Which grips are Authentic to WWII?

[hemiman]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post, and I didnt see a particular place to post a question like this, but since I have an A.O. Parkerized model in layaway this seemed like the spot. Now, ive seen the checkered grips (like it comes with) and the Double diamonds grips. Which ones were used during WWII or earlier? ive looked for this quite a bit, here, and other places and I cant find anything.
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Ethan.

EDIT// Woops. I didnt see the Historical Q's forum.

[gottripletsNC]

In WW1 on the 1911s, they came with double diamond wooden grips. There were reasons for wooden grips, but that is another story. In ww2 on the A1, the grips were plastic and did not have double diamonds. Just very small rings around the grip screws, and the grips were checkered.

[Tom]

In ww2 on the A1, the grips were plastic and did not have double diamonds. Just very small rings around the grip screws, and the grips were checkered.
And a brown color, right? Not black?

[gottripletsNC]

Ya know, I think thats right, but I'll leave that to OD*, I'm not sure, so to keep from lying I won't say on this one.

[Tom]

It's why I moved this thread to the "Parts - Grips" forum for better exposure.

[gfavaron]

Brownish, maybe even kinda cordovan. But the honest truth is that like most men, I am moderately color blind.

[hemiman]

Ok, thanks for all the help guys, Sorry for putting this in the wrong forum in the first place. I'll have to be more carefull about that!

[rondawg]

This is my Rock Island Armory GI model. The stocks (grips) on it are supposedly WWII surplus Late Colt M1911A1 Grips. They're a brown plastic, but it's not quite like modern plastics. There's a star on the inside of each one, and I "think" there's a "K" inside the star? Then there will be a single number elsewhere, which is just the number of the mold that was used.

I bought these from Simpson's, for $15 a pair. They're post-war takeoffs from pistols being de'commed, so they're likely to have "character". That's why I bought two sets. I had to clean out some yellow numbering paint from one panel, and there's slightly damaged diamonds, etc.

Can't get much more authentic than this, and for $15/pair? http://www.simpsonltd.com/index.php?cPath=201_262

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/guns/DSCN1012.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/guns/DSCN1011.jpg

[Doran]

K inside a star signifies Keyes manufacture. They produced grips for all the contractors except Colt.

[rondawg]

K inside a star signifies Keyes manufacture. They produced grips for all the contractors except Colt.
Oh. Simpson's said they were "Late Colt M1911A1", and they sent me four Keyes grips, so that's where I got that info.

[OD*]

In WW1 on the 1911s, they came with double diamond wooden grips. There were reasons for wooden grips, but that is another story. In ww2 on the A1, the grips were plastic and did not have double diamonds. Just very small rings around the grip screws, and the grips were checkered.
Colt used full checkered walnut stocks until about 1941.
The reinforcing rings varied in size depending on make.
IIRC, there were some black stocks used by the Navy during the Vietnam era. ;)

[gottripletsNC]

Ha. We didn't enter the war until late 1941, so technically I got that part right...LOL

as for the color, I told you OD* would ring in.

[OD*]

Ha. We didn't enter the war until late 1941, so technically I got that part right...LOL
Yes you did Brian. The pistols made in '41 and before would have had their walnuts until they were rearsenaled or broke a set of stocks, I'm sure a number of them saw duty. ;)

[gottripletsNC]

I'm sure a number of them saw duty. ;)
I have no doubt...

[Hawkmoon]

In ww2 on the A1, the grips were plastic and did not have double diamonds. Just very small rings around the grip screws, and the grips were checkered.
They didn't all have the reinforcing ring around the screw holes. I've bought two 1911 parts kits from Sarco, both of which included surplus grip panels. In both sets, one side had the rings and the other didn't. Fortunately, the fates succeeded in having them be the reverse of each other, so by shuffling the grips I now have one set with rings and one set without.

[Tom]

IIRC, there were some black stocks used by the Navy during the Vietnam era.
I cannot recall what color the grips were on the M1911s we had on the ship. I think they were black, but they might have been brown with a lot of dirt on them. :D We in the Navy didn't pay a lot of love and attention to "small" arms, ya know. We preferred calibers measures in WHOLE inches, not decimal fractions of one. LOL

[OD*]

And I'm not for certain on that either. ;)

[scoutdog]

In WW1 on the 1911s, they came with double diamond wooden grips. There were reasons for wooden grips, but that is another story. In ww2 on the A1, the grips were plastic and did not have double diamonds. Just very small rings around the grip screws, and the grips were checkered.

Well now you've got me curious, what were the reasons for the wood grips? Do you mean a functional reason? I'm guessing one reason might be that they didn't have plastic or plastic type material to use then?

[gottripletsNC]

Well, its either a really huge coincidence that every part of the gun can take itself apart without ever using a tool, or it was designed that way. I'm inclined to believe it was designed that way. I have heard on more than one occasion that the walnut grips were designed to be used a fire tender if needed by the soldier. After all, the gun can be fired without the stocks on it.

[rondawg]

I have heard on more than one occasion that the walnut grips were designed to be used a fire tender if needed by the soldier. After all, the gun can be fired without the stocks on it.

Um, sorry, I find that one hard to swallow. Hard Walnut grips wouldn't make very good tinder, IMO, there's LOTS more suitable tinder available just about anywhere. Besides, if your pistol grips are all you have available to start a fire with, what are you going to put on the fire to make it bigger and keep it going?