Hi Gang:
What is your opinion about using a piece of ivory for a pistol grip cap. I have an itch to use it on a restock project. In the past, I have used rosewood or ebony.
Would the ivory look tacky"?
Thanks,
Franchi
Franchi, I think it would look tacky but I'm an old man living in the woods.
It can be used but you need to compliment it with an ebony inlay or something so it does not stand out so much.
I don't think that I could get my head around that.
tim
I could see it on an Africa DG rifle but not a SxS.
Have Ken engrave it. Scrimshawed it would be dynamite. Plain ivory could be a bit garish.
Brent
The late Bob Hagel had rifles (at least one) with ivory used as a grip cap and an "H" inlaid on the pistol grip. There may have also been an ivory forend tip. Even though I first saw the rifle in the era of garish stocking during the 1970's, I thought it just down right ugly.
Cary
Do ebony with a ivory insert. The ivory could be carved or scrimshawed to good effect on a solid black background. Beats those silver grip caps that trap shooter use to hang on their guns. You know, the ones which looked like a truckers belt buckle.
Ivory can add a bit of sex appeal if tastefully done. Here are a couple of pics of a custom Fox that had a bit of ivory inserted in its schnabel forend, a classy feature Burt Becker sometimes incorporated into his guns:
Hey HoJo- I thought "Ebony and Ivory" was a duet -Stevie Wonder and one of the Beatles. I recall the Weatherby and Winslow "garish" rifle stocks of the 1970's- recalls Patton words about a "Cheap pimp in a New Orleans whorehouse". Also recall the late Cactus Jack O'Connor's distain for French style or skip-line checkering on a rifle stock. I'd stay with the classic look of the early Model 70 Supergrades-
Here is an ivory inlay into an ebony field in the fore end of a D M Lefever gun.
http://lefeverforum.informe.com/my-new-lefever-4aa-dt422.html
Ivory is not a "child of the Weatherby era". My gun find of the year is a pre 1900 Linder Daly Diamond Grade with ivory grip cap rather than the usually seen horn cap. Burt Becker's ivory tipped Foxes were built in the prewar era. John Oberlies, mostly prewar riflemaker whose best work makes a Griffin and Howe look home made, used ivory on many or most of his guns, and not always just on the forend tip and grip caps. Use it if you have it.
Eightbore reminds me of another classic rifle maker who used ivory in unusual ways. I had a James V Howe stocked Springfield where the stock blank had a half dozen or so pin knots. Howe made tiny ivory "dowels" and used them in the pin holes.
I also have a Diamond Daly with the grip cap (very small on the end of a round knob) is of ivory.
Terry,
Could you post picture of your diamond quality Daly with the ebony grip cap?
Best,
Jon
I have yet to work through the posting process. I'll e-mail them to you, and you can post them or not as you see fit.
Contact me at tbuffum@bendbroadband.com
IMO there are several things a nice DBL should never wear.
#1 Gold triggers
#2 "Shiney" stocks
#3 Ivory or other gaudy inlays
#4 Single triggers (I might bend the rule on this)
Mike B.
Weatherby did not initiate the use of ivory, but he was the first to use it on guns for pimps who liked to go elk hunting.
Whatever you choose to make your grip cap out of, I'd suggest using a commercial grip cap as a template (I like Fisher's the best). The professionals have worked out the best proportions, dimensions and oval ratio. The majority of "homemade" grip caps are oddly sized, poorly shaped, too thick or have an awkward oval.
Your good conservative taste shows Mike- no doubt due to your being named after St. Michael, a good and wise call. Ivory for piano keys, cue balls and for cheap "pimped out" rifles, even if made by the founder (OK- 50%) of the G&H gruppen many years ago.
Roy Weatherby (I read your book, written by son Ed)was an great rifle "wildcatter" who liked to "hit 'em hard and fast", his first experiments were on M70 pre-1964 actions- Once he got financial backing, he went with the Krauts for his first series Mark V BA actions, and they love ruptured unicorns and leaping lizards carved all over the stocks, even put cheekpieces and sling swivel clips on their double shotguns (not just the drillings)- Ugly as home-made poop, IMO. One of the first rules of either snipers or Scottish game "ghillies"- is- Nothing rattles, nothing shines. But the no-taste gentry likes shiny-assed stocks a gleamin' on the gun shoppe racks I guess.
Very wise man of the South and I agree with you 100% on the things a fine double should NOT have, and as he once said so well- "Any shotgun with two barrels should always have TWO triggers"- Myself, I'll go with Patton's words-a man who never minced them, or tried to gold-plate a turd, which is what a Weatherby or a Winslow represents, IMO.
Gregsy- those words of extreme wisdom you just uttered- you want to run for POTUS next, you have my vote- In Spades!!
Copy the IMG code under the picture and the pic will show.
A little spash of Ivory like this looks okay but not a full size grip cap.
Actually, I could live with some ivory on an elephant gun. But not a bird gun. Birds don't have ivory.
But they don't carry ebony either.
A well scrimshawed grip cap might be pretty neat, but a big plain hunk, I agree, it would seem out of place.
Brent
I have some Elephany Ivory,scrimshawed by "Willie B" on one of my Saa's.The more they age the better,some of those old yellow ones on the real early Colts look neat
