The Rohrbaugh Forum

Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh R9 (all variations) => Topic started by: robertd on May 02, 2009, 01:51:21 PM

Title: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: robertd on May 02, 2009, 01:51:21 PM
Please be patient as I continue the learning curve. What is special about CF grips? Upon the advice of Maria, I've not removed mine but wonder if I should seeing the premium they seem to bring. I know in .22 rifles CF saves a lot of weight. Is that the point in the R9? Are they more or less durable?
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: ccoorreeyy on May 02, 2009, 01:53:49 PM
It's just that they are rare and look better to alot of people.  That includes myself!
Corey
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: Richard S on May 02, 2009, 02:36:02 PM
What Corey said.   8)
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: PsychoSword on May 02, 2009, 09:07:54 PM
They also grip better when your hands are wet. They should not have stopped making them, it was a poor decision that I believe was the result of bean counting.
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: kjtrains on May 02, 2009, 09:20:42 PM
Hey!  Keep your hands dry!!   :)    ;)
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: yankee2500 on May 02, 2009, 10:31:42 PM
Quote
It's just that they are rare and look better to alot of people.  That includes myself!
Corey

That includes me also, but it doesn't take a lot to look better than the G-10s.
John
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: slashsplat on June 10, 2009, 03:35:07 AM
I lucked into buying pair.  They look really good in bright sunlight lots of colors and depth.  They also feel right, not cold like metal or plastic...
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: DTM_39 on June 10, 2009, 07:45:40 AM
They were not discontinued due to bean counting.  They were discontinued due to availability.
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: ccoorreeyy on June 10, 2009, 09:20:07 AM
Quote
They were not discontinued due to bean counting.  They were discontinued due to availability.

I've heard that over and over but I just don't get it.  Everytime over the past couple years that I have searched for it I have been able to find CF for sale all over the internet.  It might not have been at the same price or from the same place that they had been getting it BUT it seems that from my googling the availability was there.  I use carbon fiber surveying poles in my business and i've had no trouble finding them.  I could be wrong.
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: Richard S on June 10, 2009, 10:29:20 AM
This Carbon Fiber News Update (© 2009) by TAP Plastics contains some interesting discussion on the issue of current CF supply:

http://www.tapplastics.com/info/carbonnews.php
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: Corvette on June 10, 2009, 12:22:06 PM
Quote

I've heard that over and over but I just don't get it.  Everytime over the past couple years that I have searched for it I have been able to find CF for sale all over the internet.  It might not have been at the same price or from the same place that they had been getting it BUT it seems that from my googling the availability was there.  I use carbon fiber surveying poles in my business and i've had no trouble finding them.  I could be wrong.

I've been an engineer in aerospace my entire career.
There are entire carbon fiber fuselages being built today.
I talked to a CF buyer at work recently and asked him about the availability of CF.
He said they are not having any difficulty in finding CF.
In fact, most aerospace sell CF scraps to dealers on line.
I'm confident I could locate a source for Rohrbaugh pretty quick

It's my guess that their reason for not building guns with, or selling CF grips is to preserve the "collectibility" value for their customers.  
People who own R9's with CF grips certainly don't want original CF grips to become readily available and lessen the value of their collectible gun.







 
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: kjtrains on June 10, 2009, 01:03:16 PM
Quote
This Carbon Fiber News Update (© 2009) by TAP Plastics contains some interesting discussion on the issue of current CF supply:

http://www.tapplastics.com/info/carbonnews.php

Good information!!   :)    :)
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: kjtrains on June 10, 2009, 01:05:45 PM
Quote

I've been an engineer in aerospace my entire career.
There are entire carbon fiber fuselages being built today.
I talked to a CF buyer at work recently and asked him about the availability of CF.
He said they are not having any difficulty in finding CF.
In fact, most aerospace sell CF scraps to dealers on line.
I'm confident I could locate a source for Rohrbaugh pretty quick

It's my guess that their reason for not building guns with, or selling CF grips is to preserve the "collectibility" value for their customers.  
People who own R9's with CF grips certainly don't want original CF grips to become readily available and lessen the value of their collectible gun.


That does make sense.    


Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: DDGator on June 12, 2009, 12:07:36 PM
As I recall, the reason for discontinuing the carbon fiber was price.  It was expensive to obtain, difficult to work with, and overall added a lot of cost to the gun.  I believe carbon fiber was originally chosen primarily for the aesthetics and uniqueness.
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: slashsplat on June 14, 2009, 04:22:15 AM
Seems out of character that this particular company would discontinue them to preserve the collector value of the initial ones.  They try very hard to release high quality and unique firearms, and the CF would be distinctive.

Few firearms are more appropriate for a CF grip than this one.

The price would have had to go sky high to discontinue them in a gun that could afford a $50 CF surcharge built in to cover the market scarcity.  I suspect that consistent quality was an issue, as sourcing from successive vendors is a nightmare with something whose primary characteristic is its appearance.
Title: Re: Carbon Fiber grips
Post by: ACP on June 14, 2009, 08:18:24 PM
Concur with slashsplat. I spent a career as a professional buyer, with a focus in aerospace, in which end user was US military. Engineering drawings are very specific and lot variance (within or without sole source consideration), was always a big deal.

I just saw a Modern Marvel episode in which carbon fiber was featured. While I understand the diversion of CF for military and commercial airlines, it is still available. The R9 is not a cheap gun to begin with and G10 has all the charm of gun laws in New Jersey.