Does anyone have a picture of factory checkered rosewood grips? Also, does anyone have a gun that letters with such?

I believe that 29aholic said he has a set.

44 Magnum with checked, rosewood stocks shipped in November 1956. The revolver letters as having been shipped with checked target stocks (usually the wood type was not specified, and the type of stocks was not specified unless there was an extra charge for them). The second 44 Magnum was made in February 1956. It has serial number S130853 and has checked, target stocks made of rosewood.

Bill

Here's a set, k Frame, no papers

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These are the nicest K-frame, checked, rosewood stocks I have ever found. I bought them a number of years ago. I have put them on a nickel 19-2 and they look great.

Bill

Everyone, thank you for the pictures. Keep them coming.

Doc44, if a set of WALNUT K Frame Relieved Diamond Targets is valued at around $125, what premium would you expect to pay for a ROSEWOOD set? As you know, I have my eyes on a set.

Assuming the set of stocks is mint, I would be willing to pay up to $250 for them (assuming I had a specific need for them). Based on my experience, I would conclude checked, rosewood stocks are scarce, as most stocks you see made of rosewood are plain.

Bill

Thank you for the information. I like your new avatar.

Did all rosewood, diamond, targets have silver medallions? I have a set of dark, reddish K frame, diamond, targets with gold medallions. I can't do a picture today - but will try soon.

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry...Very few S&W stocks have factory installed gold monograms, but a few do. A picture will certainly help.

Jeremy...thanks. I like the new avatar myself.

Bill

Keep an eye out for these medallions, too. They are plastic medallions used by S&W around 1952. They are very fragile because the plastic can be pulled through the washer with little force when removing the grip panel from the frame.

These are the K frame grips I referred to yesterday. They have gold medallions and are much darker in color than any other grips I own. Could they be rosewood?

Thanks,

Jerry

Jerry...Your stocks appear to be made of Goncalo alves. Also, do the S&W monograms have a silver background (below the S&W)? If they do, the nickel plating has been worn or polished off and the brass color is showing through.

Bill

Bill,

I brushed the medallions with solvent and find the background is the same color as the letters. It certainly could be brass, but it is uniform.

Regarding the wood; most of my Goncalo Alves grips have more yellow in them. Do you think these grips have been stained to the reddish color they exhibit?

If they are of particular interest with regards to the medallions, I would be happy to send them to you to look at in person.

Thanks for your input,

Jerry

Just bought a 38 sp revolver ser# is 1659XX also gun has AF. 71 stamped on it and G & F 10742. Any help about the gun.

Thanks

Jerry....Pictures often don't tell the whole story. I would be happy to look at the stocks at given you my opinion.

Bill

The grips on the nickle one are rosewood I believe.

Uhhhmmmmmm, checkered Rosewood. Beautiful wood, shaped into classic proportions and curves. Brings back memories....

One of my first area partners carried a four inch blue Model 19 with plain black sights and checkered Rosewood target grips with the diamond pattern. The wood had attained that marvelous rich dark purple-brown color with the little streaks of red.

Unfortunately, said partner was a real slob. Uniform, leather, boots always looked ratty and neglected. I doubt he ever spent his uniform allowance on uniforms, dry cleaning or equipment.

His Model 19, an early one, had significant rust developing mostly on the frame flats above the stocks, along the backstrap and on the front sides of the barrel where his holster had worn the blue away.

Those lovely Rosewood stocks were also beaten up and crud had accumulated in the borders around the checkering and in the checkering.

He decided to take a couple weeks vacation. He had a new, sleazy-looking teenage boy that had moved in next door to him, who ran with sleazier-looking cohorts. Worrying they might burglarize his house while he was gone, he asked if I would keep his guns for the two weeks. I said, "sure."

Besides the Combat Magnum, he had an unfired Colt SAA in .45 Colt, a bolt action .270 from I forget who and a Browning Superposed over & under.

The .357 was absolutely filthy. I don't know how it passed muster before qualification shoots. One afternoon, I decided to fix matters.

I totally disassembled the sixgun. It didn't look like the sideplate had ever been off; lint, crud and grunge prevailed throughout. I spent several hours scrubbing each individual part with Hoppes and various toothbrushes of both nylon and bronze, and then flushed them good with brake parts cleaner before rubbing them down with a clean, olied cloth. The carry-up was a little short, both in slow single- and double-action, so I fished through my stuff and found a K frame locking bolt that fit perfectly. I replaced his dented, bent rear sight blade with a new blade, screw and nut. I scrubbed enough lead out of the chambers and barrel with some Frontier Metal Cleaner to melt and cast into several new bullets. Using bronze wool and oil, I removed the thickening rust from the frame and barrel's exteriors. By the time the rust was gone, the metal was pretty much bare underneath.

Reassembling the revolver after applying a few drops of good lubricant on the friction points, the action was that old-fashioned, solid-yet-slick-smooth you rarely get to feel any more.

I scrubbed the grips with nylon bristle brushes, then soaked them in acetone overnight, then brushed them again. After drying them for a day or two, I steamed a few dents out with a hand iron and wet towel. I taped sand paper to a piece of window glass and sanded about 1/16 to 1/8 inch off the bottoms, which removed a lot of dents, nicks and scratches. Then I used tung oil on them. Even after the acetone, the rosewood still had plenty of it's own oil or sap in the wood and they didn't need much oil and rubbing to make them look presentable.

One local gunshop owner, Doug at Doug's Sports Chalet, was also a big S&W fan. He really shined up the trade goods he took in before putting them out for sale. Doug clamped it in his padded vice and first re-cut the striations running across the face of the worn Baughman ramp. Using a one-sided fine-cut file, he straightened the sides of the blade and removed a few little imperfections, so the front sight blade looked great in the glory of it's bare steel. He used some sort of paste cold blue, which's name included "44-40" if memory serves, after really degreasing the area to be touched up. After two or three applications of blueing, he would use a soft cloth and some kind of car wax and polish up the gun like a first class shoeshine artist.

While the old gun didn't look new by then, it was mighty attractive, and looked like somebody cared about it, and it was really slick and smooth.

Buddy Rex returned home and came to collect his stuff. I opened the cylinder of the Model 19 and handed the gun to him. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened.

"WHATTHEHELLDIDYOUDOTOMYGUN??!!" he thundered. He was really angry! I was surprised. "I removed all the rust that was eating your gun. I cleaned it. It was filthy. You're a pig. You shouldn't even be allowed to have such nice things."

"THAT WASN'T 'RUST,' THAT WAS PATINA YOU PIN-HEAD!!!"

"'Patina' is just the collectors word for 'rust', Rex."

He examined the chambers and the bore. They were bright, smooth, spotless and shiney. He spun the cylinder, which glided around on the yoke almost forever. Closing the cylinder, he dry-fired it a few times, each way. He grunted. He pointed it at an object on the fireplace mantle and dry-fired a couple more clicks.

"Rex," I said, "I bet that's the first time you've seen that front sight blade clearly in 10 years!" He grunted, not being able to decide if it was a good thing or a disaster.

It did have some impact on him. When he came to work a couple days later, he had polished his Roper duty boots, the first time in a year, I bet. He had disassembled his duty belt, his Sam Browne, and had died all the surfaces of the belt, cuff holder, baton ring, holster and ammo loop slide black again, then hit them with black leather polish. Then, he shined up the brass bits! The keeper snaps, the buckle, the brass ring of his nightstick holder. His badge, name plate and service stars glowed. He even cleaned, lubed and shined up his Peerless handcuffs!

And, he got a haircut!

Our sergeant was speechless. He stood Rex to attention and conducted an army-style inspection while the rest of the squad stood in silence. Being a shooter, Pappy had often deplored Rex's gun care in the past, and said he didn't think that it was the same gun!

When he was done, Pappy stood back, took a slow deep breath and said, "Rex, this is a startling transformation. I am impressed. Now, all you need to do is get your uniforms cleaned and pressed, replace that sweat-stained, oil-soaked-collared duty jacket with a new one, and you might not look like ****."

They then both stood at attention, saluted and turned and left the squad room. The rest of us applauded!

Later in the shift, Rex would corner one deputy or another, review what had just happened and sorta relive what was a very rare bit of praise for Rex's appeance.

When we met for lunch, Rex seriously asked me, "This jacket, this windbreaker... do you think that was a shot?"

I tried to buy Rex's Model 19 from him when the department went to autoloaders, and again when he retired, but he refused me and he still has it.

And those Rosewood stocks still look just great.

Great story, BUFF! Thank you for taking the time to share it.

+2

Bill, look at the back of the medallions(center of the washer) this part is brass also. It is my belief that unplated medallions were used as the button on the lid to the tool compartment of the presentation cases of the 1979-1983 era. I have polished MANY of these and found all of them to be brass. It could be possible the set of grips posted by j38 used one of the sets of unplated medallions!
jcelect SWCA#723

This K frame set was on a very nice JET!! Pete

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NRA LIFE 1974

[QUOTE=Doc44;1019347]44 Magnum with checked, rosewood stocks shipped in November 1956. The revolver letters as having been shipped with checked target stocks (usually the wood type was not specified, and the type of stocks was not specified unless there was an extra charge for them). The second 44 Magnum was made in February 1956. It has serial number S130853 and has checked, target stocks made of rosewood.

Bill]

Bill my factory letter specifies the type wood, Pete
PS,Bill, that first year nickel is outstanding but after buying my blue 4 screw, I only have one kidney left!

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NRA LIFE 1974

Pete...I have looked at several original invoices for 44 Magnums from 1956 through 1965, and none of them specified the type of stocks or the type of wood the stocks were made of. Goncalo alves is the "standard wood" used to make target stocks used on the 44 Magnum and later the Model 29 and its model variations, so while correct for your gun, the Goncalo alves comment often may fall into the category of boiler plate, or Roy will put that in the letter if that is what you tell him are on your revolver.

See the invoice for S131000 below as an example (this 44 Magnum has stocks made of rosewood).

Bill

Ok,Bill,I understand the boiler plate language.I thought Roy
was getting his info off factory documents. I did not indicate
the wood type when I requested the letter.I just gave him
serial,finish,and barrel length. Pete

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NRA LIFE 1974

I really enjoyed reading your story, Buff. Thanks for taking the time.

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beaver

Here's a 25-2 with rosewood targets. Not sure if they are original to the gun. Previous owner was Handejector, and I doubt he would have put them on a gun he was going to sell. Georgous gun, Lee.

Sitting here cracking up after reading that story!
I am a 20 year veteran firefighter,

I once had a similar experience cleaning someones filthy disgusting helmet while he was on vacation..........
Boy was he PISSED!

The pictures don't do them justice, but these were my inspiration for starting this thread:

Jeremy....very nice pair of checked, targets made of rosewood.

Bill

Thank you. Rosewood is very distinct in person. Hopefully, I'll recognize it when I see it in the future.

Buff,that's a great story.Looks like you made quite an impact by detailing your friends sidearm.Sort of a wakeup call for him.

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Garage Logician

"Looks like you made quite an impact by detailing your friends sidearm.Sort of a wakeup call for him."

Well, we hoped so, but I am afraid that Rex went right back to sleep. That may have been the last time he shined those boots!

Thanks for the comments, folks. It was a good memory, prompted by the rosewood stocks discussion.

This is an old thread but most descriptive to help the next member trying to search for checkered rosewood target stocks. Just picked up these K frame rosewood checkered targets. Most of the ones I've seen on the forum have been diamond stocks or silver stock circle insert ones. These have the black inserts.

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In the past I owned a set of both N and K rosewood without the diamonds. Both were factory washer.

They bring pretty good money also. They look great on a nickel 19

Good pairing.
Rosewood and Nickel.

bdGreen

I ran across two pair of factory checked KSB diamond rosewood targets last night mixed with the Culina grips in the little box. They both looked almost unused and I'm proud to have them. Thank you JR Weems! They are kept in good company. There were also two sets of factory smooth rosewood presentation grips there, unused. Sold my Pre Model nickel 19 to help a Model 19 collector buy a rare bird, and at a friendly price, here on the forum WTB section. Guess I now need one or two nickel 19s.

The hunt is on.

Can we see them?

Sure. Give me a few days.

Last time I posted this pic someone commented: "3 different woods. Top 29-2 with non-original GA, middle 27-2 with rosewood and 25-5 with walnut. I'm certainly no expert, makes no difference in the shooting. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

I really need to spend some time with my grips, I see. Went through two boxes in the wind with rain coming, so forgive the pics. I'll get better ones and replace them. Most Presentations are likely being worn.

The pictures are fine. I had to stand up to catch the light right at the proper height. Tops look bad from in the chair, but look good from higher up.

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I've got the same question. What are these? They came to me on an N-frame I bought some years ago, but they're really for a K-frame. I THINK they're rosewood but I have no idea really. They have the football cutout, and sort of a gold/brass color washer on the back. The little S&W inserts appear to be goldish color too.



I've got them stashed away in a box collecting dust. Maybe I need to buy a gun for them.

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John 3:16 .

Small pores look like goncalo but they quite straight grained. A pic of the backs are needed to sure, at least for me.

Hard to see with that heavy finish but the grain and those cut pores tells me they are rosewood. From what I have seen and read from others, the gold colored medallions are simply the usual silver colored ones with aged lacquer over them that have yellowed.

Rosewood checkered on my 15-2

Here is a fabulous looking set of K rosewood target stocks that unfortunately were attached to a model 14-2 on GB. I waited to post these until the auction ended. No one ended up with it or at least no sale was noted.

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They do look great!

I do prefer the rosewood that has that purplish look to it.

They look great on nickel guns.
They look lighter in the pic from bad lighting.

Rich:

The grips are nice, but that gun is a "what the heck???" Is it a nickel K-22 ??? What model configuration??? - early enough to have the blued front sight base... very cool.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

It's my factory nickel four screw pre 17

I am always changing the grips on them.

I like these.

bdGreen