Customizing a 1911

I mentioned I had new grips in the 1911. I got the inspiration from Tam's grips. Micarta. Easy to grip. Feels like hardened canvas. It's a very positive no-slip grip. I didn't get the slim variety. Maybe that's next. I've gone Hogue (all black rubber) and smooth wood as well, just to see.

That's the THING about 1911 pistols. So much is customizable without the need of a gunsmiths services. I talked about mainspring housings before. And I've swapped out the grip safety for something more to my liking. I used a gunsmith there, but it turned out I didn't have to. I swapped out the recoil spring rod and plug as easy as cleaning it.

This was done on a gun I was finicky about the features of, to get it as close as possible to what I wanted without extras I didn't want. Stuff like the polished feed ramp, tritum sights, and ambidextrous thumb safety. I'd prefer a slide without forward serations because it may wear the inside of holsters, but, I can't carry CCW style, yet, so... so what. It is a good thing for grabbing to do a chamber check.

All this is possible because so many people shoot the 1911 and there is a demand for customizations, so the market responds with OODLES of parts to play with.
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Anyhoo, back to grips. I don't think I'd ever try aluminum grips. And not just for aesthetic reasons. My fascination with old wood working tools comes into play. Back when handtools were what professionals used to get the job done, the finest tool handles were made of Brazillian Rosewood. It's very dense and won't splinter, and is easy to carve into a handle with smooth, non-blister inducing edges. On disadvantage to rosewood is if you droped a tool on the handle, rosewood wouldn't do to well. You can guard against drops in a cabinet maker's shop, but a carpenter on a job site has more hazards and tools can get knocked about. Plus you have to move the tool box from job to job and tools can get dinged in tool box. Tool makers knew this and tried to cater to the problem with appropriate products. Beech wood handles was generally a subsitute. It's a bit stronger than rosewood. More importantly, it was cheaper. Bakelite and other plastics weren't up for the duty. Too slick, too delicate, and the mold seem on early plastics was a problem. Blisters!

One thought was for aluminum handles. Solid billets of aluminum. They are quite fancy. Even striking to some eyes. I prefer the look of rosewood, especially with a figure, but I wouldn't necessarily reject alumium tool handles out of hand. The market did. Why? These aluminum handles were marketed to carpenters that need more rugged tools, and the hazards on outdoor jobs were too great. Emphasis on outdoor. Can you imagine a late fall job in an unheated half built house, and you grab a plane or saw to do a final few procedures, only to find handle so cold it sucks the dexterity right out of your fingers? Or worse, if cold enough it actually freezes to your skin? Yup. Aluminum tool handles were relegated to high school shop classes for the booming clumsy-teenager trade.

But that's why I won't get aluminum gun grips. Wake up at 4 am in camp and need to use your pistol in a hurry to plug a few zombies that wandered by, well, you DON'T want the problem of useless-cold hands.

Rosewood:

Aluminum: