keithherrington
Member
In the following post I discuss a late-production Model 25-5 (BAN63XX): http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...efore-but-s-w-corrected.html?highlight=cprher. The gun took a while for S&W to fix, but fix it they did. While waiting for it, I ordered another pair of Jon Culina's checkered classic grips for it. Since none of the other grips from his shop fit this gun correctly, I was in a quandary as to how to proceed. However, I stumbled across a pair of Ahrend grips that fit perfectly so I sent those to Jon as a pattern.
From my research with several grip makers to include Spegel, Fishpaw and Culina, S&W has about 3 distinct post-war N frame grip sizes. They are not radically different, but different enough to make fitting grips a challenge. The standard generic commercial grips don't worry about these small variations, but those like me that require their customs grips to fit like custom grips - well, then that's a challenge indeed.
Well, I got the grips from Jon yesterday and fit them to my Model 25-5 this morning. Needless to say, I'm most impressed with the job he did. The fit and finish are superb. The only way they could have been improved is if Jon had sanded them on the grip frame prior to final finishing. Here are a few pics to show you what I mean.
In my opinion, S&W set the standard for the "perfect" grip with their "Cokes". Well, Jon has exceeded that standard. The wood he uses is beautiful. These grips are Ziricote. The design of the grips is very similar to Cokes, but do have some subtle changes that make them better. They handle recoil very well, and are no larger than they need to be. The contrast with the original target grips is shocking.
Keith
From my research with several grip makers to include Spegel, Fishpaw and Culina, S&W has about 3 distinct post-war N frame grip sizes. They are not radically different, but different enough to make fitting grips a challenge. The standard generic commercial grips don't worry about these small variations, but those like me that require their customs grips to fit like custom grips - well, then that's a challenge indeed.
Well, I got the grips from Jon yesterday and fit them to my Model 25-5 this morning. Needless to say, I'm most impressed with the job he did. The fit and finish are superb. The only way they could have been improved is if Jon had sanded them on the grip frame prior to final finishing. Here are a few pics to show you what I mean.
In my opinion, S&W set the standard for the "perfect" grip with their "Cokes". Well, Jon has exceeded that standard. The wood he uses is beautiful. These grips are Ziricote. The design of the grips is very similar to Cokes, but do have some subtle changes that make them better. They handle recoil very well, and are no larger than they need to be. The contrast with the original target grips is shocking.
Keith
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