Ropers on a K-22

[Hammerdown]

Hello Don & David & Other's
Roper's Grip's have always Intrigued me. For a Guy who worked with a very Limited amount of Tools and Power equipment back then, he sure got some excellent results. here is a Registered Magnum that is Not mine. It belongs to a dear friend and associate member of the S&WCA and he brought it by my house to show it to me. It is wearing a set of Roper Thumb Rest grips and the Odd part is Roper relieved part of the grip that covered The factory Trade mark stamp so that it Showed clearly with the grip's in place. I have not seen this done an any other Roper grips to allow the Trade Mark to show through with the grips In Place... Hammerdown

 

[cavedog]

thanks guys. the serial no on the gun is 644,xxx. I spoke with Roy Jinks this am - i was trying to recall the serial no from memory and I told him 633,000 instead of 644,000 and he noted at 633K it was a 1931-2 gun. he noted there were some shipped with Roper grips as an option - only way to know was to research the archives so that is what I am doing and will know in about 10 weeks.

i am guessing Roper grips without numbers are the earliest ones? no idea. thanks for the offer Dave but think I will keep them.

my best,

robin

 

[cavedog]

K-22 Outdoorsman Roper pics

My grips are a bit different from the others shown. they are completely checkered around the back - except for a window cutout about 1" in length that exposes the strap. also, the bottom of grips shows only the grips, and the grips is not flat but rather flared. The Outdoorsman they came on is a 644,xxx gun, I think in really good shape, and the front sight has a silver bead.

follow up pics show my other Smith & Wesson .22s: a 617 and a well traveled and well used Model 41 I bought new in 1979. That 41 has accounted for literally over 1000 head of small game - frogs, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, quail, mink, raccoons, foxes - and a few stray cats and sparrows & starlings.

 

[Keith Brown]

cavedog, that is a magnificent set of Ropers you have and quite valuable to the right person. The drop in the toe is very stylish and I don't think I've seen the feature other than in a few pictures. Your grips exhibit classic Roper features, the angled middle finger shelf and a full field of checkering on the right panel, the small tear drop shaped field of checkering on the left panel is beautiful, a very very pretty set of grips. Thanks very much for posting the pictures.

Keith

 

[DCWilson]

Cavedog, now that I have seen the gun and the Ropers I have to say that you got an even better deal than the unbelievable deal I already thought you had. The gun is great, and the Ropers are spectacular.

I'm thinking 644xxx is probably a 1933 product, or maybe late 1932.

Going back to one of your original questions, I'd say those Ropers would fetch at least $400 at a well-noticed auction. If you got some buyers with deep pockets trying to horse each other out of the way, the price could go higher.

 

[cavedog]

many thanks Keith and Dave! i feel just ridiculously lucky! no intention on selling the gun or the grips - and the grips appear to me to be made specifically for this gun so they should never be separated.

and as much as I like that 17-2, that Outdoorsman is really special.

sending my $50 and some pictures to Roy Jinks to see what the archives turn up. RJ commented that Springfield was quite a shooters center back in the day - certainly that area is the epicenter of US gunmaking. The dealer I bought them from says they came from his neighbor in Springfield.

When did Roper / Gagne start making grips?

 

[DCWilson]

Gagne active about 1934-1952

When did Roper / Gagne start making grips?

Roper was the businessman, and Gagne was the craftsman whose work was marketed under Roper's name. I have found internet references that indicate Gagne's heyday was 1934-1952.

I don't know if he was active before he began collaborating with Roper; after 1952 Roper seems to have relied on others to produce specialty stocks in his name -- WDH Nichols, in particular, who concentrated on stocks for semi-automatics.

Despite internet resources, I have not been able to dig up much biographical info on Gagne. Not sure of birth or death dates. His first name is variously spelled Matheis and Mathias. He had a son named Albert who went to work for S&W at some point (1950s, I think). I believe some articles were written about him in gun magazines in the '60s or '70s, but I have not seen them.

 

[au2183]

cavedog, welcome to the forum! What a collection you have! All three of your Smiths look wonderful. You did indeed get a great deal on the Outdoorsman with the Ropers. Simply beautiful, and obviously well cared for. Congratulations and thanks for sharing with us!

 

[Hammerdown]

Roper was the businessman, and Gagne was the craftsman whose work was marketed under Roper's name. I have found internet references that indicate Gagne's heyday was 1934-1952.

I don't know if he was active before he began collaborating with Roper; after 1952 Roper seems to have relied on others to produce specialty stocks in his name -- WDH Nichols, in particular, who concentrated on stocks for semi-automatics.

Despite internet resources, I have not been able to dig up much biographical info on Gagne. Not sure of birth or death dates. His first name is variously spelled Matheis and Mathias. He had a son named Albert who went to work for S&W at some point (1950s, I think). I believe some articles were written about him in gun magazines in the '60s or '70s, but I have not seen them.

Hello David
I too have a strong Interest in Matheis Gagne, along with his Faboulous work but have found very Little about the man, or any credits to him. Walter Roper did two articles on him and his Grips in Older American Rifleman Magazines, but failed to mention his start & stop dates, or how many Pair's of Grips he did produce, and that sure would be neat to know. His Son Albert did Indeed work for S&W after he left his father who I assume retired sometime in the very Early 1950's time span. Albert Gagne was shown in a Black and white Picture of The Factory Revolver shooting Team in Roy Jinks Book entitled "Images Across America". I have also heard before that Albert worked on The factory design & Development team and was one of the key people to design and develope the Famous Coke Profile grips that were first used on the Pre-29's. If we look at the profile of those grips, we do see some Similarities to Gagne's design being the Oval shape Bottom, slight Palm swell, and Broad checkering used on them. I currently have Two Pairs of original Roper grips that do have some modest Design differences. My Early Pair that were made for a K-22 have the famous Gagne square Peg holes on the rear of Both Panels, but my later-N-Frame Pair is lacking those Square Peg Jig Holes. I suspect Gagne found other means of holding the grip Half's as he chiseled out the Elaborate Clover leaf checkering he was famous for. This man sure deserved Much more recognition than he received, but sadly it does not appear to have been docketed or show much about the Fruit's of his labor or how he came to be. Regards, Hammerdown

 

[SDH]

I have enjoyed this thread immensely and hope those with more information or pix will please continue to post.
Let's See Those Ropers!
Thanks, Steve
Does anyone have a clue how the grips were held for shaping or what the holding fixture looked like???