I purchased CT Brian’s ‘Double Duty’, the Commander-slide, 2-framed combo that was featured in American Handgunner and offered for sale on Louderthanwords.com. I think in order to render what I (of course) consider an objective, unsolicited, open evaluation, I have to provide some scant personal experience in order to speak from some common point of reference with the more devout of the 1911 fans.
I’ve owned lots of different firearms, but my true addiction is 1911’s. I’ve owned stock Detonics, Colts, a Kimber, a Les Baer, Wilson Combats, and Ed Browns. My ‘repeated business dealings’ were a result of good performance and craftsmanship and maybe good service and warranty work, too. I’ve owned guns customized by Austin Behlert (RIP), Bob Chow (RIP), Bruce Gray, Jim Hoag, Jim Clark Sr. (RIP), Ikey Starks, and Earl Stroup (RIP). I dealt personally with Behlert, Chow, Gray, Clark, Hoag, and Stroup. Of all those gunsmiths mentioned, I only kept work from two of them, and those two and the Wilson Combats and Ed Browns are the only 1911’s I have left in my stable after 25 years of searching for true craftsmanship. If anyone wishes to reprimand me for my mentioning names, I’ll be glad to provide names and circumstances offline, but this is not a discussion of previous works, it is only mentioned to lay a perspective of experiences for this evaluation.
Keeping in mind my 1911 ‘experience’, imagine my reading the article posted by CT Brian: “Double Duty†in the ‘Firearms for Sale’ section of LTW. I read the print copied from AH magazine that Tim posted along with his pictures. (I should say that I’ll call him “Tim†because from other postings I read he prefers not to be called “Mr. Brianâ€.) I read the article again. I turned off the computer and walked away. Twenty minutes later I turned the PC on and read it twice more. If y’all don’t remember the asking price, I’ll not name it here, but the reason I read the article four times is I couldn’t believe the low asking price. For me, it was a LOT of money, BUT, harking back to my list of previous gunsmith encounters, the asking price was cheap—like a damn K-Mart fire sale. I’ve probably paid the gunsmiths I’ve used in the past in adjusted inflation dollars between $1615-$4200 each, for their various works, (at least, that’s what
http://www.halfhill.com/inflation.html says when I convert my handiest receipts to 2006 dollars—the monetary conversions in my mind are proof that my lamentations over previous gunsmithing encounters are no exaggeration). Most of those guns are gone now—I’m not talking about 51% making a “majority†either—all but 2 were sold as used, and I took a beating because I was in some way dissatisfied enough with the work to eat the monetary losses that are ‘inevitable’ in a used gun sale. Mind you, I’m cheap---$4000 in adjusted dollars is a lot to give up to today’s $1700-3000 ‘used, “highline-gun†market’ price range, but some of my previous collection would only fetch that because the work was so substandard.
The “Double Duty†post stunned me. Here was a finished product—beautifully done, with pictures, that had survived in the ‘for sale’ section until I saw it. I couldn’t believe it. I emailed Tim with a proposal (which frankly ran him through some hoops) conditional to my coming up with the cash and being in the country (USA) to deliver the money at the same time. He graciously accepted. He’s been very responsive to all my emails, concerning appearance, hypothetical alterations, delivery, etc. I can’t believe my luck. In the internet era, Les Baer, Wilson Combat and Ed Brown all offer one thing above the pure custom gunsmiths’ works—pictures of an already finished product ready for delivery. (One knows ‘up front’, what you’re [supposedly] getting when you pay the price [or turn over your 1911 for modifications]. Rarely did promised work measure up. That’s why I was always willing to spend “that kind of money†on ‘limited-production’ guns.) And half the “struggle†is taking delivery. Not here. This transaction went smooth as butter—timely responses to my queries at every instance; clear and succinct observations and advice, even justifications for advising against an idea I had. It’s been a real pleasure to deal with Tim. As to anticipating delivery, Mr. Nagata’s photos summed that up pretty well, but of course nothing beats a ‘hands-on’ up close inspection.
Everything I’ve written above, I wrote to “justify†these comments—this gun is the gun I’ve been looking for, for 25 years—a perfectly crafted, fully-customized, (lightweight carry) gun… and a “supplemental†Commander frame doesn’t bother this Commander addict either. The craftsmanship is remarkable. In my experience, this work (for its’ time and available technology) stands above all other ‘smiths’ works except two, one whose name I’ll mention because he’s still extant—Jim Hoag. The magazine pictures (identical to those in the LTW sale ad) pretty much sum up the cosmetics. There’s nothing to note except the clean lines, a beautiful rendering of the refinishing process on both frames and slide, a perfect mating of parts, and a beautiful feel in the hand. For those who’ve handled (or shot) a bobtailed Kobra Carry, Tim’s Officer feels better. The rounded butt feels the same; it’s one round shorter, so it’s bottom is at the same place, but the balance is better. I can’t describe it; there’s no “squeezing†to find the bottom of the grip; I just hold the gun lightly, like I’m weighing a feather, and the grip fits. Bluing is magnificent, as is the laser cutting of his logo. The French lines and American boarders are straight and true. Detailing (what others call “carry-bevelâ€) is mild, but completely effective. Thumb safeties on both frames snap cleanly in the disengaging. No chance of a ‘brush-off’ here. The trigger pull is heavier than a Brown or Wilson, but it breaks sharply cleaner than any ‘limited production’ 1911 I’ve owned except my Wilson Super Grade, and the only distinction I can draw is that the Brian trigger pull is about 1/3 heavier. That’s saying something. It’s no competition trigger--it doesn’t approach that in its’ weight, but for ‘duty’ carry, it’s a dream—heavy enough to ‘absorb adrenaline’, and crisp enough to maintain accuracy under duress (in my meager true ‘combat’, and, firing line experience).
I can’t believe the checkering. Impeccable. And how was that done on a titanium frame, too?? I’ve always measured checkering work by the clean pyramids and their alignment to the bottom of the frame, where the mag well opens. To me, that’s the true test of the entire pattern’s ‘plumb square’. Yeah, I know—maybe “finickyâ€, especially for trying to compare such a small area, against the length of other optical cues—the grip edges and the flat lines of the magwell opening. The human eye can distinguish these things easily, and separate out flaws with unerring ease. But there’re no errors to find. Where are the marred pyramids and partial pyramids on the last line? Other smiths are capable of such sloppiness; I’ve seen it done… hell, they’ve passed their works off on me as “customâ€. Not here with Tim; his work stands up to inspection. I remember a post by Ned Christiansen, that said something like, “while you were away from the booth, I came by and inspected the Double Dutyâ€. There’s one flaw on it, but I’d bet money that Ned didn’t find it. And I’d be niggling to point it out. It’ll be my secret alone. I’m sure Tim knew what it was when he built the gun, and actually only may have noticed it at the time of completion, because its’ so small, I’ve seen 3 gunsmiths miss it in their own work and personal guns. I’ve said too much already. I’ll not complain, nor show it to anyone, but my “10x loupe eye†found it.
Proof!! it was built by a human…
I’ll let Tim’s test targets speak for themselves. From this Commander-length slide/Officer frame combination,
two 5-shot groups out of five targets are under 5/8†at 25yd,
and all five OEM ammo choices are under 1†at 25yd—that’s ‘way more better than I’ll ever be able shoot in a wet dream. And it’s a real smooth shooter for such a light ’45--reminds me of an HK USP 45c. (Long gone—the HK was too chunky for me). What a dream this gun is to shoot. It sights in very fast, recovers quickly (for a LWT Commander and chopped-1911 devotee) and feels as balanced as a 20-ounce Hoppe pool cue. But DAYUUM,
guaranteed 100% reliability AND 1†accuracy @ 25yd with two frames? Tim, were you outch’o mind?? Tell the troof, honeychi’le—were those groups Ransome’d or were they hand-held? nyuck, nyuck, nyuck…Lemme see…. maybe I’ll have to test the Speer Gold Dots for carry so I can keep that 5/8†in accuracy… ½†won’t do; after all, that’d require FMJ ammo.
Truth be told, I did have an unanticipated problem that required the gun go back to Tim. Both frame combininations FTF’d on all the ammo I fed them initially—FMJ, Hydra-shoks, Silvertips, and home-brewed lead H&G 68 SLWC’s—not just once in a while--the FTF’s actually increased the more I shot the guns. I emailed Tim once, with an email titled “Double Duty and FTF’s/FTE’s†and 22 minutes later (yes, I checked), he emailed me back and said, “This is not only unacceptable, but weird. Please send me the gun….†Along with his profuse apologies, he offered his FedEx account info with instructions to ship it to him Priority Overnight (door-to-door 24hr). That’d be ~11 pounds, cased, round-tripped overnight (both ways) for service; the FedEx clerk actually whistled at the cost. The problem was unanticipated but easily solved, if you can trust a voice from the peanut gallery (mine). If you recall, Tim’s ad in LTW described the combo and then stated that they had been thoroughly tested before the Armor-Cote and bluing was applied to the frames and slide, after which it had never been fired and was sold as pristine and unfired (which it actually was, in this configuration). It turned out that the Armor-Cote finish on the feed ramp was the cause of the hangups, and Tim polished them and got the gun back to me within a couple days. (The “delay†was a result of my request; he wanted it in-and-out on the spot, but I was going to be away from home.) He not only covered shipping both ways and turned me around in 2 days, he threw in two Wolf 18lb.ers’ for good measure. Since the service work, I’ve had no FTF’s, no FTE’s, just repetitive dependability through the subsequent 175 Hydra-shoks, 200 Ranger XT’s, and 150 Silvertips.
Sure, one might say, hell, for the money, I’d expect all that. (ah…remember my prior experiences??) “Conduct unbecomingâ€, says I. In it’s day, I gave another nationally renowned “gunsmith†upwards of $3000 for his “finished†work, and pulled teeth so badly for service that I physically went to his house and took my gun back no questions asked (it still sits in the safe; I can’t stand to look at it—so, price is no guarantee for quality service—hell, for “I’ve got your money now, you’ve got no bargaining leverage for warranty/service workâ€, think GM Motors, or some of my gunsmiths…[I stand corrected--I have 3 masterpieces now, and 1 Rancho Cordoba pig). I’m gonna clear out most of my Browns and Wilsons. I’ll keep one of the Wilsons; in my opinion, of all the ‘limited-production’ guns, it’s the best of that field—besides, I need at least one 5†.45acp. The Classic Custom and KC, the Professional, CQBc, LTW Protector, those other LWT Commanders, the ‘lowly’ KZ and KZc’s… they all have to go now. 1) They’re redundant, 2) I need the funds, 3) they would probably never see the holster or range again, 4) my search is over.
I’m not a collector; I never was. I’ve just been collecting a lot of guns over my 1911 ‘lifetime’ looking for this one. I can’t believe it stayed up on the market long enough to wait for me; as I recall, 3000-something views hit that thread. I don’t remember whom, because the original posting is long gone, but I think a contributor named ‘Mark W’ said something like, “whoever buys this will be getting a real dealâ€.
Ain’t that the truth. I know this is a longggggg post, but I had to shout it from the rooftops:
Thank you, Tim!!
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