I recently acquired a 1917 that has been modified somewhat but the work is impeccable. my question is, it has pearl grips and the right side is engraved with some silver work around the right grip, the left grip is smooth and unaltered. after researching on the internet, I located a fellow in Houston who told me this was a popular modification back in the 20s and 30s and he has seen several done this way but can find no one to give him any reasoning for this. this old gun locks up great, is butter smooth action wise, nickeled a long time ago but well done, barrel shortened to 4 inches, balanced perfectly for me and will have a great home in my motorhome. can anyone shed some more light on the grip question? thanks in advance.
pearl grips
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bamabiker
Member
I sure don't know the answer but it sounds kind of like the pearl grips with the carved steer head on the right side. Some had ruby eyes and silver or gold horns.
I don't know why they just did one side but I'd like to see your grips and 1917 if you can post a picture.
I don't know why they just did one side but I'd like to see your grips and 1917 if you can post a picture.
I always thought the reason that right grips (usually ivory or pearl) and not left grips were carved with a pattern was to give "more grip" on the gun, like checkering would normally give for a right handed shooter.
That, and the fact that more people are right handed means that the fancier grip would be visible when the gun was holstered.... Gotta show as much bling as possible at the ol' BBQ, ya know?
Mark
05CarbonDRZ
Member
This was always my thought as well.
crsides
US Veteran, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
We need pics.
Charlie
Charlie
Be careful with MOP Stocks
I picked up an early '50s nickel M&P .38 (pre-Model 10) earlier this year with very nice old MOP stocks. I was warned by several Forum members about how fragile these stocks are if you're carrying or shooting regularly. You might want to consider, like I did, buying a set of old wooden service stocks or bonded ivories (Altamont Co.) to keep on your revolver...except when you're at a BBQ, of course! Those older MOP stocks are commanding some good prices these days, so keep them in good condition.
I picked up an early '50s nickel M&P .38 (pre-Model 10) earlier this year with very nice old MOP stocks. I was warned by several Forum members about how fragile these stocks are if you're carrying or shooting regularly. You might want to consider, like I did, buying a set of old wooden service stocks or bonded ivories (Altamont Co.) to keep on your revolver...except when you're at a BBQ, of course! Those older MOP stocks are commanding some good prices these days, so keep them in good condition.
rburg
Member
George Patton wasn't my CO. I'm too young for that (but it makes me feel good just to say it because I'm old now, too.) I don't care what he said I do for a living, and it kind of sounds like fun. Something else I've never done. I wonder if Cajunlawyer has ever done that. I'd like to hear the story anyway.
Common sense says that if you're going to shoot a gun with Pearlies on it, you should make it a light recoiling gun. Stress from firing is what cracks the material. That and whacking miscreants on the haid. Then you'd want to shoot them for the damage they did. Better off just shooting them to begin with. Less fuss and muss. Pearl grips can look nice. Or ratty after the bottom corners chip out and vanish (probably imbedded in some fools scalp.)
Anyone buying pearls should do a close inspection. You want to really examine the bottom corners both grips. And then the top around the stock circle, and both sides. You're looking for any chips or cracks that will soon be a chip. Look closely, they're probably there.
Patton did us a real disservice with is comments. And its been said he had a gun with them, too. But his opinions don't control our current behavior. A while back I found and bought what I feel are some nice K frame Pearls. I don't really like the Mexican eagle on the right one, but it's flashy enought and they don't clash with that engraved K22. Notice they're on a gun that never gets fired. And if it did, chances are it wouldn't damage the grips. I kind of doubt it would be a good idea on a 44 with stout loads.
Common sense says that if you're going to shoot a gun with Pearlies on it, you should make it a light recoiling gun. Stress from firing is what cracks the material. That and whacking miscreants on the haid. Then you'd want to shoot them for the damage they did. Better off just shooting them to begin with. Less fuss and muss. Pearl grips can look nice. Or ratty after the bottom corners chip out and vanish (probably imbedded in some fools scalp.)
Anyone buying pearls should do a close inspection. You want to really examine the bottom corners both grips. And then the top around the stock circle, and both sides. You're looking for any chips or cracks that will soon be a chip. Look closely, they're probably there.
Patton did us a real disservice with is comments. And its been said he had a gun with them, too. But his opinions don't control our current behavior. A while back I found and bought what I feel are some nice K frame Pearls. I don't really like the Mexican eagle on the right one, but it's flashy enought and they don't clash with that engraved K22. Notice they're on a gun that never gets fired. And if it did, chances are it wouldn't damage the grips. I kind of doubt it would be a good idea on a 44 with stout loads.
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Rick Bowles
Absent Comrade
Traditionally, carved gun stocks were only embellished on one side... the inside. Carving was an additional expense possibly even doubling the cost of the original stocks. The art was worn on the inside to protect it. We've all seen the abuse to which stocks are subjected. My guess is this guy was either left handed or, as a military firearm, he wore the revolver on his left side because something of more importance was worn on the right.
Lee's Landing Billy
Member
Frank Hamer, Lone Wolf Gonzales, Tom Threepersons, Bat Masterson and many more would have slapped the taste out of old George's mouth if he had said that to them. All these old boys preferred MOP. According to the S&W catalogue of 1901 the pearls cost more than Ivory. But a person involved in the afore mentioned business probably made more than a 1st LT in 1900.
Rick, this is a good theory that makes some sense but I beg to differ. When we study old surviving examples of sixgun stocks with embellishments added to only one side, the fancy work is almost always found on the right, not left, panel. Examples of the reverse, with work found on the left, and not right, side are quite scarce. I would guess the ratio is something like 10:1, if not greater.
So, you see, if what you say were truly the case, we'd have to assume that lefties, and not righties, dominate and/or that righties were, for whatever reason, always carrying on the left side, neither of which is true, of course.
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So's y'all have something to look at while the OP is making a daguerreotype, here's some carved pearls from a 1910 Colt Frontier Six Shooter. I don't have carved ones for my S&W revolvers, but forum member Combat has some that look like this. I believe they came from Wolf & Klar many years ago.
Oh, and my two cents are the carvings are done on the viewing side when the gun is holstered.
Oh, and my two cents are the carvings are done on the viewing side when the gun is holstered.
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sarg1c
US Veteran
This past fall, I traded for a 1905HE .32S/W long with S/W pearls on it. They are so easy to break that I laid them up and made a set of wood grips from a J frame and put them on it...
Hello MOP people. How did they cut it and carve it? It has all ways seemed to be like glass. Im just un-informed. Mike 2796
MOP is very easy to work. It's a lot more like teeth than glass. It saws, grinds, files, sands and polishes like ivory and stag (and teeth) . Yes, it's a bit more fragile but I haven't broken any working on them. However, they're almost guaranteed to break if dropped on a hard surface. The others can crack and/or break if dropped as well but not near as readily.
If they are too tight for the grip frame and any pressure is used to press them in place, they will chip or flake at the top and around the grip dowel. If they are loose, they can crack when shooting, especially hard kicking guns.
There are an awful lot of pearl grips on Colt .45s and N frame 44s from yesteryear that were used hard and shot a lot that have survived unscathed.
Yes, also many we see today have corners broken off. Everyday used guns do get dropped, and IMHO, that's the main reason we see broken corners on MOP. Dropped guns usually hit the ground butt first.
If they are too tight for the grip frame and any pressure is used to press them in place, they will chip or flake at the top and around the grip dowel. If they are loose, they can crack when shooting, especially hard kicking guns.
There are an awful lot of pearl grips on Colt .45s and N frame 44s from yesteryear that were used hard and shot a lot that have survived unscathed.
Yes, also many we see today have corners broken off. Everyday used guns do get dropped, and IMHO, that's the main reason we see broken corners on MOP. Dropped guns usually hit the ground butt first.
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rburg
Member
Back during the 1960s and 1970s, my dad had a hobby of jewelry making. It was a branch of his rockhounding. And as rockhounds they traveled a bit and traded fossils from around here, and other places in their travels for whatever. At one such stop the local trader just had to own bucket fulls of Ordivician fossils and was willing to trade his Ablone for them. So my dad came home and began carving and grinding on them. He'd read that the dust was toxic to say the least. So his work, out of necessity, was done under water. Virtually all MOP that is carved or shaped spent its time submerged.
It may be soft, but it can kill you, too.
And when it chips, which it does or will, you need a repairman. We've got a dentist that excels at it. He uses one of his tooth expoy substances, I think he once said he cures it with UV light. Some of his work is hard to see, even if you know where the chipped corner was. Better still, he was the pusher who sold me my current 4" Triple Lock. Whats not to like?
It may be soft, but it can kill you, too.
And when it chips, which it does or will, you need a repairman. We've got a dentist that excels at it. He uses one of his tooth expoy substances, I think he once said he cures it with UV light. Some of his work is hard to see, even if you know where the chipped corner was. Better still, he was the pusher who sold me my current 4" Triple Lock. Whats not to like?
General remarks about the dangers of dust particles of any substance are correct, particularly the glass-like fragments from seashells. Common sense precautions should always be taken during production of dust from any product being worked. This is the principle reason for working materials under water and before more technical filtration systems were developed.
But believe me, if true toxicity really existed, the water would not save you anyway! Claims about heat releasing a protein, the protein being absorbed through open cuts, and extreme toxicity are highly suspect since nothing can be found elsewhere which documents this.
Colt Firearms is invoked as a source on such research, but soon after an article appeared, several calls to the Colt factory were made and could find no one who knew anything about it. Knowledge of such research was finally and positively denied by Jim Alaimo, who was then superintendant of Colt's custom shop (where custom grips are made and any non-standard work is performed) and is more well known by many of us now as the proprietor of Nutmeg Sports. To be fair, we'll later look at problems where shell's scleroprotein is implicated, such as personal allergic reactions and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which is linked below.
If concerned read this, Cut Shell and Die:
http://www.portercalls.com/images/sounds/DOPCUT SHELLANDDIEarticle.pdf
Health Precautions - Mother of Pearl Types - KnifeHandles.com - Your #1 Exotic Material Supplier
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis Treatment | Conditions & Treatments | UCSF Medical Center
Hope this puts it all in perspective,
But believe me, if true toxicity really existed, the water would not save you anyway! Claims about heat releasing a protein, the protein being absorbed through open cuts, and extreme toxicity are highly suspect since nothing can be found elsewhere which documents this.
Colt Firearms is invoked as a source on such research, but soon after an article appeared, several calls to the Colt factory were made and could find no one who knew anything about it. Knowledge of such research was finally and positively denied by Jim Alaimo, who was then superintendant of Colt's custom shop (where custom grips are made and any non-standard work is performed) and is more well known by many of us now as the proprietor of Nutmeg Sports. To be fair, we'll later look at problems where shell's scleroprotein is implicated, such as personal allergic reactions and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, which is linked below.
If concerned read this, Cut Shell and Die:
http://www.portercalls.com/images/sounds/DOPCUT SHELLANDDIEarticle.pdf
Health Precautions - Mother of Pearl Types - KnifeHandles.com - Your #1 Exotic Material Supplier
Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis Treatment | Conditions & Treatments | UCSF Medical Center
Hope this puts it all in perspective,
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