Colt size are so much smaller that those adapters frequently get left behind when I have to make new ones. (I can only make so many a day.)

Thanks for your patience. And for your wonderful demand for these little things. Even when I complain about the burden of making so many, I really do appreciate it. (And I'm in discussions with an injection molding company to switch at least some production to an industrial process, to take that load off of my increasingly arthritic fingers. If I can make it work, black S&W adapters should never be out of stock again.)

No More Sales Tax for MO Residents

It appears that I may qualify for exemption from collecting and remitting sales tax on sales to Missouri residents (actually, on sales shipped to Missouri addresses.)

Two of the qualifications for the exemption are not clearly defined in the law (I say as a retired tax lawyer.) And after both writing and calling I could not find anybody in the Missouri Department of Revenue who works with sales taxes who would offer any binding clarification of the requirements. But nobody said they thought I didn't qualify, so I'm taking the position that I do and will no longer collect taxes on Missouri sales. Unless and until the state tells me otherwise.

Please include your apartment or unit number

Recently added to Shipping tab on web site:

Addressing Note: If you live in an apartment or other multi-unit building or address, please be sure your apartment or unit number is included in your PayPal shipping address. The mailing label software will accept the street address of a multi-unit building as valid and let the label be printed. But there have been several recent instances where the local delivery post office determined that a package without an apartment/unit number was undeliverable and sent it back to me.

I refund the price of an adapter that comes back, but not the shipping. So in order to avoid having to place a second order and pay a second shipping cost, please make sure that any shipping address you provide through PayPal includes an apartment or unit number, if appropriate.

A Request for Information

Daily bump...

I would like some feedback on a particular Colt revolver model, but ask that you DO NOT respond with a post in this classified ad. Instead, please send a PM to me at wrangler 5 or, preferably, an email to [email protected]. The ad is not the place for conversations, and I can use an email to answer questions from other customers much more easily than I can use a PM.

That said - has anyone tried a D size BK Grip Adapter on the new(ish) Colt Cobra? That's the stainless steel 38 Special model that was introduced in ~2017 (I think it was.) I have information and pix that the D size does fit on the 357 Magnum King Cobra, but have seen conflicting info on the web about the interchangeability (or not) of grips between the Cobra and King Cobra.

If you have tried one on a Cobra I would appreciate your feedback. And if you have tried one and it does fit, I would especially appreciate knowing that along with some photos, that I might use to answer questions from future customers. (I strip out all metadata before sharing a customer's photo with others, so no personal info goes anywhere.)

Thanks in advance for any help. Again, please do NOT respond with a post here. Preferably, send an email to [email protected].

Temporarily Out Of Stock . . .

. . . will probably be a fact of life for BK Grips, at least for a while. Demand has been such that I simply cannot make new adapters fast enough to keep the inventory bins full at all times. Since the web site only shows items that are in stock (insuring that I NEVER end up swamped with unfilled back orders) this means that customers will frequently not see what they’re looking for.

I can only make 6 at a time, and a batch of 6 takes 3.5 hours from start (mold prep and copper clip work) to finished product in a For Sale bin and web site inventory updated. An hour of that process is Xacto knife work under a magnifier trimming flash off the 6 adapters I just took out of molds, before the resin gets too hard to cut with a knife. I also have other demands on my time besides making grip adapters

I have looked for but not found an industrial-level process to make these things in (relatively) vast quantities. So it remains hand work on individual products, and one of the limits on THAT process is how many I can carve in a day. Arthritic hands limit that number, and if I push it one day to get more done I frequently can’t do any the next day due to hand cramps.

Black adapters sell MUCH faster than ivories – 6 black adapters can disappear in hours after going into inventory, whereas the last one out of a batch of 6 ivories usually sits for at least a week and sometimes much longer. So don’t expect to see ivory adapters back in stock in the foreseeable future. I might work some in at some point, but it's a low priority.

So if you want an adapter and don’t see it on the Order page, it means that particular item is currently out of stock. I will make more, and will update the web site as soon as something becomes available. But it sometimes takes a day or two to get caught up, and sometimes even longer if I'm pulled away by other demands. So In the meantime, please just check back later, and thanks in advance for your patience.

And please do not email asking if the business is closed or if I'm still making X size or when things will be available – I'll post a notice if I die or shut down the business, and in the meantime just be aware that I’m working on it.

As always, many thanks for your business. And now, for your patience. I truly appreciate the support the folks on this forum have shown BK Grips over the years, and I'm sorry I don't have the physical ability to keep up with your increasing demand. I guess I thought getting old would take longer.

Return Postage

A customer recently returned a grip adapter by using the Priority Mail flat rate box that was used to deliver the adapter to him, but he only put Media Mail postage on the package. I managed to talk my local post office out of returning the box to sender for inadequate postage, but promised to post notifications on the web site and elsewhere so it didn't happen again.

SO - it is UNLAWFUL to use Priority Mail shipping supplies provided by the USPS (which is what is used to deliver ALL BK grip adapters to customers) UNLESS YOU APPLY PRIORITY MAIL POSTAGE. Failure to apply sufficient postage will result in the package eventually being returned to you, thus causing loss of the original postage paid and delay in receiving a refund for the return.

Going to start closing order processing earlier

I have usually waited until around midnight Central time to process a day's orders and box them up for shipping. This gave more time for folks out west to submit an order and get it shipped next day. But it can keep me up until 1 or 2 AM before I'm done and the orders are packed, labelled and in the mailbox for pickup the next day.

That's getting harder to do, the older I get, so I'm going to have to start the process a little earlier. Going forward I will process orders beginning around 10 PM Central time, to get them out in the next day's mail. Orders that come in after that will just get processed the following day.

I don't think this will actually affect too many people, as I don't get that many late evening orders, but I hate to reduce any level of service that I previously offered. Still, I do have to adapt to the times, and this is a change I think I have to make. (I thought getting old would take longer, but . . . )

Thanks to all for your continuing support and demand for these adapters. I am always surprised by the ongoing demand for these little things, which actually seems to be increasing in recent years. I do appreciate all of you.