Pearl Grips

S

Skans

New member
It seems like real mother of pearl grips have all but disappeared from the market. What happened to them? Meanwhile genuine ivory grips are fairly easy to find, although costly.

I know, I know, "pearl is for pimps", etc, etc. Not for everybody, but I can appreciate a nice set of solid pearl grips.
 
Pearl has been over-harvested and large pieces are hard to find & expensive. Working pearl requires a certain expertise that seems to be lost in the US.
Mother of pearl is probably the most beautiful natural handle material.
 
Unless you can be certain that elephant ivory is legal to buy and that no laws will be violated by owning or transferring it, I believe it is best avoided. There are plenty of excellent materials that look as good and have no legal problems attached. (BTW, the assurances of a seller as to legality may be worthless; unless YOU know the law, best to take no chances.)

Jim
 
I love the look of pearl. I feel there is not a better looking material for a grip of a gun.

All that said it is pretty fragile. It probably would be ok but I would not put it on my CCW or a gun a shoot a lot.
Ivory is still pretty common.It was very over harvested early on and if you are willing to pay for it there is a great deal of pre bann Ivory. There is also Ivory from other sources such as Mammoth Ivory and even some from wart hog tucks which are totally fine for small guns.
 
Ok, I admit that I had a pearl handled .25 at one time. I would be hesitant to invest in real ivory these days because of the new restrictions. My Super Blackhawk wears ivory polymer made to appear slightly aged.
 
I am not sure about that "pre-ban" ivory. As I understand it, there is now no such thing, since the law assumes that any ivory is illegal. There is information on several web sites but to be honest, I became confused reading and trying to make sense of the information. The current rules were written to please the extremist conservation lobby and anyone who buys or sells elephant ivory today does so at his own risk.

Jim
 
I have some faux pearl on my carry gun. They are Ajax with gold Colt medallions. I have many nice examples of wood grips for this pistol in my parts bin. They are all checkered double diamond style and rub me raw when I carry it with them. After a few days of chafing with the checkered wood, I decided to go with some smooth grips. These caught my eye. They are very nice and I do not feel that they look "pimp". I believe General Patton carried a pearl handled pistol.




 
I find it pretty, but not practical in any way. For making a master gunsmith/engraver's show piece they seem great.
 
No, Patton's pistols had ivory grips; it was he who famously said that pearl grips were for pimps, a statement with which I disagree, owning several antique revolvers with pearl grips.

Jim
 
My Grandfather gave me his only handgun as a high school graduation present, he was 90 years old. It was his 1921-built S&W Hand Ejector (what evolved in to the Model 10) in factory nickel, six-inch barrel and (non-factory) genuine mother of pearl grips. He bought it in 1923 less than a hundred miles from where a Roy Jinks factory lettered said that S&W shipped it.

One day... I'll dink around with picture hosting. Would be appropriate in this case. I find these grips to be gorgeous and they have a "feel" that is different than all others.
 
I believe General Patton carried a pearl handled pistol.
Click to expand...

The famous story about that may be fiction, but it fits with his character. At a staff meeting during the conquest of Europe, someone made a comment to Patton about his "pearl handled pistols".

To which, Patton (supposedly) replied, "Only a pimp in a cheap New Orleans cathouse would carry a pearl handled pistol! These, sir, are Ivory!"

This was apparently said to, or in front of (or in any case he heard about it) a young Andy Rooney. Rooney apparently had something in for the memory of the General, because for the rest of his life and journalistic career, whenever he would mention General Patton, he would specifically refer to his "pearl handled pistols". I even heard him do it myself, one time in one of his 60 Minutes commentaries, decades after Gen Patton died. He simply would not let it go, or acknowledge that they were ivory, not pearl.
that is journalistic integrity in America.....
:rolleyes:

The last I knew, Patton's pistols were on display at the West Point museum, where if you look, you can clearly see the grips are ivory, NOT pearl.
 
I carry a pearl handled IJ .38 S&W revolver IWB as one of my CCWs most every day. I have wonderd how much longer that hundred year old handle will last.

Now if I could only figure out how you guys are clicking on the arrow next to the attacment icon and somehow getting a second screen that I am not getting.
 
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I think it depends on the handgun.

Whether faux or real, pearl grips look great on the Old School classics, like the single-action wheelies and early 1911s. They'd be an esthetic turn-off, however, on something modern, like a Desert Eagle or stainless Sig 220. :eek:

*Pimpilicious* 1932 Colt Commercial "Policia de la Capital" model.


:cool:
 
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I have a set on my Colt Gold Cup ( for looks of course ) they look so fluid it seems you could actually dip your fingers into them. They are down right bea-tee-ful.
 
I personally think mother of pearl grips are quite feminine in appearance, but I'm all for natural products and am interested in this topic.
 
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