Sidearms & Scatterguns Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

[Hookturnr]

Hey folks, I've been mulling this over for a bit and figured I'd ask what you guys might be interested in to give it some more direction. I'm looking to start making custom grip panels for the 1911 and MKIII platforms to start with and moving on from there. What would you be looking for in a set of grips? What species of woods? Hand cut checkering? LPI? Custom carving? different thickness to fit to different hand sizes? Fully checkered, partially checkered? Inlays? I'm not looking to just knock out walnut replacement panels here, more along the lines of custom 20LPI hand checkered African Mahogany with carved initials in a rosette. Anyhow, for it to be a remotely profitable endeavor I'll need to develop an options list and thats where you guys come in. So, tell me, what would be on your wish list?

 

[GunKnowledge]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

The vastly more important detail is not your options list, it's your price point.

You've decided to do grips for two very popular and already well-optioned guns. There are 47 million 1911 grips you're competing with, and with practical stuff starting at $15 and people sending serious coin on their 1911s buying $300+ grips, the market is very much so saturated.

So your grips either need to be crazy cheap compared to any other similar product, the most exotic amazing grips the world has ever seen, or you might as well not even try.


My recommendation is skip the 1911 and MKIII grips for now, and make grips for the few guns out there that no one is even making aftermarket stuff for yet.

You want to be profitable??? Be the first guy to make wood grain inserts for the S&W M&P series. Those suckers would sell like hotcakes, since no one makes one.

The M&P is designed with the 1911 grip angle and lots of 1911 guys like it much more than other polymer striker guns. They would throw down 30-50 bucks for a beautiful checkered burl wood grip insert to replace their rubber ones.

 

[GunKnowledge]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

Something like this:

 

[Hookturnr]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

I have been considering something like that as well, just figured the slab side panels would be the easier place to start and have a ton of potential customers. I've been custom woodworking for quite a while and have done full rifle stocks from scratch a few times but the price tag gets up there on those. Lots of time fitting and the big blanks just don't come cheap. I figure I can hit the $50ish price point on a checkered panel and use up a bunch of the smaller wood around the shop. I hadn't looked specifically at the M&P but I will definitely have to do that!

 

[GunKnowledge]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hookturnr</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I figure I can hit the $50ish price point on a checkered panel and use up a bunch of the smaller wood around the shop. </div></div>

Yah, that price point isn't at all competitive. 50 bucks a panel comes out to over $100 to get the grips into the customers hands. Not nearly enough 1911/Ruger MK owners out there that are THAT unsatisfied with current offerings.

Not trying to shoot down the idea, but to help you not lose money up front.

 

[Downzero]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

I wouldn't be interested in grips made from any natural material.

 

[TheLlam]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

If you're just trying to make a little extra cash from using 'up a bunch of the smaller wood around the shop,' then, yea, that's a pretty cool hobby. But if you're thinking of something along the lines of quitting your job and taking out a 2nd mortgage to finance equipment, raw materials and marketing costs to get you going...I won't talk you out of it. In fact, good luck. But, before you do, write a business plan. If all the research that goes into writing a proper business plan says the math works, then have at it.

Like KSwift is saying, you can either compete on price or product. (Or win on placement...). So either you have to come out with a product that hasn't yet been produced or produce the same product at the same level of quality for cheaper.

To answer your question, I'm a function over form guy. Find out what performance reasons cause people to change grips in the first place and go after that.

 

[Hookturnr]

Re: Custom grips 1911 MKIII opinions?

Guys, I'm not looking to make a career out of this, custom carpentry and casework is doing that. Just figured it'd be a decent use for some high end wood in an arena I already enjoy.

As far as equipment etc., I already have it all in the shop for my "real" business. I won't be looking to do it on a quantity basis unless it were to take off like wildfire.

I know why I have made custom panels for my guns, I prefer a slightly fuller grip with a touch of an elliptical shape and fine checkering. What I don't know is why others change and that's the reasoning for this post being started.

I wouldn't mind getting into more custom stockwork but Joel has set the bar pretty high and I don't know if I can hit his prices on a part time basis. That and making my own panels is what got me going this way. I am interested in the M&P idea, might have to pick one up and look into it.
BTW, wasn't talking $50 per panel, more like $50 per set for a basic checkered panel.