What's new at Sarge's Grips

[Sarge43]

Todays beauty is via some great Buckeye Burl. You know, you can stand at the saw and cut and cut. Blank after blank from the block with nothing that really grabs you coming off. Then WHAM! You run into a blank like this right in the middle of the hum drum other stuff. I always love cutting blocks and being the first to see what treasures are held within. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I do that. Anyway, the blank these came from happened just like that. I sent them off to be stabilized and then fab'd the grips which is what you see here. What my poor photo skills didn't capture is the "ice" flash that this partcular piece holds. As you rotate it, the blue/green flashes a lighter color that just looks icy. Very cool. Curly figure, great color, and burl coverage - this set is just wonderful. Things like this are what make the shop such a great place to be.
Enjoy,
Sarge

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[maclean3]

They're nice but ... my guns aren't bobtails. :(
I'm watching for a dark set like these with; single side safety, MSH pin cut-out, satin finish ... hint hint.

They really DO look great though. You make it hard to save money, that's for sure.
Jack

[kazzaerexys]

Wow. There's been a lot of beautiful wood in this thread, but that buckeye burl is simply stunning, Sarge. It's like looking into the swirls of a Van Gogh.

[Bumper]

I see a fox face in the burl of the panel on the right....

[cdwolf]

I see sold by a few I wanted
I will be picking up a set soon

[NYCMedic]

Those buckeye burl are something else! I need to call you about making some special scales that I have into grips.
Nice work!

[Sarge43]

I see a fox face in the burl of the panel on the right....

You know that smoking that stuff is bad for your health, right?

Glad you guys like them. I get a special charge out of it when someone else thinks the woods are beautiful also. Thanks for letting me know!
Sarge

[Sarge43]

My first time workign with this wood, and I kinda liked it. African Blackwood. Solid and "waxy" feeling but not very oily. It has some sharply detailed graining in it that I find appealing. Of course, rich brown is always good for pistol grips as it goes with light or dark frames. I think I'll bring more in now that I know what the finished project looks like.
Sarge

[QKShooter]

That's really nice grain for African Blackwood. They look just great.

[Sarge43]

Afzelia Xylay in high figure. This stuff is amazing! You can see some of the 3D look of this wood in the pics, but trust me, it's nothing compared to seeing it up close and in your hand. You will be looking at it from inches away and swear that the ridges are there, but when you touch it it's perfectly smooth. VERY 3D stuff and very cool. This wood grows in S.E. Asia and gifure of this level is getting harder and harder to find, but when you do, it's worth it!
Enjoy,
Sarge

[Sarge43]

Beautiful Amboyna Burl. Vibrant colors, great burl patterns and swirling grain. Very hard to beat this wood in any of it's varieties.
Sarge

[QKShooter]

Those beautiful woods that look like a portion of the grain glows and optically moves as you shift the wood around in the light are known as being chatoyant.

You are really a pro at selecting those rarer ultra-fine looking woods.

It's exactly the same amount of work/labor to make a set of grips from Ho-Humm wood as from super beautious wood.
Might as well put your effort into using only the material with that "wow" visual impact.

[Sarge43]

Every time I ever mentioned "chatoyance" I would get pummeled with comments like "What is that?!" and "Is that even a word?". I stopped after a while and just substituted the word "shimmer" a lot.
Sarge

[HotGuns]

Exellent pics BTW.

Are you hand carving them or using CNC ?

[David in FL]

Beautiful Amboyna Burl. Vibrant colors, great burl patterns and swirling grain. Very hard to beat this wood in any of it's varieties.
Sarge

Amboyna Burl is one of my very favorites too. Stunning and easier to work than I first imagined it would be.

Beautiful work, as always.