Giraffe Bone Grips?

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Well, I held off too long on getting a set of ivory grips for my Colt clones. I see that several grip makers have switched over to giraffe bone as a substitute for ivory. I have seen pictures of giraffe bone grips and think they are beautiful. Anyone here have experience with giraffe bone? How do they compare to ivory in feel and weight?

[DougGuy]

I haven't made grips with Giraffe but it has a rather thin hard outer layer and the inside is totally hollow. For a SAA revolver they must fill the backside with white epoxy or something. Giraffe also has cracks in it because the animal grows so fast the bones can barely keep up. If they use Giraffe JAW bone that might be a different story. The images on google for giraffe bone grips are REALLY nice most of them, much more color and character than ivory. I would use them in a heartbeat and the prices are fairly reasonable for custom grips. I do know that Giraffe needs to be stabilized and they do this in a pressure cooker type pot that they often use a colored poly resin that soaks in to the bone and fills the cracks, that's how they get a lot of the color in there. Pretty cool stuff too..

[OS OK]

Ivory is slick as snot...not 'slick looking' but slick in the grip.

I think a more authentic look is 'stag' . . . have you given that option any thought?

here are some great examples . . . https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...lvers&fr=aaplw

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Ivory is slick as snot...not 'slick looking' but slick in the grip.

I think a more authentic look is 'stag' . . . have you given that option any thought?

here are some great examples . . . https://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...lvers&fr=aaplw

I have a pair of Cimarrons with no bark elk grips made by Patrick Grashorn.


They are very nice, but not ivory. Was curious if there might be a closer substitute than elk.


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[OS OK]

That looks very nice...have the same SAA in Colt, love it.
The grip looks like it has some texture to the finish, that would help.

I have a large hand and my ivory is not comfy nor does it fit well in hand, especially when shooting a stout load.
Yes, it looks OK but in hindsight...I should have considered 'shootability' over 'blingability'! . . .

[TXSlade]

I can give you the number of the guy that made ivory grips for Colt Custom Shop, he lives in Texas and still makes grips out of ivory. He is making some for my new Wilson Combat.

Here is a stock he made.

As long as you are within the same state, selling ivory is fine.

[OS OK]

"H o l y . C o w ! ''

NEVER SAW ANYTHING LIKE THAT!

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I can give you the number of the guy that made ivory grips for Colt Custom Shop, he lives in Texas and still makes grips out of ivory. He is making some for my new Wilson Combat.

Here is a stock he made.

As long as you are within the same state, selling ivory is fine.

PM incoming.


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[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a couple custom knives with camel bone and its beautiful and pretty tough. Much tougher then elk bone which is pretty porous

[historicfirearms]

There is a discussion over on rugerforum.com on ivory substitutes. This one looks very real, especially the +S blanks. http://www.guitarpartsandmore.com/pr...rip-Panels-118

[GOPHER SLAYER]

A gentleman at the range let me shoot a cylinder full of Colt 45s last time out and it had giraffe bone grips. I thought they looked plain and dull. There is just nothing that matches ivory and walrus ivory is the best. The new Ruger SA was great fun to shoot bye the way.

[Blackwater]

OS OK, if those "ivory" grips you shot were slippery, it was NOT real ivory, and was probably one of those "resin ivory" or other immitation. One of the reasons ivory was used for so many sword hilts, is because it's one of the few substances that, when wet with blood, one can still get a good grip if one tightens one's hand around it well. Or, it might have been recently treated with mineral oil or other oil to help prevent it from cracking/checking over time. Real ivory shrinks over time, and it takes someone who really knows from experience how to deal with it to produce a great, long lasting and stable grip. Recoil can crack it if the fit is not really good, too, so again, it takes a GOOD grip fitter who's knowledgeable about ivory to make you a really good, long lasting grip for a handgun, and the more recoil is involved, the more important the fitting is. It will probably hold up for a while, but time and repeated recoil can and likely will very seriously damage poorly fitted or loose grips. Just a word to the wise.

[OS OK]

They aren't slippery as in oil slick, they are highly polished, don't have a texture or detail to grip.
My smith sent the SAA back east somewhere, I think Tenn. to have them fitted. It's Walrus.

Still, if I had it to do again...I would refrain.

[hp246]

I have a pair of Uberti SAA replicas with Giraffe bone grips. I like them very much. They don't quite have striations like real Ivory.

[oldblinddog]

If you want a really tacky non-slip grip, use buffalo horn. Looks really nice but water/sweat has no effect on it.

[am44mag]

Well, I held off too long on getting a set of ivory grips for my Colt clones. I see that several grip makers have switched over to giraffe bone as a substitute for ivory. I have seen pictures of giraffe bone grips and think they are beautiful. Anyone here have experience with giraffe bone? How do they compare to ivory in feel and weight?

I work with giraffe bone and I've made quite a few grips with it. It's a VERY nice substitute for ivory, and some pieces can have some nice color variation in them. You can get a nice polish on it, and it will age like ivory. Feel wise, it's very dense and smooth. It has a decent weight to it was well. You're not going to confuse it with some cheap plastic grips. Price wise, they're cheap compared to ivory but you're not sacrificing quality.

You can actually get bone that is thick and solid enough to make SAA without having to fill anything in, it's just not the easiest stuff to find. I actually have some of that just for that purpose. I have a couple people wanting grips for their six guns, and I was able to get ahold of some nice, thick bone. Most of the grips I make with it though are for 1911s.

[Texas by God]

These are elk. I like them. Especially since my brother killed the elk.

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[Love Life]

Giraffe bone is nice, but it does not have the same feel as ivory. I have ivory available for sale in Georgia, but you have to be a state resident to purchase it.

Giraffe bone can be churched up to look like ivory, but it will always be a substitute.

I'd hold out for the real deal.


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[TXSlade]

Texas by God, those are gorgeous. I want to find a knife with a handle like those grips so bad. Not a little knife, a fighting/hunter style.

Love Life, I couldn't agree more. But for those that have a moral opposition to ivory or just can't find a source, I imagine giraffe is a decent substitute. Although, the people I know who admonish me for getting ivory, I just say, using ivory from an animal killed 100 + years ago isn't ok, but from a recently killed giraffe is? Ok, whatever, lol.