Grips on a 1917 DWM- color OK? or is cleaning needed?

[Olle]

Originally Posted by 4 Scale

It's now been over a year since I cleaned these, and some others. What I have found is after cleaning, the grips slowly darken a bit as the months go on. Likely, darker material below the surface wicks up to the top over time.

A lot of the darkening is just an optical illusion, dry wood just looks lighter than wet wood. You dry out the surface when you clean the grips, and this makes them appear lighter. After a while, the natural oils (and like you said: old deposits inside the wood) will migrate to the surface and this makes them look darker. Adding some oil after cleaning will make them darker (and usually prettier) immediately, and it will also protect the grips so they don't get dirty again.