Ajax grip report.

Doug · 11-21-2001, 12:46 AM

Well the news is good and bad. The good news is the grip size is not consistent. I say that this is good because at least it gives room for fitting. The bad news is that you must buy multiple pairs and mix n match to get a good fit. The right panels seem to be the most consistent. They all have the thick back side and gap under the safety. As we all know frame size varies from gun to gun. I tried the right panels four sets on a 1917 DWM Artillery and a 1940 42 code as well as a 1915 Erfurt and a POS 1910 parts gun. I noticed that the grips fit better on the 1917 and 1940. The 1915 and 1910 fit rather poorly (i.e.) big gap. While deciding whether or not to return them I asked if they could make the top of the left panel oversize so they could be hand fitted. Their response was NO, it would require them to reprogram the CNC machine. They did mention if their was a large order they would do it though. I don't know what they consider large, but IÃ¢??ll bet it's over 1000 pairs. The only thing I can say is if we all bombard them with emails for oversize grips they just might think that there is a big enough market to alter the program. By the way they said that they used a 1942 artillery frame as the pattern. I'll bet that's a RARE gun!!!! HAHA I hope it was an error on their part. Anyway for Luke and Denny let me know if you want to try your luck. If you do and they don't fit I know that Ajax would exchange them for another pair.

John Sabato · 11-21-2001, 11:03 AM

Looks like there is some room for a small CNC manufacturer someplace to start producing grips for custom Lugers...

are you listening Hugh and G.T. ????

-regards,

John Sabato

Thor · 11-21-2001, 12:10 PM

John, this is the same thing I was told, removing the back edge would be too much trouble! THE BEST option is to buy the NILL-Griffe grips UNCHECKERED and have Hugh Checker them! They are expensive, but the best on the market! The other option is to find a nice pair of ORiginal wood grips and have Hugh rechecker them. The rest of the repos have problems, some people can live with the problems and some want the grips right, about a $25-$90 solution with recheckering being around $40. The nicest ones and the ones that fit the tightest are the Nills with Hugh finishing touch! AND if you go that route, you can specify border (more pricey) or full checkering and you KNOW the checkering will be absolutely perfect! ~THOR~

BILL · 11-21-2001, 10:56 PM

The original grip idea with recheckering is getting awfully expensive. For some reason a pair of original grips (even chipped or cracked) are fetching a pretty high price. I wonder how many original grips were tossed once replacements were installed? I would think ideally that original grips that were recheckered would be the best route.

Jay Newman · 11-23-2001, 03:40 AM

Since I am new to Luger collecting, I would be interested to know if there would be any effect on the value of a collectible Luger, if you restored its original grips. Can anyone give me some insight on this question?

11-21-2001, 12:46 AM	#1
Doug User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: USA Posts: 168 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ajax grip report. Well the news is good and bad. The good news is the grip size is not consistent. I say that this is good because at least it gives room for fitting. The bad news is that you must buy multiple pairs and mix n match to get a good fit. The right panels seem to be the most consistent. They all have the thick back side and gap under the safety. As we all know frame size varies from gun to gun. I tried the right panels four sets on a 1917 DWM Artillery and a 1940 42 code as well as a 1915 Erfurt and a POS 1910 parts gun. I noticed that the grips fit better on the 1917 and 1940. The 1915 and 1910 fit rather poorly (i.e.) big gap. While deciding whether or not to return them I asked if they could make the top of the left panel oversize so they could be hand fitted. Their response was NO, it would require them to reprogram the CNC machine. They did mention if their was a large order they would do it though. I don't know what they consider large, but IÃ¢??ll bet it's over 1000 pairs. The only thing I can say is if we all bombard them with emails for oversize grips they just might think that there is a big enough market to alter the program. By the way they said that they used a 1942 artillery frame as the pattern. I'll bet that's a RARE gun!!!! HAHA I hope it was an error on their part. Anyway for Luke and Denny let me know if you want to try your luck. If you do and they don't fit I know that Ajax would exchange them for another pair.

11-21-2001, 11:03 AM	#2
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,154 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,306 Times in 1,097 Posts	Thanks for the report Doug. Looks like there is some room for a small CNC manufacturer someplace to start producing grips for custom Lugers... are you listening Hugh and G.T. ???? -regards, John Sabato

11-21-2001, 12:10 PM	#3
Thor User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Rio Rancho, New Mexico Posts: 4,583 Thanks: 958 Thanked 970 Times in 276 Posts	Re: Luger Grip Replacements John, this is the same thing I was told, removing the back edge would be too much trouble! THE BEST option is to buy the NILL-Griffe grips UNCHECKERED and have Hugh Checker them! They are expensive, but the best on the market! The other option is to find a nice pair of ORiginal wood grips and have Hugh rechecker them. The rest of the repos have problems, some people can live with the problems and some want the grips right, about a $25-$90 solution with recheckering being around $40. The nicest ones and the ones that fit the tightest are the Nills with Hugh finishing touch! AND if you go that route, you can specify border (more pricey) or full checkering and you KNOW the checkering will be absolutely perfect! ~THOR~

11-21-2001, 10:56 PM	#4
BILL User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Western Washington Posts: 826 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger Grip Replacements The original grip idea with recheckering is getting awfully expensive. For some reason a pair of original grips (even chipped or cracked) are fetching a pretty high price. I wonder how many original grips were tossed once replacements were installed? I would think ideally that original grips that were recheckered would be the best route.

11-23-2001, 03:40 AM	#5
Jay Newman User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Sequim, WA Posts: 38 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Luger Grip Replacements Since I am new to Luger collecting, I would be interested to know if there would be any effect on the value of a collectible Luger, if you restored its original grips. Can anyone give me some insight on this question?