Pistol Grips - Bone vs. Ivory

Another one intended as a reply but decided it has wider application --

Ivory vs. bone; I don't recognize much practical difference between them other than availability, cost & color. Ivory is pretty consistent in quality, density & color, while bone can vary, so I'm comparing best bone --


Buffalo bone on my Son's Kimber project I would prefer to ivory. Working very much like ivory, DIY snake plus synthetic rubies @ 30 cents & the bone $30 bone grips ---->

Does bone come thick enough for SAA grips?

More and more legal difficulties are arising regarding ivory. Some states are more restrictive than the feds, and the trend is in that direction. You could find that ivory that you buy legally now cannot be legally resold sometime in the future. If you are happy with bone, you might want to stick with that.

jag312 said:

Does bone come thick enough for SAA grips?

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Camel, giraffe, cow, buffalo all have some big heavy bones that are pretty dense. Some guys go to the bet store and get the big processed cow bones for knife handles. I am sure some of them would work for a SSA. Bone needs to be boiled for a while to clean it.

One of the reasons I like Ivory grips is because my hands seem to grip them so solidly, even when sweaty. I've not experienced that kind of feel with any other grip material. That was the main reason I use them on my M60-7 CCW. I also have them on my matched set of Colt SAA's that I used for SASS matches over 20 years - they grip! They also have a very distinctive look which I think is beautiful.

I have never had a set of Bone Grips and can not comment on their function - simply because I have no experience with them. They are certainly less expensive and more politically correct.

As far as killing Elephants for their tusks - I am not in favor of that and to be honest at the time I purchased mine I did not really give it any thought - shame on me I guess....... Would I purchase them again? - I don't really know....... it's a dilemma for me. That said, I am not ready to give mine up - probably never will as the Elephant is not coming back anyway. I just wish we could get Ivory without harming the animals.

rhmc24 said:

Another one intended as a reply but decided it has wider application --

Ivory vs. bone; I don't recognize much practical difference between them other than availability, cost & color. Ivory is pretty consistent in quality, density & color, while bone can vary, so I'm comparing best bone --


Buffalo bone on my Son's Kimber project I would prefer to ivory. Working very much like ivory, DIY snake plus synthetic rubies @ 30 cents & the bone $30 bone grips ---->

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I probably could not have done near as good of a job, but I gotta say that snake looks like it's stoned.

chief38 said:

One of the reasons I like Ivory grips is because my hands seem to grip them so solidly, even when sweaty. I've not experienced that kind of feel with any other grip material. That was the main reason I use them on my M60-7 CCW. I also have them on my matched set of Colt SAA's that I used for SASS matches over 20 years - they grip! They also have a very distinctive look which I think is beautiful.

I have never had a set of Bone Grips and can not comment on their function - simply because I have no experience with them. They are certainly less expensive and more politically correct.

As far as killing Elephants for their tusks - I am not in favor of that and to be honest at the time I purchased mine I did not really give it any thought - shame on me I guess....... Would I purchase them again? - I don't really know....... it's a dilemma for me. That said, I am not ready to give mine up - probably never will as the Elephant is not coming back anyway. I just wish we could get Ivory without harming the animals.

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I have not had that experience with my ivory grips - they seem to slip through my hands more readily than wood grips when firing a big bore gun. The only gun I have them on is a .41 mag Blackhawk - it will slip enough that my trigger finger is cut by the trigger guard, while that never happens with wood grips.

Some of the most beautiful ivory grips I’ve seen are mastodon ivory. Beautiful bark, occasionally even an almost blue color.

Legal and available, but pricy, as all ivory.

I had a cane that I made from a river birch sapling, absolutely beautiful yellow color. For being smooth the fibers of birch are natural for gripping. I have never thought of making gun grips from the wood, I have lots of it. But for somebody with the itch it would be a great substitute for aged ivory.

These are the closest grip image I could find of the color of the cane after oiled with boiled linseed oil.



Birch is very easy to carve, but can only be sanded, no steel wool. The wool gets under the fibers of the wood.

catadjuster said:

I have not had that experience with my ivory grips - they seem to slip through my hands more readily than wood grips when firing a big bore gun. The only gun I have them on is a .41 mag Blackhawk - it will slip enough that my trigger finger is cut by the trigger guard, while that never happens with wood grips.

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Just saying how it is for me. The "grip" is incredible and they never slip or move around in my hands. Don't really know why, but it works for me. I discovered this while I was shooting SASS matches with my Colt SAA Revolvers which came with Factory Ivory Grips (bought them both brand new and it states so right on the box).

The ones I have on my Chief's Special were custom made to my spec's and are slightly thicker which fills my hand better. In fact they work so well, I have not had my Tyler - T Adapter on there since the Ivory went on.

If you are experiencing slipping then I would suspect the grips might be a little to small for your particular grip. I shoot my little 19 oz. Chief's Spl. with Buffalo Bore #20A +P loads which is very stout and no slipping problems. They do not absorb the felt recoil up like ribber grips do, but I am not a rubber grip fan as they are sticky against clothing and are usually too bulky for effective pocket carry. These custom Ivory Grips are suited quite well for my needs however YMMV. Don't know if you can tell from my crummy pic's but they are a little thicker than factory Grips are sized to.

The ONLY downside to my thicker design is that it makes it almost impossible to use with a Speed Loader. I am not concerned with Speed Loaders since i don't use them with this gun and never have. I've actually trained myself (lots of practice) to do a reload from my Kramer Drop Pouch pretty fast and so for me it's a non issue.

Giraffe bone makes a near-duplicate for ivory when properly done. However, bone will not usually age like ivory (yellowing, surface cracking or crazing, or any of the other beautiful elements of fine ivory grips).

Bone grips make more sense to me for a working gun, while ivory grips should probably live in the climate-controlled gun safe between occasional barbecue appearances.

These buffalo bone grips are a bit slippery,but I like the look

So who makes bone grips? I wouldn't mind having a set for a SAA.

LoboGunLeather said:

Giraffe bone makes a near-duplicate for ivory when properly done. However, bone will not usually age like ivory (yellowing, surface cracking or crazing, or any of the other beautiful elements of fine ivory grips).

Bone grips make more sense to me for a working gun, while ivory grips should probably live in the climate-controlled gun safe between occasional barbecue appearances.

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A while back I would have agreed with you on not using Ivory on a working gun. After using my set of Colt SAA Revolvers with Ivory grips for 20 years in CAS / SASS competition and practice there was hardly a scratch on them. After having lunch and smoking a few cigars with the official Colt Ivory Grip-maker (back then) he told me that they were not nearly as fragile as people think they are and so I took him at his word since he knew a lot more than I did about Ivory. My Ivory grips have been on my Chief's for about 5 1/2 years now and after carrying daily for that time period there is not a scratch or nick on them! I did tell the Grip maker my intentions and he suggested and used a very tight grained piece and told me they won't have the same character as some of the nicer pieces but would fare quite well for daily use. So far he has been spot on and they still look brand new after shooting and toting for 5 1/2 years While I do not abuse them I do not "baby them" either.

I have 1911 grips in elephant ivory, mammoth ivory, giraffe bone, and buffalo bone. They're all beautiful and great to shoot with. The ivory adds a level of elegance that the bone grips don't, and I think the ivory have a bit more grip.

I also have some made from holly, it's a white wood that looks very similar to ivory and has a great feel.