JaeOne3345 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I recently switched from the Glock platform to a Brazos HP Edge that I bought from a member (xnsiper, thanks!) here on the forum. I love the platform but I do NOT like the thumb relief profile that the STI grip safety has. I notice that they do not offer a grip safety with a "full profile." The thumb relief cut out really pinches/bothers my skin. I tried a few 1911's without the cut outs in the beavertail and I experience no pain. I understand the necessity of finding one that matches the .250 radius, but I am wondering if anyone knows of one that won't require too much cosmetic modification to the beavertail? Ed Brown? Chip? SV? I was looking at the SV safeties since they have a full profile and the STI/SVI frames appear to be identical around the tang area. Can anyone set me in the right direction? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I replaced mine with one from Ed Brown. Minor fitting to blend it, but nothing that a file and some emery paper couldn't manage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunfixer Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I think thats the right route as well (I am a great believer in al things Ed Brown..) although I'm still not 100% understanding what your exact delemna is.. The STI is quite nearly the same part for most intents & purposes is it not!? Edited October 11, 2011 by gunfixer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaeOne3345 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I think thats the right route as well (I am a great believer in al things Ed Brown..) although I'm still not 100% understanding what your exact delemna is.. The STI is quite nearly the same part for most intents & purposes is it not!? No. Look at an STI grip safety compared to an Ed Brown or similar next time. The STI has a thumb relief cut out on each side of the beaver tail. Since the SV and ST frame dimensions are just about the same dimensionally, I am wondering if an SVI grip safety will match the contours correctly? Edited October 11, 2011 by JaeOne3345 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk2 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I prefer the Chip McCormick beavertails. The ones I've fitted were a closer fit than the Ed Brown beavertails. I've never tried the SV beavertails though. Edited October 11, 2011 by tk2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ck1 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I replaced mine with one from Ed Brown. Minor fitting to blend it, but nothing that a file and some emery paper couldn't manage. +1. I had to change out the grip safety on my Trojan pretty much right away too as the STI one was downright painful for my hand. The Ed Brown did the trick and was nearly "drop-in". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaeOne3345 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 I replaced mine with one from Ed Brown. Minor fitting to blend it, but nothing that a file and some emery paper couldn't manage. +1. I had to change out the grip safety on my Trojan pretty much right away too as the STI one was downright painful for my hand. The Ed Brown did the trick and was nearly "drop-in". Did you have to cut on the frame or just modify the beavertail itself? Got any pics of the fit? Much appreciated if so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ck1 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 (edited) I replaced mine with one from Ed Brown. Minor fitting to blend it, but nothing that a file and some emery paper couldn't manage. +1. I had to change out the grip safety on my Trojan pretty much right away too as the STI one was downright painful for my hand. The Ed Brown did the trick and was nearly "drop-in". Did you have to cut on the frame or just modify the beavertail itself? Got any pics of the fit? Much appreciated if so. No way, didn't have to cut the frame... Just had to fit/adjust how it engaged with the back of the trigger-bow, all it took was a few passes with a file and some clean up with some 600 grit. The Ed Brown grip-safeties are the same cut/profile as what STI uses. I don't really have any dead on pics of the beavertail/grip-safety but here's what it looks like installed, looks factory (more or less), better yet, it doesn't hurt and I think it's easier to engage: Hope this helps. - Chip Edited October 11, 2011 by ck1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaeOne3345 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 Thanks, sir. I got your PM. That is exactly what I needed to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheers623 Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Hope I'm not raining on anyone's parade but I've got 9 different STI pistols and while you can get Ed Brown safties to go on some, most of mine would require minor removal of metal on the radius to get a free moving, functional fit. Also, they all would require some blending to look right instead of looking fudged on aftermarket. Just wanted to put that out there for the OP's consideration. There is a little bit of handfitting that STI does to install beavertails. Even though both companies use a .250 radius the contours are not quite the same. They are really close and anyone with decent file and sanding skills can do it. Hope that is a positive contribution. Cheers623 DVC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaeOne3345 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 I appreciate the warning. I wish STI would just friggin' offer a beaver tail without the cut outs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheers623 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I appreciate the warning. I wish STI would just friggin' offer a beaver tail without the cut outs. My thoughts exactly. You'd think it would be easy enough to make one without the cuts and then just add a final step in the finish-machining of the part for the cut-outs. It always struck me as odd that they would offer only this version when it was not a widely applied modification before hand. I've seen relatively few custom pistols that were done previously that had that mod done to them per customer request. It is supposed to be for shooters with big hands but I've got BIG*SS hands and I don't particularly care for it. Anyway, as mentioned above it's a pretty standard change and many competent Smiths can do it for pennies on the pound. The upside is that once you do it you've really started to personalize the gun to your preferences. It does make a difference when the gun fits you well. Good luck, Cheers623 DVC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2MoreChains Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I only have two STI's, a Trojan and Eagle, and swapped the stock STI grip safety on both for Ed Browns. The Eagle was pretty simple, just needed to remove a hair from either side of the GS to allow it to move freely in the frame and grip. The beavertail for the Trojan required more hand-fitting. The radius was a good fit as was the width, but where I had to do a bunch of filing was in the web to blend it into the frame. I only modified the beavertail, not the frame (somebody once told me: when breaking out the files, start working on the cheaper of the two part...good advice I think!) For me, the relief cuts on either side of the stock beavertail allowed the pistol to sit too deep in my hand (I assume they are there to facilitate a high hold), but in my case the relief cuts also created a hard corner right behind the thumb safety and where the relief cut starts. After a few hundred rounds or back-to-back shooting over multiple days it would cause a sore spot on the big joint of my thumb. Plus I would occasionally get slide bite from the Trojan. I read about somebody doing a near drop-in replacement with an Ed Brown, so gave it a try and it worked fine for me -just minor fitting required. I'm currently accumulating parts for a 6" 2011, and I'm going with another Ed Brown GS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaeOne3345 Posted October 12, 2011 Author Share Posted October 12, 2011 (edited) Thanks for the advice everyone! Edited October 13, 2011 by JaeOne3345 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdh821 Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I recently purchased the STI DVC Open and noticed the same thing described by the OP. I guess I shall order me an Ed Brown stainless steel 70 series grip safety and hope this solves the issue. With that said, I also think I will have to dehorn the thumb safety since I think that is another part of my equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Buy the safety from J.E.M., or from EGW (who makes it for JEM). It is just like the STI safety except that it is a billet part, not MIM like STI is. It also has the same profile arm so you can remove it without removing the MSH. If your STI is in spec, you shoud be able to blend it with nothing more than an emory strip. Here is the URL for the EGW part. http://www.egwguns.com/index.php?p=product&id=1052 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltdmstr Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 I would check the EGW beavertail before you get an Ed Brown. The Ed Brown part kinda sucks because it's narrower than the frame cut, so it tends to wobble around. And for some reason they redesigned it a while back and changed the shape. So now it's not cut up as high as it used to be. You can fix that with a Dremel, but it's extra work. The EGW part is excellent quality and fits snug like it should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted June 24, 2015 Share Posted June 24, 2015 Hello: You can try polishing the comers off the STI grip safety where it is bitting your hand. A little polishing can make it feel just great. If not then get the Ed Brown grip safety. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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