First of all, a huge thanks to Ray Parga at Del Valle Gunsmithing.
I brought him what started life as a Springfield Loaded model. I had some work done on it by another big name smith and the checkering came back sub par. The line at the first cut was shorter than any of the other lines and the clean up at the top was rough (at best) even after bead blasting. All the rest of the work was great, the checkering "worked", the price was right, and I didn't see it worth my time and money to ship it back.
So, I moved from Norfolk to Monterey and happened upon Ray's (He goes by "Parga" on the hide) shop just 5 minutes north of me. I asked him to high cut the grip area and bead blast the pistol. Well, not only did he finish the work requested of him, but he also managed to recover the bad checkering! The high cut and checkering are FLAWLESS.
If you live anywhere in the US and are looking for quality work, send it to Ray...If you live in the central coast of Kali you have no reason not to give him a try. He is a class act, a wonderful smith, and a true gentleman.
Josh
I brought him what started life as a Springfield Loaded model. I had some work done on it by another big name smith and the checkering came back sub par. The line at the first cut was shorter than any of the other lines and the clean up at the top was rough (at best) even after bead blasting. All the rest of the work was great, the checkering "worked", the price was right, and I didn't see it worth my time and money to ship it back.
So, I moved from Norfolk to Monterey and happened upon Ray's (He goes by "Parga" on the hide) shop just 5 minutes north of me. I asked him to high cut the grip area and bead blast the pistol. Well, not only did he finish the work requested of him, but he also managed to recover the bad checkering! The high cut and checkering are FLAWLESS.
If you live anywhere in the US and are looking for quality work, send it to Ray...If you live in the central coast of Kali you have no reason not to give him a try. He is a class act, a wonderful smith, and a true gentleman.
Josh