I bought these grips on eBay, and I'm trying to find more information about them and their maker. The auction said they are Sanderson grips, and Doc44 confirmed that. I've always liked Roper and Herrett grips, so I picked them up simply because I like the way they look.

The N frame set has some of the most beautiful wood I've ever seen, but I have no idea what species it is. Other than one nick, they are perfect.

The K frame set appears to be made of dark walnut, but I'm not sure. They have been used more than the N frame set, but there is no notable damage. I believe both sets started out as the same design, but the K frame set has a noticeable palm swell and the left panel has been modified. If it wasn't done by the maker, someone else definitely knew what they were doing. The seller believes the extra mounting holes are for a Colt revolver.

Pardon my dirty gun cleaning towel!

I bought these grips on eBay, and I'm trying to find more information about them and their maker. The auction said they are Sanderson grips, and Doc44 confirmed that. I've always liked Roper and Herrett grips, so I picked them up simply because I like the way they look.

The N frame set has some of the most beautiful wood I've ever seen, but I have no idea what species it is. Other than one nick, they are perfect.

The K frame set appears to be made of dark walnut, but I'm not sure. They have been used more than the N frame set, but there is no notable damage. I believe both sets started out as the same design, but the K frame set has a noticeable palm swell and the left panel has been modified. If it wasn't done by the maker, someone else definitely knew what they were doing. The seller believes the extra mounting holes are for a Colt revolver.

Pardon my dirty gun cleaning towel!

In my humble opinion you can present the second set as original. I have a set almost exactly like yours. The palm swell being not as pronounced. I also own six others and none are exactly alike.
DW

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I believe your opinion concerning grips can be a bit more than humble.

All I know is that I like both sets. I hope the link to this album works (let me know if it doesn't).

Some Sanderson photos:

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Thank you, s&wchad. Those are beautiful grips.

Nice grips! Did Sanderson every use Osage Orange?

They are nice grips, I also have a set.
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...63/1sander.jpg
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z...sanderhigh.jpg

I appreciate all the photos, gentlemen. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a set of Sanderson's. They look like they might be good shooting grips.

Jerry

I was the runner up bidder in that auction - congrats, I think you picked up a good set.

I have no doubt they are Sandersons. With Sandersons you are looking for a certain look and feel as far as being able to identify / authenticate them, and that set conforms. I have a set very similar on a K22. That Colt pin hole - I'm sure the seller is correct about that - thats where the pin hole is for the Offcers Models, Pythons, and OPs.

I've seen and owned a lot of Sandersons.

I think both pair are. However, I have never seen a pair that were the color of the top pair. I am not sure what species the wood is. Perhaps they are a very skillful refinish, done with no sanding.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

The first lighter colored set you have appears to be made out of maple. I could be wrong but that would be my guess.

WOW! I've never seen these grips before. WOW! Hill

I want to thank everyone for the comments so far. I learn something new each day. Does anyone have any Sanderson advertisements or packaging?

Here is the Sanderson advertising flyer :





Later, Mike Priwer

Thank you, Mike! I don't care what everyone says about you.

Interesting. I wonder if the light colored set on the Colt (bottom page, left side) is made of the same wood species as my N frame set.

Here are some Sanderson related memorabilia.
Chuck
Business card:


Hand Template for custom ordering:




advertising letter from Lew Sanderson:

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That was a great read. Thank you, Chuck!

Given the choices of "fancy woods", cherry makes the most sense for the N frame set. Maple is usually much lighter, and myrtlewood usually has dark streaks.

Mike is there anything in that brochure that looks like the pair I have listed. I'd like to find out what they fit. thanks BOB

Jeremy...based on my "World of Woods" book, I believe the first pair of stocks shown are made of american cherry.

Bill

Bill, I agree. After researching maple and cherry lumber, they seem to have similar grains, but cherry has much more color (burnt orange). Thank you for your help. Now, I need to mount them on something.

With all respect I don't believe they are refinished. To many character marks and the back of the panels show no flashing on the edges. If they were cleaned up the back edges would be a bit smoother depending on the skill of the re-finisher-restorer. I can see the indentations from the frame where they were mounted on a gun but they were not on for very long. Just my lousy nickles worth.
DW

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pahoghunter:

I don't know what those grips are for, that you have. That brochure that I posted was
posted here , maybe a year or more ago. Other than owning a few pairs of Sandersons, that
is all the information I have.

Regards, Mike Priwer

I have a brochure and related cutouts from'63, in which Lew's son Don had taken over. The price of the plain walnut was $14.00! In it the Oregon Myrtle was scratched out. Samre pictures as the lower one posted by the boss.

Good shooting!

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Good shooting.

What is the current value of Sanderson grips? For the record, I paid a little over $200 for both sets.

Hi DW,
What I meant was a trick I have used on factory Targets that have been stored in a moist area. I had a few pair once that had never been on guns, but the finish was milky from moisture damage- varnish or whatever the factory used in later years. I soaked them in acetone. NO sanding, NO steel wool. I rubbed them with coarse coton cloth, staying off the sharp edges. Then finished with heavy Tung Oil. NICE. They were Goncalo, and went dark reddish-purple.

I think you could be right, though. Maybe they aren't redone. They just appear to be finished with orange shellac, which I find hard to believe a gripmaker would use. It can get sticky just from body heat! I know it could be sealed with a coat of varnish, but it is still a tricky finish for a lot of cantact.

Jeremy,
I don't think they are cherry, may be- hard to tell with that color on them. I would say maple before cherry. I have NO knowledge of Myrtle Wood, unless you mean Jack Wood's sister, but we won't go there...... Maple and cherry I am pretty familiar with. I don't think anyone would put that color on cherry. The grain is not quite right to me for cherry.

I have some cherry I milled in 96, that has been air dried. I have a lot more logs I cut in 01 that have been under cover since. I hope to mill them this summer. I have one more diseased cherry tree that I will cut and mill wet. I have been letting it grow instead of cutting it with the others, but it is about dead now. I wanted the growths on it to get as large as possible. It has a tumor-like knot around the first fork, and another higher on the biggest limb. Might be some interesting grain there.
Cherry is an interesting wood in the aspect of durability. I cut a spindly cherry when clearing a driveway in 83. It was not worth any trouble- maybe 8" in dia. I drug it into a wooded area out of the way. Years later, I noticed the sap wood had rotted away, but the heartwood was still laying there and solid! No insects, no termites. In Georgia, you can drop a pine board, and termites will be in it before you can bend over and pick it up. I was so fascinated, I drug the log down below my barn so I could monitor it thru the years. Most of that 5-6" core is still there, having layed on the ground for 26 years.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Maybe Mr. Priwer can stick his two cents in here. He knows wood and the refinishing of it quite well. Michael?
Paul

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They're worth about three times that.
DW

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For the sake of further discussion, I want to share this link:

http://images.google.com/

Click on the link, and type "american cherry" or "american maple". There are many good examples of each.

Keep in mind that while Maple maybe almost white when freshly cut, after a couple of decades it will turn a nice golden color, this process can be helped or hindered depending on the type of finish used.

The maple should also be harder and more durable than cherry but this would be difficult to test since the variations from one piece to the next would be too great to depend on a single sample

Kurac, that is a very good point. You definitely know a lot more than me about playing with wood.

I am looking past the color of the grips and more at the grain, it could also be birch but my first guess would be maple

Below a set for the 1911. Jeff Cooper spoke highly of Sanderson stocks.







tipoc

Paul

That light-colored pair of stocks ? I think those are 100% original, and not stained or
refinished in any way.

Years ago, I bought three pairs of Sandersons; a J, a K, and a N set. The J-frame is exactly
that same color, tone, etc. The N-frame pair was also very light, but not quite like those.

I don't think it maple, as I have never seen maple that color. I don't know what it is, but
I think its 100% original.

Back in the 50's, plus / minus a few decades, there was a lot of wonderful wood that we no
longer have access to.

Just as an asidem, about 15 years ago, there was a company called Tucson Grips, and they
made some spectacular rosewood-variants stocks for S&W, Colts, etc. I was in love with those
grips, and went so far as to buy close to 100 pounds of the scraps . I glued them together, and
made several gun cases, display cases, etc. I couldn't believe all the different colors of
rosewoods. Dark, light, red, pink, everything. Not to mention the Zebra woods, etc.

Later, Mike Priwer

Appreciate the input Michael.
Paul

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Hi All
Just to let you know this has been the most educational, enjoyable, and rewarding thread I have read in a long long time. Thank you all for you contribution, insight and "professional" way of presenting and exchanging your vast knowledge from which all on the forum may learn. Both by the knowledge and the ediquette.
TaKe Care and God Bless
Ted

here is a pair for an N frame that I have for sale in the correct forum, though it was awhile ago and you might have trouble finding the post:~) They are awesome grips! Fit and old world quality finsih is way cool.
Matt

Top pair in pic,dark fancy grain walnut never refinished. Bottom pair are for Colt and are also for sale.

Here's my only set of Sanderson grips on an Army Model 1917, that was modified by a Detroit Police Officer back in the 1930's. He added the grips in the 1940's, they were on the revolver when I bought it from his 79 year old son last fall. It is very comfortable shooting with them, much better than the original GI issue, but not the best for loading moon clips. They do work pretty good with half moons or auto rims though. There is a "90" stamped on the inside of both sides. Greg

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Win712:
Here's my only set of Sanderson grips on an Army Model 1917, that was modified by a Detroit Police Officer back in the 1930's. He added the grips in the 1940's, they were on the revolver when I bought it from his 79 year old son last fall. It is very comfortable shooting with them, much better than the original GI issue, but not the best for loading moon clips. They do work pretty good with half moons or auto rims though. There is a "90" stamped on the inside of both sides. Greg

Greg, Lew Sanderson was on the Detroit PD Pistol Team in the 1930s. Maybe a connection here?

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29-1, Very interesting! Just now after reading your post I called the gentleman that I bought this revolver from. I asked him if he remembered anything about the grips with thumb rest (another set with silver medallions also came with gun). I was told that a guy that his Dad knew from the police force made the grips for him and did the modifications to the 1917, sometime in the mid 1930's. The Detroit PD Officer was a Lieutenant in Homicide during the 30's, 40's & 50's. He apparently obtained the 1917, 45 ACP in about 1930 after carrying a .38 special for a couple of years. After shooting a perp twice with the .38 the Officer was seriously injured by the perp. That didn't happen again after going to the .45, "cause someone hit stayed hit". Below is the revolver with the other grips, this photo better illustrates the modifications done to the revolver too. Greg

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Sanderson’s on a Colt Officers Model Special:





I wonder if the wood is naturally that dark, or has been heavily darkened by oil over the years.

Here are a couple Sanderson-shod Colt Officers Model 38s set up for target shooting, the one in the background a King Super Target conversion, the one in the foreground equipped with Roper front and rear sights, as well as modified hammer and trigger that may or may not be Roper work.

Sure looks like an old pair of Sandersons to me, great gun, grips and pics.

Jeremy,
I have a set of grips that same color that have not been refinished. Even the back of the grips look the same as yours. I don't know what kind of wood I have but I thought they were maple because we have Hard Rock Maple furniture about the same color! I wanted to touch up a nick and all I had was Tru Oil walnut stain. But the wood is so hard it doesn't absorb much color;(after testing on the back of course) it matched the color perfectly, believe it or not.

Jim

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Jim
S&WCA #819

here's my only pair, on a 1917 Colt converted to 22LR.

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Most of the pix no longer work but I dispute that the smooth S&W stocks are Sandersons. I worked for Sanderson for several years and don't recall any that weren't checkered with his particularly nice, sharp checkering. JMTC