Snakewood... Ever heard of it?

gurkha berserka

gurkha berserka

Joined
Aug 16, 2014
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I got a new set of grips for my favorite 1911. The grips are made from Snakewood. I am told that it is the rarest wood on earth... Not sure how true that claim is, but the wood is sold by the ounce. It's only legally harvested once a year.

I appreciate Any information anyone could provide about this type of wood. It is extremely attractive in person. I am afraid the pictures don't do it justice. The wood shimmers brilliantly in bright light. Some of the spot grain in the wood reminds me of jaguar spots. They have a reddish rose color in the center of the spots

This 1911 has snake scale slide serrations which I think matches the Snakewood perfectly.

I built this pistol a couple years ago and I have fallen in love with it. It shots 2 inch groups at 50 yards. It started life at a S&W 1911TA Enhanced series. I completely gutted the pistol.

The only original parts are the fitted slide, frame, and match barrel. Everything else has been hand fitted with the best possible parts. The only thing I have left to do is to install a new billet beaver tail.

Components...
Harrison Design A2 tool steel Hammer
Harrison Design A2 tool steel Sear
Harrison Design A2 tool steel Disconnect
Harrison Design A2 tool steel Hammer Strut
Harrison Design billet machined Slide Stop
Harrison Design solid long trigger with hidden, fixed over travel stop
Harrison Design billet machined Magazine Release
Harrison Design hardened Strut Pin and Barrel Pivot Link Pin
Ed Brown billet machined Arched Mainspring Housing
Colt factory Leaf Spring
Novak billet machined Single Sided Safety
Titanium Firing Pin with extra power pin spring
Wilson Combat billet Recoil Spring Guide Rod short style
Wilson Combat stainless Recoil Rod Plug solid serrated end
Trijicon 3 dot Tritium Night Sights
EZ Grip six shooter Grip Screws
Wolf Springs kit
25lpi front strap checking
Sarge's custom fit Snakewood Grips

Here are some pictures. Feel free to ask any questions.
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Here is what I mean about the wood shimmering in the light...
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Nice looking pistol. I used snakewood scales on a couple knives I made. It responds well to a high grit finish. Beautiful wood.
 
I've got a Hmong knife with a snake wood hilt and scabbard. But it's very plain. Most snake wood they export is purdy like yours, mine's the regular looking stuff the locals use.
 
Karda said:
http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/snakewood/
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Thanks for that link... It was full of useful info.

Thanks for the addition info Blue and AF... I think I am going to keep the wood in a satin finish like it is now. I had a pair of Australian Morrel burl on the pistol, but they had a high gloss finish that is better suited to a polished blues pistol or a mirror finish stainless pistol. It would look very nice highly polished.

I guess even the plain snakewood is considered great too, even without the fancy grain. It is the tied for 1st as the heaviest wood that is extremely hard. Karda's link provided that info.
 
image.jpgimage.jpgIt's very hard but it also splits easily as it dries. Here's a picture of the hit of my Hmong knife. The snake wood is from French Guyana.

As you can see the wood doesn't have the "snake spots" yours has. I'm pretty sure I read only the fancy spotted stuff gets exported. The regular looking stuff like mine generally doesn't.
 
That's pretty attractive wood even without the scaling. I live the color and tone of the wood. It sparkles in the light. I will have to watch for drying... I use BLO on all my wood.
 
I have a fairly large piece of snakewood. There almost has to be more than one variety as I know I didn't pay that much for it. It was expensive compared to regular woods but not that bad or I wouldn't have been able to buy it.

The grain looks very similar to yours though, I'll have to go look for it now that we're talking about it.

I have a really big piece of leopard wood which also looks similar and in fact I may be confusing the two in my mixed up state of mind.

I know I've heard of Snakewood, now I gotta go dig around and see what I got.

I remember buying my first piece of Gaboon Ebony. A local yard used to carry all the exotic woods, what a candy store it is but with the economy they have really cut back, hardly have anything now days.

It was sold by weight and the guy told me I pay for the sawdust. But once in a while they had some that was really pretty. Like whittling on a rock but made some nice grips out of the stuff.
 
Really pretty grips GB. and I really agree with the idea of keeping them that finish for that pistol. The shinier wouldn't fit the overall look as well in my opinion. I have to grin a bit when I hear someone say.. I fell in love with this pistol...Then I gutted it and changed EVERYTHING! LoL, I know exactly what you mean but it just sounds so funny. Karda, thank you that link led me to lose 2 hours so far looking through the rest of the database and I imagine I will be there often as I LOVE learning about wood types and their properties/looks. Bawanna, carving on a rock? LOL but if anyone can get good grips out of a carved rock, I would bet on you but maybe you should take a lesson from NDog and knapp a pair of grips from that stuff :D
 
That snake wood is some awesome looking stuff. Awesome 1911 grips too. Maybe my Dogo will not eat them:D
 
ndoghouse said:
That snake wood is some awesome looking stuff. Awesome 1911 grips too. Maybe my Dogo will not eat them:D
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I showed my wife that video and she cracked up laughing. He did NOT like that snake meat. It must be have something to do with the wolf in his blood... instinct keeps him away from snake meat and the possibility of swallowing poison sacks.
 
gurkha berserka said:
I showed my wife that video and she cracked up laughing. He did NOT like that snake meat. It must be have something to do with the wolf in his blood... instinct keeps him away from snake meat and the possibility of swallowing poison sacks.
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Maybe thats it? Funny because he was sniffing it on the road when I found it but he wasnt gagging like that. The cats wouldnt touch it either and they are pretty much feral cats? We still laugh at it:thumbup:
 
snakewood is commonly thought to be one of the rarest woods in existence. check out a site called cookwood and you can see how much a log or turning billets will run you. the best stuff comes from central/south america, and tend to be small trees in both diameter and height. it is incredibly dense,heavy, and hard but a real joy to look at. be a little careful as the sawdust or sanding dust can be harmful to your lungs and nasal passages. some people find the dust allergenic as well showing everything from raised welts from contact to anaphylaxis(can't breathe). it costs but unlike a lot of things in life ,it's absolutely worth it
 
neal70 said:
snakewood is commonly thought to be one of the rarest woods in existence. check out a site called cookwood and you can see how much a log or turning billets will run you. the best stuff comes from central/south america, and tend to be small trees in both diameter and height. it is incredibly dense,heavy, and hard but a real joy to look at. be a little careful as the sawdust or sanding dust can be harmful to your lungs and nasal passages. some people find the dust allergenic as well showing everything from raised welts from contact to anaphylaxis(can't breathe). it costs but unlike a lot of things in life ,it's absolutely worth it
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Thank you for the additional information. I got a deal on the grips because I had a 20% coupon from Sarge over at the finer grain. The Finer Grain is the ONLY place I buy 1911 grip panels. Not all 1911 grip panels are made the same. Some just use a generic shape and size. Notice how his wood extends all the way to the back strap, with no metal showing. He also extends the wood in the front so it meets the checkering perfectly.

He has found the perfect shape and makes every single grip according to those guide lines. . I have bought literally dozens of grips. Sarge's are the best feeling and best looking grips I have ever held. I got the grips for $120 bucks after the coupon. I figured it was a good price considering the time he spend making the grips, the quality of the wood, and the rarity of the wood.
 
gurkha berserka said:
Thank you for the additional information. I got a deal on the grips because I had a 20% coupon from Sarge over at the finer grain. The Finer Grain is the ONLY place I buy 1911 grip panels. Not all 1911 grip panels are made the same. Some just use a generic shape and size. Notice how his wood extends all the way to the back strap, with no metal showing. He also extends the wood in the front so it meets the checkering perfectly.
He has found the perfect shape and makes every single grip according to those guide lines. . I have bought literally dozens of grips. Sarge's are the best feeling and best looking grips I have ever held. I got the grips for $120 bucks after the coupon. I figured it was a good price considering the time he spend making the grips, the quality of the wood, and the rarity of the wood.
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As I recall your a big ole boy with huge hands. Covering the metal all the way to the back and up to the checkered front strap is the ticket to fill a big hand. Usually a pleasing uniform gap along the back strap as well as the front and tapered down from grip screw to edge with not a lot of radius provides a nice grip for a small or medium sized hand.

For some reason many guys with huge hands still prefer thin grips. I know I've migrated that way myself but I'm not a good example since I have relative small hands but oft times thin is in.

This of course is not to detract from your grips, they are drop dead beautiful and if they work for your hand size they are perfect.

Like kuhkri's, it's hard to build a one size fits all even on pistol handles. Even the radius of the grip can make a huge difference in the feel.
I've breathed in a fair amount of sawdust sorting out this very thing.
 
Bawanna said:
As I recall your a big ole boy with huge hands. Covering the metal all the way to the back and up to the checkered front strap is the ticket to fill a big hand. Usually a pleasing uniform gap along the back strap as well as the front and tapered down from grip screw to edge with not a lot of radius provides a nice grip for a small or medium sized hand.

For some reason many guys with huge hands still prefer thin grips. I know I've migrated that way myself but I'm not a good example since I have relative small hands but oft times thin is in.

This of course is not to detract from your grips, they are drop dead beautiful and if they work for your hand size they are perfect.

Like kuhkri's, it's hard to build a one size fits all even on pistol handles. Even the radius of the grip can make a huge difference in the feel.
I've breathed in a fair amount of sawdust sorting out this very thing.
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Sarge also makes grips called "Handlers" they are designed for people with smaller to medium hands. They are wider towards the backstrap and then taper a lot more than the standard grips to the front strap. The grips I have really don't feel that big at all. The grip width is still smaller than my Berretta 92FS double stack.

Here is a side profile of the my grips. Notice the nice taper front and back. They really feel nice in the hand and taper rapidly from front to back.
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They don't widen the pistol in the least. They actually feel a bit slimmer than my stock 1911 grips. They just fill the entire hand, without leaving any void spots in the hands. You should really buy a pair of his cheaper wood grips to see what I am talking about. You will see what I am talking about when you actually "feel" them in your hand. He also found a way to stretch real snake skin over grips and seal them. He has real King Cobra, Gabon Viper, and other exotic snake skin grips.
Here is a link to his sight...
http://shop.thefinergrain.com/categ...F9F1176BBDE1F752F.m1plqscsfapp03?categoryId=2
 
when the site decided to drop offline this morning (like it does every morning for some silly reason) I was typing up an agreement with Bawanna and mentioning that us smaller hands prefer our grips don't extend all the way back. it isn't just the width overall, adding anything to the width at the back is a big issue. It looks like the grips you have wouldn't feel good in my shape hand as they compare very similarly to pairs I have had in the past that I didn't like. So the fact he makes some other shapes means people with my size or similar hands might find something they love too :)

I do understand though, Once you find a set that fit you right, keep getting the same ones in whatever material makes perfect sense to me.
 
G.B. you got a helluva deal , cause those grips look to be close to exhibition grade! good job and straight shootin' to you.
 
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