jkrispies Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 (edited) My 9mm 1911 is currently wearing wooden grips recycled from an older gun, and I need to shave a little weight, so I'm looking for lighter weight grips... and I think black would contrast against the stainless very nicely, thank you. VZ has some carbon fibers that are pretty close to what I want (at $99-- YIKES!!!) but I'd appreciate some other recommendations to consider. Here's what I'm looking for: 1. 3/4 oz or less (both panels), so I'm thinking carbon fiber, aluminum, titanium, or...? 2. Medium to Aggressive checkering (and while I'm open to different textures, I kinda just want plain jane checkering) 3. Magwell and ambi-safety cut 4. Standard thickness 5. Did I mention "black"? Any suggestions? Thanks, J Edited February 20, 2018 by jkrispies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRPOperator Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 VZ are great grips..is price is your concern, then it might limit your options. Ergo make some cheaper, decent texture grips. The more aggressive grips are going to be name brand and cost more most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OPENB Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Magpul polymer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted February 20, 2018 Author Share Posted February 20, 2018 2 minutes ago, TRPOperator said: VZ are great grips..is price is your concern, then it might limit your options. Ergo make some cheaper, decent texture grips. The more aggressive grips are going to be name brand and cost more most of the time. If it cones to it, I’ll pay for quality. It just seems to me that $99 is quite a bit to pay for a pair of panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRPOperator Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 3 minutes ago, OPENB said: Magpul polymer. Magpul does make some decent stuff. I run techwell grips on all my guns. Little more expensive, but not quite the 99 buck a pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken6PPC Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 1 minute ago, OPENB said: Magpul polymer. I wouldn't use the words "Magpul polymer" and "aggressive" in the same sentence, unless the word "NOT" was between them... Perhaps if you epoxied some abrasive grit on them, or used a soldering iron to stipple them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken6PPC Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 (edited) Lok Grips work well. I have a set of these on my SS Springfield RO, and they are pretty "grippy", and look nice as well. Don't know what they weigh... http://lokgrips.com/gun-grips/1911/spec-ops/spec-ops-brown-black-g10/ Edited February 20, 2018 by Ken6PPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 So this is kinda funny and ironic... I’m contacting manufacturers and getting weights on grips that I assumed were going to be lighter weight than my wooden grips, up to and including carbon fiber... and the numbers I’m getting back seem to be as heavy or heavier than my current wooden ones. So I think, maybe I should weigh those ugly as heck wooden grips on my original competition .45 just for giggles. Do it and... Hmmmmm... If my math is correct....... Slapped ‘em on the gun, and yep, I’m now making weight!!! So, the moral of the story as far as I can telll, guys, is old-fashioned wooden grips seem to weigh less than new-fashioned (and expensive) aluminum, G10, and carbon fiber. Go figure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkvibe Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I have some of these. Not sure of weight. http://www.duragrips.com/catalog/category/5343434 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayR Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I’ll be another vote for the Magpul grips. I have one set that’s factory and one set that I stippled and that’s kinda one of the beauties is that if you can run a wood burning tool then you can choose your level of aggressiveness. And at $17 a pair it’s hard to argue with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 1 hour ago, GrayR said: I’ll be another vote for the Magpul grips. I have one set that’s factory and one set that I stippled and that’s kinda one of the beauties is that if you can run a wood burning tool then you can choose your level of aggressiveness. And at $17 a pair it’s hard to argue with Just looked at them at Brownells. I wish they didn’t have the dish for thumb safety, as I’m left handed and it ruins the feel of the grip for me. Otherwise I’d definitely give them a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayR Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Yeah I can see that being a deal breaker. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tompac Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Wood is light. Alumagrips (thin) put me over wt. had to change recoil rod back to stock type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Mitch Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 Kensight Sharkskin grips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootingbeaver Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I was looking to lighten a 45 a while ago and noticed the same thing with all the carbon fiber grips on eBay. They all seemed to say 1.5oz or higher. Not really what I expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjones6686 Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Check out the Techwell PosiTec grips. Lightest G10 grips I've come accross. Make it east to shave weight off a 1911 to make weight in SSTK division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 22 minutes ago, bjones6686 said: Check out the Techwell PosiTec grips. Lightest G10 grips I've come accross. Make it east to shave weight off a 1911 to make weight in SSTK division. 1.9oz according to their website... 1 oz and a hair is as heavy as I can go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TCB Posted March 2, 2018 Share Posted March 2, 2018 If you find grips you like that put you over weight just dremmel out the back...I had to on a set of VZs to get under. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Brownells used to list the weight on their wood grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayDee Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 When my 1911 needed to go on a diet, I tried Magpul and Kensight Sharkskin grip panels. Both work well. Both worked fine with ambi safety. Magpul has a deep scoop for reaching the mag release. The original texture of magpul grips was kind of smooth, but 50 cents worth of skate tape made them as grippy as anything. VZ's are my favorite, and I run them on a couple guns, but they weigh considerably more than plastic grips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertg5322 Posted March 15, 2018 Share Posted March 15, 2018 I found plain wood grips (Hogue makes them with the back hogged out nicely) or the Magpul plastic grips to be the lightest. G10 is not light, aluminum worse, titanium even heavier than aluminum (look where Ti and Al fall on the periodic table). I have the Hogue smooth wood grips with grip tape on my 9mm 1911. Couldn't find anything lighter. Looks cool and texture can't be beat. And just get black grip tape. Look into aluminum magwell & MSH to shave some more weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigzeke Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 As others have said, hard to beat wood for weight. Aluminum MSH, aluminum magwell of your choice, and Hogue woodys make for a pretty light setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 Thanks for the great info guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1911luvr Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 Thanks for the great info guys!Would is actually lighter because it is less dense than many grip optional like G10 and Aluminum. Polymer (read plastic but with a name that makes you willing to pay more than what it’s worth) is going to be your lightest option. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cas Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 (edited) Aint pretty, but nobody sees it. I could have done a nicer/neater job and a more thorough job, but it was just to add a little buffer between me and the weight limit. I planned on eventually cleaning it up, but several years later it's still like that. Edited March 16, 2018 by cas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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