Bawanna is the man!

wildmanh

wildmanh

Part time Leather Bender/Sheath maker
Joined
Jul 9, 2000
Messages
7,764
Bawanna made custom grips for my 1911 and posted some pictures. I finally got around to getting a few of my own to share with you all. Bawanna did a pretty good job. Since my 1911 has an extended thumb safety, I needed to slightly modify the top of the left grip.

The holster is my own design, which I made about 3 years ago from 8-10oz Brown Saddle skirting.

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The grips are thicker then standard as you can see, and I love them!
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Wow, I managed to get the background in perfect focus and the foreground all Blurry. LOL!!
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Thanks a Bunch Bawanna!!
 
very fine work, top job bawanna sir, and thanks for posting wildman!
 
You done a proper job of modifying for that extended thumb safety. Most of mine with extended thumb safeties look pretty much the same.

I like to get a little wood over that safety plunger tube, just don't look right cut off below to me.

They felt way too thick for me but looking at your photo I can see you have exceptionally long fingers, I can see where a little more girth would work well for you.

Nice setup. Hope this guys don't bury you with holster orders too quick. Better busy than not I guess.

Thanks for the pics. Nothing like Novaks and a well, honest worn 1911 to make my heart sing.
 
He's a saint isn't he? Great job banana, love the choice of burl. You now have an awesome looking pistol Heber, thanks for sharing.
 
Fair dinkum and now banana? You got some splainin to do lucy.
 
Gehazi said:
very fine work, top job bawanna sir, and thanks for posting wildman!
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You're welcome. Always happy to share.

Bawanna said:
You done a proper job of modifying for that extended thumb safety. Most of mine with extended thumb safeties look pretty much the same.

I like to get a little wood over that safety plunger tube, just don't look right cut off below to me.

They felt way too thick for me but looking at your photo I can see you have exceptionally long fingers, I can see where a little more girth would work well for you.

Nice setup. Hope this guys don't bury you with holster orders too quick. Better busy than not I guess.

Thanks for the pics. Nothing like Novaks and a well, honest worn 1911 to make my heart sing.
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Thanks Joe, that means a lot coming from you. :) I also think that a little wood over the plunger tube looks good. Am glad you made the grips tall.

Yes, I have long fingers. In gloves, my palms are a medium, but my fingers make it a large or extra large. Girth isn't a problem for me and these grips fit my hands well.

The Pistol is a Springfield Standard model from 1994. If you know modern Springidfields, internally it's a G.I., but externally it's a loaded. . Always liked the 3-dot trigger, Commander hammer and beaver tail grip safety. Plus Novak sights are night. I saw the gun sitting there in the shop next to a Stainless Colt MK4. The Colt was newer, and cosmetically in better shape, plus it was $300 more then the Springfield. The Springfield had everything on it that I liked (except the grips) so it went home with me.

Back in 1994 when the gun was made, Novak sights were a $50 upgrade. Mine came stock with G.I. sights. Someone else upgraded it, and I'm glad that they did. I like the honest wear also. A Neighbor who's a retired 1911 smith keeps mentioning that he can re-finish the gun. Maybe someday, but not now. Loving the used look to much.


DanTheKnifeMan said:
He's a saint isn't he? Great job banana, love the choice of burl. You now have an awesome looking pistol Heber, thanks for sharing.
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Thanks and you're welcome! :)
 
Wow! Very nice job Bawanna! Nice piece of burl and cool pistol Heber. Is that Redwood?
 
Gehazi said:
very cool sourcing on that wood, love stuff like that
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Thanks! A friend was moving out of their Pioneer home, had the dead tree cut down a few years ago and it had been drying in her Garage. Figured it should go to friends who burn wood. Some small chunks went in the fireplace. This piece is frequently my back drop.

We have some starts taken from Heirloom trees in the yard. They are still little, but some day, we'll be producing our own apples. We want more shade trees in the yard. Figure some more Apple and other fruit trees would go nice with what we already have.
 
Those would be a handful and a lot more for me. I love that Bawanna made them to fit Wildmanh's grip though. Everyone should have custom made grips that fit their hands. I can think of very little that is better in shooting than a 1911 that fits your hand perfectly.
 
Fantastic job on the grips:)
I've got a set of his handiwork on MY 1911 and sp101 as well:)
Love them love them love them:D

Really digging the Novak sights.
My 1911 is a stainless Springfield Loaded I bought about this time last year. It came with target sights which are ok. I need to get some combats put on it. Maybe for my birthday. In the meantime I put a little contrast on the rear sight with a silver sharpie and painted the front with some gold toenail polish my daughter made at her birthday party. Don't laugh too much:D That gold flake perks right up in darkened hallway lighting.
 
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Amazing grips my an amazing fellow...Bawanna rocks!

I love the grips and I adore that 1911. Full size 1911's have always held a special place in my heart. Ive been carrying a full sized .45acp 1911 for over 20 years. I use a Milt Sparks summer special holster and I love it! I have a couple Mitch Rosen holsters for my Glock 23 and Glock 20 but I absolutely love my summer special holster.
 
Steely_Gunz said:
Fantastic job on the grips:)
I've got a set of his handiwork on MY 1911 and sp101 as well:)
Love them love them love them:D

Really digging the Novak sights.
My 1911 is a stainless Springfield Loaded I bought about this time last year. It came with target sights which are ok. I need to get some combats put on it. Maybe for my birthday. In the meantime I put a little contrast on the rear sight with a silver sharpie and painted the front with some gold toenail polish my daughter made at her birthday party. Don't laugh too much:D That gold flake perks right up in darkened hallway lighting.
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I would go with Harrison Design sights... They make them for the Springfield's dovetail. I switched all my internals over to Harrison Design products. It cost me close to $1200 just for the internals but it was well worth it. I have an ultra crisp 3.5# pull with a slight re-profile of the sear's relief angle. The safety, hammer, strut, pins, slide stop, leaf spring, ect. have all been replaced with top notch tool steel parts. I still need to post a thread with all the changes and a bunch of pictures. I know you guys love 1911's... I have dragon scales instead of slide serrations, god I love my 1911 lol.
 
I love the 1911, but I'm not a big fan of the weight. I usually gravitate toward the 92fs over the 1911 simply because I shoot it a lot better and prefer DA/SA for safety.
However, today I am carrying a soulless FNH FNX-9 on my hip. 17 rounds, DA/SA (can also be carried cocked and locked), lightweight polymer, etc.

I like my 92 and 1911 a lot more, but the plastic fantastics just seem to get more carry time by me. Also have a .380 in my pocket as well;)
There is nothing that shoots well and looks good doing it like the classic 1911. Wonderful, wonderful guns. Mine is used for bump in the night duty:)
 
Beautiful grips. Your usual high standard in leather work on the sheath. But Heber, you GOTTA replace those chewed-up grip screws and then get a screwdriver that fits them so they don't get messed up again! You might want to think about going to Allen Heads.
 
I didn't even notice, good eye. I used to have a lot of allen head grip screws but actually prefer a slot. I have a fetish for proper screwdriver fit, kind of obsessed about it.
I just have this thing in my head that I can always find a screwdriver, might not have an allen wrench handy.

Also some folks have a tendency to over tighten with allens, slots too for that matter which if the wood is questionable can be a very bad thing.

Wildman, I got a bunch of stainless slotted screws, I can sent you some, not sure if I got any blued ones or allens around or not. I bought a whole bunch of the stainless about 40 of them or so. Nice to have on hand when your a 1911 guy.
 
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