My smith cant stiple, is my gun fixable

O

Opie-IN

New member
Hi everyone, I got my frontstrap stipled by a well known smith in my area. I guess my idea of a good stiple and his are different, all he did was punch 500 tiny holes in my Kahr MK9. It feels great, but looks like ****! Can this type of thing be touched up by a different smith, or is what is done unfixable. This guy is not touching my gun again, so thats out. any opinions appreciated
 
The good thing about stippling is that you can go over it again. But like George said, without seeing it, you really can't judge it. What don't you like about it? The pattern? The coverage area? My 1911 has the front strap stipled by Cylinder/Slide. The coverage is dense and very nice lines. Talk to your smith. He can make it right for you.
 
I guess when I talked to him I shoulda been more specific. I expected something along the lines of Glock stiple depth and pattern. These are really deep perfect circles. and not to mention they are pretty damn sharp. I guess its just deeper than I wanted. He also missed about 5-6 times and got holes on the side of the frame, just looks bad if you ask me, and everyone else who has looked at it
 
Opie --
That's a wood grain stiple style. Most smiths do the style you have. How far into the frame did he hit? If the grips won't cover up the area, you should ask him to add more to make it look natural. I'm sure George, our moderator, can help you out. And you can send the frame UPS ground.
 
It's always a good idea to ask for an example of the smith's work before you trust your gun to him. I'm not entirely sure that what was done was a bad thing. Stipling is, well, just what it seems he did. I prefer a random pattern or regular checkering. You can have him polish the frontstrap to remove the sharpness and lessen the appearance, but you seem to have gotten what you asked for if not what you wanted.

Speaking to the misses... those are inexcuseable. He should have offered to make that right.
 
I think what was originally wanted was checkering. There are special checkering chisels which will cut "wood type" grain in metal. The big issue for the consumer is how many LPI (lines per inch). Some prefer 20 and others 30. Stippling is altogether another means of making the front strap more slip-resistent. It entails the use of a staking punch to make a successive series of punch marks. Stippling can be removed by filing the area smooth, but you`re going to lose some metal. It can also be welded up and then filed smooth (and then checkered). Please don`t blame the gunsmith for the finish since he gave you what you asked for - stippling.
 
I put griptape (skateborad tape) on the front of my pistol. I think it looks good and it comes in just about any color you want. A lot of shooters use it and swear by it. Go to http://www.fnhipower.com/ to see an example.

Cyric


[This message has been edited by Cyric13 (edited October 09, 2000).]
 
You buy it at skateboard/hobby shops. You can also purchase it at Brownell's (I think). It only cost a couple of dollars for 1 ft x 9 in rectangle.

Cyric
 
Friction tape works just as well as skateboard tape. It's the stuff you put on stairs and walkways so people don't slip. You can get it most hardware stores. It's even precut in 1-2" strips. It stays in place, but can be removed if you want.
 
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