Come Into Bawanna's Famous Grip Emporium

[melissa5]

Bawanna, those are very nice! I really like the S pattern.

[Springer]

Bawanna; Those are fantastic!!! Just what I had in mind...can't wait to get them on. Thank You!

[FLBri]

Just be sure not to put the toothbrush back in your vanity!

Nice work, seriously

[Bawanna]

Just be sure not to put the toothbrush back in your vanity!

Nice work, seriously

No worries, it's the wifes.

[OldLincoln]

That "S" pattern is very cool! I hope you can add that to your kit as it's distinctive and adds class to an already classy job.

[TheTman]

Very unique, and very cool. That osage orange is a bear to work with isn't it?

[Bawanna]

First time I've played with it. It's not real bad, borderline on the soft side for checkering but I've checkered a lot softer. It's pretty dense and heavy which is a good thing on grips.

It does seem to be toxic, I was remiss in wearing my dust mask and respirator as I usually am and I'm kind of paying the price. Not bad, been far far worse.

Don't like to wear all that stuff checkering for hours at a time, I use it when I use power but not filing or checkering. I probably should be, dust is dust, don't matter what causes it.

[Bawanna]

Nice! That wood looks soft, almost like Cedar. I would worry about the effects of exposure to lubricants or even just normal hand oils.

But then again, it probably ages to an interesting patina.

It looks a little like cedar but thats about it for similarity. I think it's dense enough that it will be fine. I try to saturate it pretty good with linseed oil. Stain or something of that sort would no doubt get through and have an effect on the finish but normal oil and hands I don't think will be an issue.

It would be interesting to stabilize some of this stuff and see how it looks, maybe even add some dye to bring out the grain more.

We'll let Springer be our test driver on these and see how they hold up.

[TheTman]

The fellow that traded me the Kimber got to see and hold it with with it's new grips, and wanted it back. I told him he could have the pistol back but I'm keeping the grips and will put them on my Springfield. He decided at that point he didn't want to trade.
Bawanna, I was going to ask, do those grips need to be treated with some oil periodically? If so what would you suggest?

[Bawanna]

The fellow that traded me the Kimber got to see and hold it with with it's new grips, and wanted it back. I told him he could have the pistol back but I'm keeping the grips and will put them on my Springfield. He decided at that point he didn't want to trade.
Bawanna, I was going to ask, do those grips need to be treated with some oil periodically? If so what would you suggest?

Not yours. That is stabilized Box Elder Burl. It's injected with resin under pressure with a few dyes added to it. It's nearly impervious to just about anything.
You can polish them on a polishing wheel or wax em with car wax and buff em out. Have to really hit em with a stiff toothbrush in the checkering to get the wax out.
Linseed oil or anything like that just runs off.
I'm told you can leave a piece of that outside and it will soak up water, but set it on a counter overnight and all the water will just run out.
Kind of neat stuff, wish I had a bunch more. When you file it or sand it, it's like fiberglass. It's all white, really gets into your nose and lungs as it's really fine. Probably causes liver failure in lab rats in Ethiopia. Just a guess.
Nice to create a little jealousy in the previous owner I bet.

[TheTman]

The previous owner has bought quite a few additions for the Dan Wesson I traded him for, so he's not too jealous. He did really like the way they dressed up the Kimber though. The checkering came out great, exactly to where my fingertips can get a good grip on it the handle. And I did clean up the marks left by the old grips. I'm very anxious to show it off now. It will be going to the range for sure on my next trip.

[Ubaldo99]

Mr. B... I got out of the kiddie pool and re-reviewed all 43 pages of this thread...and your work is fantastic! No kidding. I am going thru my modest collection of firearms to see which would be most appropriate for a set of custom grips from your emporium. Beautiful workmanship.

[Bawanna]

Mr. B... I got out of the kiddie pool and re-reviewed all 43 pages of this thread...and your work is fantastic! No kidding. I am going thru my modest collection of firearms to see which would be most appropriate for a set of custom grips from your emporium. Beautiful workmanship.

Operators are on duty and standing by to take your order

Well that's a little white lie and momma says a little white lie never hurt nobody. We ain't got no operators, and we really don't take orders too good but you figure out a tune and we'll try to sing along.

Make a plan and we'll try to make it happen.

[TheTman]

That osage orange is hedge tree is it not, with those big nasty green hedge apples? And those long nasty thorns? You sure can't burn it in a fireplace unless it's totally closed in, the stuff pops like's it's full of firecrackers and throws hot coals everywhere. If you have an enclosed Franklin stove it sure burns nice and hot though. I thought it would be a pretty hard wood. They used the branches for fence posts for a many years. It grows all along the fencelines here where the birds sat on the fence and eliminated the seeds. Usually good pheasant hunting along those hedge tree lines. It's often the only cover for quite a spell. Dad had it all along the edges of his field until he had my uncle bulldoze em all down and burn em up, so he could get a few more rows of crops in. Wish he hadn't done that, really ruined the bird hunting on the farm.

[Bawanna]

I believe thats what Springer said. Truman or Eisenhower or somebody had lots of them planted in the plains states as hedgerows of some sort.
First I've ever seen it, never heard of it.

When they invented barbwire they used the wood for fence post. I'll have to look and see what a tree looks like.

It is pretty hard, heavy and dense. Got a nice look to it when sanded up pretty.