[los]

I bought these Navidrex mahogany slim fit grips from Brownells a few months ago and never installed them because I didn't like the look of the light Mahogany and felt the fully checkered grips might present a possible problem with my shirt clinging/hanging on and printing because of the abrasive/sticky nature of the checkering. Just didn't think they would be "conceal carry friendly. Of course, these thoughts only occurred to me after they were delivered. They only cost $17.80, so I didn't consider them a great monetary loss.

Here's a photo of them before I shaved them down....

It occurred to me that they would probably work great for my needs if only they were smooth and a bit darker. So I decided to un-checker the little boogers with the hope that I wouldn't ruin them. I used a course round file to shave them down and then used my dremel to sand and level the surface. I finished the sanding by using fine sand paper (1000 grit) and a little elbow grease to give them a slick level furface.

I stained them in a darker mohogany let them dry overnight and them gave them a thin coat of Tru-Oil stock finish. Total labor time from start to finish was about 1.5 hours.

The photos do not capture the nice deep golden browns and the reddish grain these grips bestow. They are trully beautiful. I'm real happy with the end result and I don't think I'll be buying replacement grips anytime soon.


Here's a photo of the finished product....

 

[Ti Carry]

Gee's, who would have thought that $17.80 grips would turn out to be that nice. WOW! Los those really look nice. We will all be sanding down our grips today!:congrats:


Ti.

 

[OD*]

They turned out very well indeed sir. :hand10:

 

[duckhunter]

Sweet! Great job!

 

[los]

Gee's, who would have thought that $17.80 grips would turn out to be that nice. WOW! Los those really look nice. We will all be sanding down our grips today!:congrats:


Ti.

Thanks. The good Lord knows that if I can do it ( I have half a lizard brain),... Anyone can!!

 

[Ride4TheBrand]

I had considered doing that very thing myself. Now I know what the project would look like finished!

Good job

 

[los]

They turned out very well indeed sir. :hand10:

Sweet! Great job!

Thanks for the kind words guys.

 

[los]

I had considered doing that very thing myself. Now I know what the project would look like finished!

Good job

Geeterdone!! Make sure to post some photos of before and after. Good Luck!!

 

[rocky]

very nice. adds a lot of color to your pistol.

 

[Ti Carry]

los, would you also post all the mod's done to your UC. I see several nice changes and was wondering what the parts were?


Ti.

 

[gddyup]

Nice job! Those grips look very nice. Very sharp!

 

[rstickle]

That's really nice looking.

 

[los]

very nice. adds a lot of color to your pistol.

I think so too!!. Plus, they're the slimmest grips I've ever owned (especially now) which makes them perfect for my OWB holster concealment. The Stags in the following photo were nice, but a bit too thick.

 

[OD*]

los,

Do you still have the stags? They look very good slimmed down also, remind you of ivory.

 

[los]

los, would you also post all the mod's done to your UC. I see several nice changes and was wondering what the parts were?


Ti.

Sharp eye you got there Mr. Ti Carry. I've recently modified the UC by replacing the following factory parts...:

Hammer: CYLINDER & SLIDE Ultra Lite
Grip Safety: STI S/S Competition
Trigger: STI Aluminum Long
Mag Release: Ed Brown S/S Oversized
MSH: Ed Brown S/S Checkered Flat

I got a set of Tritium Meps but haven't installed them yet.

Future Mods...
Replace all internal components.
-S/S Thumb Safety (non-extended)
-Front Strap Checkering

 

[los]

los,

Do you still have the stags? They look very good slimmed down also, remind you of ivory.

Sure do. In fact, I spent a few hours after I received them filing them down from the frame side. They were way to thick when I first got them. I got them down to within factory (normal thickness) stock thickness. I'll probably sell them,.... and then wish I hadn't!!

 

[los]

Nice job! Those grips look very nice. Very sharp!

That's really nice looking.

Thanks a lot guys. Like I stated, Brownells sells them for 17.80 but only in Mohogany checkered. All the others start at 32 bucks. here's the link...

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=9549&title=1911+AUTO+SLIM+GRIPS

 

[BlueLion]

Have you fired the pistol since installing the un-checkered grips. Most people will tell that most of the grip force applied to a 1911 is on the side panels. Well, just hope it works for you. Secondly, front strap serrations only help to control muzzle flip.

 

[P95Carry]

I too hope the grip security will not be compromized - I do rather like checkering or at least something that roughens a bit.

That said - nice job!!! They have come out very well and the finishing has enabled the handsome grain pattern to be way better seen.

 

[los]

Have you fired the pistol since installing the un-checkered grips. Most people will tell that most of the grip force applied to a 1911 is on the side panels. Well, just hope it works for you. Secondly, front strap serrations only help to control muzzle flip.

Good point. Actually I just installed the grips a few days ago and haven't fired it yet. I don't think the grips will become a major issue. After all, their specific intended use, at least in my case, is for concealment. If I have to fire the weapon under a CQB defensive scenario, reliability will take presidence over comfortability.
But you're right, I need to go and practice with it now that's it's got the new grips.