Like Clark, I have sawdust on me too. Been making some wooden spatulas for Christmas. Mostly using Cherry, but some Walnut.
As for pistol grips, the first ones I made (back at the dawn of time) were from Pine. They actually came out pretty good. These days I usually have a good supply of Cherry, Walnut, Red and White Oak, Persimmon, Pecan, Mesquite, Rosewood, and this and that. And I have a pile of scraps in Bloodwood, Redheart, Bubinga, Ebony, Bois D'Arc, and others. I don't make many pistol grips, unless someone asks (and leaves the pistol with me), so most of my made stuff is boxes, bowls, beds, rolling pins, and whatever sounds like fun. Prettiest wood I've used lately was Redheart (rolling pin, French style), with Bubinga (salt keeper) close behind. All of these woods can be bought at a Woodcraft store in any major city. You can shop among the woods till you find what you want in the size you want. For small pieces, like for pistol grips, the price won't be bad (10 or 12 bucks). Or you can shop online.
Whatever you use, I'd suggest something with tight grain. Cherry, for instance, has tight grain. Those types will hold a polish better than the wood with open grains (red oak, for instance). Walnut burl is tight grained, but general Walnut often has open grain. Bubinga and Zebrawood would look good on a pistol grip. Rosewood will too. And if you can find a chunk of Australian Blackwood (shiny black, with ivory threads), try that. Hard to find big pieces of that, but small pieces are usually available at Woodcraft.
Well...back to my spatulas.