The Rohrbaugh Forum

Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh Accessories => Topic started by: Roarbaw123 on April 11, 2013, 10:25:55 AM

Title: Ivory grips
Post by: Roarbaw123 on April 11, 2013, 10:25:55 AM: I am a proud (future owner) of a R9S and before I make such an investment I would like to know if my dreams of one day getting real pre ban ivory grips made for this pistoAl is a possibility. Does anyone know if someone in this forum would make such grips if I provided the ivory? Is the R grip too thin in the area that tapers toward the barrel that it would be suspect to cracking? I just think a pistol this nice deserves to be spoiled with custom grips, plus it would be a tip of the hat to my personal favorite movie gun of all time: Al Pacino's colt officer in the movie Heat. Any gun that takes down DeNiro in a film is pretty slick in my book!

Any helpful suggestions/ideas etc are welcomed. Cheers
Title: Re: Ivory grips
Post by: BlueC2 on April 11, 2013, 10:30:20 AM: I think Richard S has a pair. Hopefully he can point you in the right direction.

-Ryan
Title: Re: Ivory grips
Post by: tracker on April 11, 2013, 11:40:32 AM: "Heat" is one of my favorite movies. Pacino and DeNiro were superb together in their opposing roles.
Title: Re: Ivory grips
Post by: Griff on April 11, 2013, 08:25:05 PM: !st of all, welcome to the family, and congratulations on the pending puptuals.
I agree 100% that you should custom grip. The factory ones for sure are the weak point of the greatest pocket pistol of all time. Might start calling mine "Ali." It floats like a butterfly, and stings like a bee.
As one member commented, the factory grips feel like little 2x4's. I highly recommend the vz grips in carbon fiber for daily wear, they are beautifully made, and to me seem to have a warmer feel to the hand than the ones that came on it.
I bet the ivory would be awesome. Hmm, I wonder where on would find some mammoth ivory...
Title: Re: Ivory grips
Post by: Richard S on April 11, 2013, 10:08:44 PM: First, congratulations on your choice of the finest pocket pistol yet designed.

As for grips and such, I spent four years in Africa and damned near got planted there. I was intent on Africanizing my R9.

So . . . here are the pre-ban ivory grips for No. 132 (display stand courtesy of "Yankee," CITES-compliant elephant-hide holster courtesy of Milt Sparks, and magazine case courtesy the late, great R. J. Hedley whom I was honored to call my friend):

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/CITESCompliantFarmingdaleR9No132-2.jpg)

The old ivory is fragile for range use, so I have a pair of factory-supplied Hogue grips covered in CITES-compliant elephant hide for EDC:

(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/RichardS/Rohrbaugh%20R9/R9withElephantHideGripsHolster_zpseaa27afa.jpg)

This type of self-indulgence is expensive, difficult, and time consuming. I worked on the ivory grip project for over a year. Also, even the legal use of such materials is subject to severe criticism from those who do not understand or appreciate the importance of CITES or the necessity of tightly regulated hunting and the commercial use of material from animals who die from natural causes either in the wild or in authorized captivity to fund efforts for the preservation of endangered species.

Send me a PM if you are truly sincere, share the views I have stated regarding CITES, and want to discuss the matter further. I got lucky on finding both the ivory and the leather, but they are available if you have the time and patience and are willing to invest the funds to pursue their legal acquisition. Be advised, however, that the CITES-compliant ivory grips alone can easily exceed the cost of the R9 itself.

_{[Edit: Corrected typo.]}
Title: Re: Ivory grips
Post by: dddonkey on April 11, 2013, 10:50:44 PM: I think that the ivory looks really nice, but is not in my price range ( I had to scrape to get my pup, and it was worth it), I am wondering how bone would look with a high polish? Good luck on your ivory purchase, the pup is worth it.
Title: Re: Ivory grips
Post by: Roarbaw123 on April 12, 2013, 09:40:02 AM: Thank you all kindly for your insight. I could go with a creamy colored bone for sure. Something that kind of has an ivory-ish look to it. Since R9s are relatively rare or at least more rare than 1911s, I have had difficulty finding someone who would custom make R9 grips. Anyone make bone grips for R9s or know someone who does?