S&W model 12 airweight grips

R

rgillis

New member
I was hoping someone could point me in the right direction.
I'm having a time trying to find replacement grips for a square butt Model 12 snubby air weight.

I did buy a replacement set on ebay thinking that all K-Frame square butts are the same, but apparently, the Model 12 frame is slightly smaller than the other K-Frame Smiths. A lot of material had to be removed to get them to fit without a very significant gap between the frame and the grip.

So am I correct in thinking there is a difference in frame size or is this just an example of poorly designed grips?

Thank you
 
The grip frame is about a 16th of an inch narrower on the first three generations of the M12. The 12-4 model started using the same thickness as the other K frames but the early grips are almost unobtainium. My dash 1 has the narrow profile.

Good luck
 
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What burrhead said. The aftermarket is nearly non-existent and original stocks bring blood money on auction sites.

At this point you're as likely to strike gold by browsing the offerings of that one old guy who sets up at your local gun show with a bunch of tables full of old grips and magazines as anything else.
 
Now I have to run look see what dash mine is. It has Pachmayrs anyhow but I don't know if they fit or are just squashed on.

12-3
The Pachmayr Compact grip has a bit of a gap at top right but it does not affect the handling.
 
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Went thru the same thing a few years ago with a 12-3. I finally got a old set of K frame grips and some sandpaper and sanded them down. Make sure the sandpaper is on a flat surface and take your time and sand a little off each grip until you get them where you want them. When I got thur sanding I refinished the grips. They really turned out nice and you could not tell them from a set of factory grips.
 
My 12-2 has the original walnut grips but if I had to replace them for some reason, I'd follow mlw270win's advice.
 
Interestingly, approximately a year ago I bought 3 sets of S&W grips (stocks) on GunBroker which were advertised as being for K-frame. Well, one of them certainly was not, and after doing a bunch of measuring, research and question-asking I discovered they were original Magnas for a model 12 as you described. During the course of this research a well-known world-renowned expert on snub-nose revolvers and self-defense tactics messaged me about them. He offered to buy them but by then I had listed them on eBay, received at least one bid and was obligated to let the auction run its course. He ended up being the high bidder, but they surprisingly only sold for about $50. It would not have surprised me if they had gone for $70-80.
 
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