Grips: replace or repair

CamaroDMD · 03-19-2013, 10:44 AM

It was mentioned in a previous thread that the grips on my Luger could be cleaned up and recheckered to make them look much nicer. The grips are very dark in color, worn and one side is pretty dinged up. The gun is a non-matching gun that appears to be assembled from two guns (the lower half from a 1936 gun and the upper from a 1938). I took the grips off and I don't believe that they match either part of the gun as the gun's serial numbers are 4914 and 2145. The only number I can find on the grips is 21. Here is a photo of the gun with the grips as they currently appear followed by a photo of the inside of the grips:

What I am wondering is...what should I do with the grips? I don't care for how they look. Also, one side is slightly loose. Since the gun is not matching...and from what I can tell the grips don't match any part on the gun anyway...is it worth putting money into these grips. I'm tempted just to replace them unless someone can give me a good reason not to. Is there a good reason not to replace them (also, bare in mind that these grips will be saved...I have no intention of throwing them away).

If I do decide to replace them, I would want to use original looking walnut checkered grips. Does anyone have a dealer or company they could recommend?

alanint · 03-19-2013, 10:54 AM

It is up to you, in the end. Most replacement grips require fitting and show incomplete areas above the magazine release and gaps around the safety. If this does not bother you, then go for it. To get the look of originals, you are going to spend about $100 on the nice, Italian replacements, about the same cost of recheckering the original grips. By recheckering, you are preserving a set of originals for another collector down the road.

Ben M. · 03-19-2013, 11:03 AM

i think the condition of the gun and the grips are consistent with each other. newly recheckered grips would look too new and would look funny on the gun. your gun has history and your grips do to.

if you shoot this gun, you might want to get a pair of those plastic vopo-grips and use them when you shoot. vopo-grips are on ebay regularly. they have a little round bullseye pattern on each grip.

03-19-2013, 10:44 AM	#1
CamaroDMD User Join Date: May 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 19 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Grips: replace or repair It was mentioned in a previous thread that the grips on my Luger could be cleaned up and recheckered to make them look much nicer. The grips are very dark in color, worn and one side is pretty dinged up. The gun is a non-matching gun that appears to be assembled from two guns (the lower half from a 1936 gun and the upper from a 1938). I took the grips off and I don't believe that they match either part of the gun as the gun's serial numbers are 4914 and 2145. The only number I can find on the grips is 21. Here is a photo of the gun with the grips as they currently appear followed by a photo of the inside of the grips: What I am wondering is...what should I do with the grips? I don't care for how they look. Also, one side is slightly loose. Since the gun is not matching...and from what I can tell the grips don't match any part on the gun anyway...is it worth putting money into these grips. I'm tempted just to replace them unless someone can give me a good reason not to. Is there a good reason not to replace them (also, bare in mind that these grips will be saved...I have no intention of throwing them away). If I do decide to replace them, I would want to use original looking walnut checkered grips. Does anyone have a dealer or company they could recommend?

03-19-2013, 10:54 AM	#2
alanint User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Marco Island, Florida Posts: 4,867 Thanks: 1,685 Thanked 1,916 Times in 1,192 Posts	It is up to you, in the end. Most replacement grips require fitting and show incomplete areas above the magazine release and gaps around the safety. If this does not bother you, then go for it. To get the look of originals, you are going to spend about $100 on the nice, Italian replacements, about the same cost of recheckering the original grips. By recheckering, you are preserving a set of originals for another collector down the road.

03-19-2013, 11:03 AM	#3
Ben M. User Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Retired to Naples, FL. Posts: 475 Thanks: 83 Thanked 117 Times in 79 Posts	i think the condition of the gun and the grips are consistent with each other. newly recheckered grips would look too new and would look funny on the gun. your gun has history and your grips do to. if you shoot this gun, you might want to get a pair of those plastic vopo-grips and use them when you shoot. vopo-grips are on ebay regularly. they have a little round bullseye pattern on each grip.