Stags or Horn on this 34-1?

[Colokeb]

So I found a 34-1 with the box, a spare 22 Mag Cylinder, numbered original grips, plus these apparent Stags.

I would like your opinions on Real or Horn, and then chime in on another set of grips I bought a year ago. Right now these K frame grips are on a 17-0 that came with altered wood grips.

( I know they are of natural material, not plastic. But also wondering if they could be something other than Sambar. I know the gun is old enough to have had them. )



First the 34's:

The last photo are K-Frames.

Thanks!

 

[alwslate]

I looked at your grips but I don't understand your question, "real or
horn"? Horn? You mean antler bone? Anything other than plastic is
real so both sets look real. So??

 

[k22fan]

It appears the set that came with the 34-1 are bone carved and dyed to look like antler but the K frame stocks look like real antler. Pictures of the bottom of each set and especially a picture of the back side of the K frame stocks would help me be more certain.

 

[Mule Packer]

I'm not quite sure what the OP is asking. Is he asking if the grips are Sambar stag or elk horn? Or is he asking if they are Sambar stag or bone?

As you are well aware, there are different types of stag horn. Stag was originally imported from Hungary, Bohemia, Ceylon, and India. The stag horn from India is referred to as Sambar stag and is usually considered the best quality. It has a dark reddish color and fairly smooth in texture. That's why I would say, just judging from the picture, that the second set of grips is Sambar stag.

Wapiti is elk horn (still considered stag because elk is a member of the cervidae family) and is more of a gray-brown in color and usually rough texture. Sambar stag is normally denser than elk horn, but both are very attractive and make excellent grips.

Bone Stag is not stag at all, but a stag look-alike. It's a jigged piece of bone or a piece of second-cut stag (the inside slice of a stag horn). A machine jigs out the bone to look like stag horn...and they do a pretty good job of it. The horn is then dyed with potassium permanganate to make it more closely resemble the look of rough stag. Sometimes the bone stag will be treated under an open flame, like genuine stag, in order to give it a golden brown look, like the OP's second set of grips.

Of course, I've seen grips made of Sambar stag where each have a unique look. The first set of grips in the OP's post look pretty genuine to me, too. They've been left natural and have not been flame-treated like the second set of grips.

It's pretty darn tough, in my opinion, to tell just from a picture. But that's just my two cents worth...and probably not even worth that.

However...again, just my opinion, I think both sets of grips are very nice looking and I wouldn't be ashamed to have them sported on any of my handguns.

 

[k22fan]

I agree that the K frame set looks like Sambar stag. While my first impression was jigged bone the J frame stocks might also be genuine antler. The bark is very irregular which makes it less likely the surface was man made. We'll see what the next posters opine.