Recently I purchased my first single action revolver, a Ruger New Vaquero Birdshead. The first thing i always buy for my new handguns is buy a holster, so i ordered a Mernickle PS6SA, but even though the holster hadn't come in yet, I already knew something was missing, the factory grips just weren't doing it for me. Since I wanted this gun to be special I started doing some research, eventually I came across some of Zane Thompsons grips he makes for Single actions and 1911's, I was intrigued to say the least.
I contacted Zane, the owner and craftsman of Lone Star Custom Grips (
Lone Star Custom Grips - Home), and after finding out that he hand selects the wood and hand crafts these works of art himself for each order, I decided he was my man. My only problem now what wood should I choose, I went back and forth from Maple to Elder Burl, but after coming across a similar pair he had made for another customer, I knew right away I had to have them made out of Buckeye Burl. This wood has beautiful figure with varying colors including caramel browns, golds, light and dark grey, with black eyes to tie it all together, if you don't generally like wood grips this wood can easily change your mind!
Zane immediately wrote me back and said he just happened to have the perfect set for a job like mine, if I would send him my grip frame he would get started custom fitting them so they would be an exact match, I couldn't remove the frame fast enough. I wanted to mention that this sounds like a unnecessary step, it isn't, I mean do you want good enough or do you want the best set of grips for your money, besides it cost less than $15 with insurance to ship him my frame. Zane is the true professional too, he let me choose my wood, he saved it for me, he walked me through what I needed to do (including disassembly and reassembly video), what he would do, how long it would take (approx., mine took about a month), and how much it would cost ($150 in my case YMMV). Totally painless process and well worth the wait.
I was really excited to see the final result, and although Zane kept me up to date, I could hardly stand it, but I never expected the result to be as outstanding as they were. Zane, you should be proud of yourself, God gave you a fantastic gift (and grew some fantastic wood), you should know that although this doesn't mean it will be a safe queen by any means, I will be passing this gun and these grips down to the next generation. This whole thing came together perfectly, the gun is accurate, the grips are beyond fantastic, and the holster literally came in one day ahead of the grips, so a little polish on the steel should finish it all out. I look forward to doing more business with Zane, and you guys will check out his site and consider him for your next set of grips....you won't regret it.
I linked his page above so you can check his site. Here is a link to some of his other work in a Gripmakers Showcase (his username is LSCG, start at the last page and work your way backwards)
The official gripmakers showcase thread - 1911Forum
These images don't do the grips justice, but it's raining for a week, so...
Bookmatch Buckeye Burl Blanks
Ruger New Vaquero Birdshead .45 ACP
Shown with Mernickle PS6SA
Yeehaw