Wood options for grips

[Ruffdaddy]

I want to make my dad a set of nice hand grips for christmas for his 1911, so I want to cover all options.

Right now I have walnut, curly maple and rosewood blanks that I'm going to experiment with...but is there anything else nice that will work well? Anyone try ebony?

My plan is to machine a custom design and inlay gold and silver wire for a touch of intricate detail if the process I'm trying works. It has to be durable enough to be useable without losing the inlay, but it wont be a daily carry.

Preferably something that is dimensionally stable and wear resistant.

[BMCSean]

Bodark?

[BradM]

Ivory, don't be a bitch.

[svauto-erotic855]

Ebony carves well and looks really nice on a stainless gun. I have Ebony grips on several revolvers.

If you are new to wood working you may want to practice on some scrap plastic before you spend money on good pieces of wood. Brownells has lots of tools for hand checkering that are a worthwhile investment and Rockler in Richardson sells all of the finish supplies you could ever need.

[red89notch]

I have been wanting a set of black Birdseye maple grips for my 1911.

[svauto-erotic855]

I have been wanting a set of black Birdseye maple grips for my 1911.

Ebay has outstanding deals on handgun grips. Most of them are hand-carved overseas and ship from overseas. I have bought a dozen if not dozens of grips that way.

[lowthreeohz]

If you've got a woodcraft local, theyll have small cuts of all sorts of options

[Ruffdaddy]

Thanks for all the input folks...keep it coming.

Ivory, don't be a bitch.

Shhhh...

Ebony carves well and looks really nice on a stainless gun. I have Ebony grips on several revolvers.

If you are new to wood working you may want to practice on some scrap plastic before you spend money on good pieces of wood. Brownells has lots of tools for hand checkering that are a worthwhile investment and Rockler in Richardson sells all of the finish supplies you could ever need.

I'm practicing on scrap walnut blanks. I've made a few already but still not sure on the best woods for a premium grip. I'm also perfecting the inlay process and checking. The inlay has taken some specialized bits that cost a lot more than I want to admit haha.

I will certainly give the ebony a shot. Itll contrast with the gold and silver well.

I have been wanting a set of black Birdseye maple grips for my 1911.

I'm guessing this is just regular birdseye maple dyed black? Or is it even fancier? Like spalted or something.

If you've got a woodcraft local, theyll have small cuts of all sorts of options

Man this was my go to when I lived near one but now I have to order it which poses the risk of getting warped pieces.

Rockler hasn't been as good as woodcraft for me.

[Strychnine]

I'm sitting way out in west TX desert right now, and my sidearm of choice is a 1911 with cocobolo grips (central American hardwood). IMO, it's a great color offset on a blued gun. I'll post a pic when I get better service.