Not too long ago I purchased a S&W K-Frame Pre-Model 10 .38 Special revolver with a Square Butt. It's a real beauty, with most of its bluing still remaining, and apparently all matching. Given its serial number and the Supica Catalogue of S&W's, it's a Model 1905, 4th Change, made from anyhwhere between 1914 to 1942. Basically, they are the latest K-Frames before the Model 10 Victory was a thing.
Unfortunately, its original grips are lost to history, and there's a Pachmayr Gripper in its place. One thing that I had noticed is that even the gripper doesn't seem to fit nearly as well as it could be. Curious, I attempted to install my Model 10-5's grips on the Pre-Model 10, and they simply do not fit.
From what I've heard, grips before the Victory were hand-fit to the revolvers, which is likely going to make finding a replacement tricky.
I'm hoping to get grips that are the shorter, non-Magna kind, about the same size of the military grips with or without S&W Escutcheons.
If you don't happen to have any Pre-Model 10 grips available, perhaps you could point me to where I can find them?
Would simply commissioning custom grips that will fit my Pre-Model 10 exactly be the more economical solution here?