Grips on a 1938.

[DonVoigt]

Re-cutting the checkering may make the initials less visible, but you can't put back the missing wood.

I'd probably get the chip fixed and let Jim Solomon do a little improvement to the checkering; but then depending on what it is and the rest looks like- I might just leave it alone.

What does the other side look like?

This is going to be one of those "your pistol, your call" situations, JMHO.

[Jim Solomon]

It is hard to tell from the photo, but it may be that the letters are carved shallow enough so that a redoing of the checkering can almost eliminate the appears of the initials. The chip at the safety can be nicely repaired.
Jim

[Stewman]

It's pretty deep at one point there is actually a whole. The grips are numbered underneath and match the last two of the serial number. I git a set of after market wood grips for now. Found someone who said they can fix the grips.

[guns3545]

Originally Posted by Stewman

It's pretty deep at one point there is actually a whole. The grips are numbered underneath and match the last two of the serial number. I git a set of after market wood grips for now. Found someone who said they can fix the grips.

Stewart,

I've read your original post and the replies.

I can't find anything that says what you want to accomplish here.

You seem to have an all matching, including grips,1938 Model P.08 with a non-matching, non-period correct magazine. It has a value. Do you want to increase it?? Maintain it?? Reduce it?? Make it look prettier??

Correcting the million dollar chip in the grip panel is acceptable maintenance although a purist might disagree.

IMVHO, re-checkering the grip to remove the initials destroys the collectibility of the gun. You may as well have the gun refinished professionally to get the "just shipped from the factory" look because even to casual observer, it will be clear that these grips do not match the wear patterns exhibited by the gun so they have been messed with.

As the gun exists today, it is collectible. It has a value based on its condition. The non-matching magazine reduces value but only compared to an equivalent gun with a matching magazine. The initials do not. They are probably those of the GI who liberated the piece and brought it home.

Doing anything to those grips with the possible exception of repairing the chip ( Personally, I would leave it alone), will reduce the collectible value of the piece.

Again JMVHO. Its your gun. Do whatever you wish to accomplish whatever you wish to accomplish.

John

[Thor]

Hugh Clark can fix your grips. What he and Brian Powley did on this 1900 AE Luger I restored.