What's new at Sarge's Grips

Todays wood is dark Brazilian Rosewood. I have seen this wood in a very light, almost blonde color, all the way down to this very dark example. It's a deep purple/black that is just wonderful to see. It has subtle darker pattern inside as I hope you can see in the pics. It's a very hard, dense, heavy and oily wood which requires special finishing materials and combinations to end up with a hard and durable finish on it.
I hope you enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5479.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5480.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5481.jpg

Jumping WAY ahead again, but these are too cool not to put up now. I had a customer who was having a holster made from Ostrich skin, and he asked if I could make a set of grips from Ostrich leg skin. I said I'd try, as I had never even seen the stuff, let alone worked with it. The holster maker sent me some of the material, and I got busy with it. It's very cool, as it's a beaded leather look along the edges, but in the middle of each piece was this harder, scaled area which is what I highlighted in the grip panels. It is cool stuff! Unfortunately, this is a one time deal, as I don't even know where to get this stuff, although I'm sure I could find it with a little looking. The customer ended up wanting two sets, one officer and one government. Both are shown below.
I hope you think it's as cool as I do and enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5603.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5602.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5604.jpg

Just got back from a loooooong live fire range series at Ft. Riley. Pictures will flow again shortly!
Sarge

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sarge43

How about Bethlehem Olive wood? This wood it trimmed once a year from Olive trees growing in Bethlehem and is absolutely stunning! The graining is beautiful and if you look close, you'll even see a small bit of burl in the upper center of each panel. It's great stuff, and I hope you enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5164.jpg

---

These remind me of desert contour maps.

Been there, done that, HUH? :wink:
Todays "Triumphal return" wood is Spalted Tamarind. This stuff has long been a personal favorite of mine, and I'm betting you can see why. Fine line spalt, wonderful color, wild patterns - it's all here!
Enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5493.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5492.jpg

Todays beauty is provided by Silver Amboyna which found in the sapwood portion of the Amboyna Burl itself. Instead of the red/orange color of the heartwood, this is a wonderful silver in color and still possesses all of the burl coverage of the heartwood. Not all burl sapwood has this, in fact pieces that have high levels of burl coverage are hard to come by. When they do, you have to appreciate the opportunity to behold the natural beauty before your eyes.
I hope you enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5490.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5491.jpg

Todays wood is some really cool Koa. Koa comes to us from Hawaii and can vary quite a bit in color from a very dark brown to a lighter version such as you see here. This set has some great curly figure and a two tone as well and is just beautiful. I hope you enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5496.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5495.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5497.jpg

I figured tonight I'd just show some of the overwhelming beauty of Honduran Rosewood Burl. This wood is wonderful. Expensive, reaallly expensive, but worth it.
Hope you enjoy!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5502.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5177.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5365.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5035.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5569.jpg

Todays set is Stingray skin. Without the diamonds, this material can give you the "all business" look pretty quickly. Stingrays are protected by what amounts to thousands of bb like calcium balls in their skin that are hard as all get out. This is great for use in grips because it provides natural texture as well as a cool look. Stingrays like this are raised on farms in certain parts of the world, just like we raise cattle. Every part of the stingray is used for something. Meat, organs, everything including the skin.
Enjoy!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5519.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5520.jpg

How about some beautiful Walnut? Good ol' American Walnut has a lot to offer for use in grip panels. The rich color has long been a staple, and finding the right pieces can yield beautiful patterns, figure and depth!
Enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5514.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5513.jpg

Marblewood is a VERY hard wood that has wonderful patterns to it. It can have straight veining, absolutely wild veining, or just very interesting graining like this set. The grain pattern is very small and jagged also, giving it a lot of "up close" interest as well.
Enjoy!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5535.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5536.jpg

Finish off the week with some ray cut Redwood Burl. Ray cutting makes linear figure lines that run the "length" of the burl eyes down into the wood. Beautiful stuff!
I hope you enjoy the pics!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5550.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5551.jpg

How about good ol' American Cherry burl? The pics were taken when these were fresh from being finished, so imagine the color a little darker as Cherry wood goes when exposed to sunlight. It will be a darker, richer red when seasoned. It's beautiful enough now!
Enjoy,
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5572.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5571.jpg

Todays beauty is provided by a unique piece of Afzelia burl. Unruly and wild, this set had a distinct rustic look to it. Another testament to the wide variety that can be found in even one specific kind of wood.
Enjoy!
Sarge
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5575.jpg
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...2/IMG_5576.jpg

Gorgeous grips, Sarge! The walnut looks wonderfully dark too.