ltwguns.com

Fellas,

I'm about to head out for Christmas festivities, but I thought I'd post these pictures before I took off tonight. I'll post details tomorrow, but for now, I'll keep it short.

This gun started out as a Dan Wesson Razorback, #95 of 150. Let's just say that it needed a bit of work as it was from the factory. It is an "all stainless" gun, but Dave Sams fixed that for me. The finish is a salt/chemical blackened stainless, and it is processed, looks, and wears like a matte blued steel gun. I have heard a lot of people ask lately about black finishes for stainless guns, and this is my favorite by far. I started this project almost 2 years ago with Dave, and I am finally done. It runs very smooth with almost total reliability (2000+ rounds since its last mechanical change with two bobbles that came after it was VERY dirty), and shoots tiny little 10mm holes as tight as you can hold. It was made to be shot and carried a lot in any environment, and I think it will do just fine in that role. I apologize for the pictures, but I had little to work with in both time and background materials. The lint and dust was killin' me, but I had no access to compressed air and lacked the patience to remove it myself.


Bar-Sto in Black


What exactly is "Tactical?"










Flush Crown and G.I. Recoil System with spring loaded guide


Black linen micarta grip panels, 30lpi hand-cut checkering, and an STI titanium/composite trigger


A very user-friendly contoured STI thumb safety

Wait 'til ya see what I have coming in the next two weeks. Enjoy!

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Flush barrel with a recessed crown (my favorite). Nicely done.

JeffVN

Alrighty then! It's now Christmas morning, and all are sleeping. I'll make this as quick as possible, because I know I can be long-winded.

The gun is Dan Wesson Razorback #95 of 150. It came from the factory with a lot of flaws, and was my first factory 10mm 1911 I bought new. All I salvaged from the gun that was usable was the frame, slide, MSH, plunger tube, rear sight, pins, firing pin and FP stop, sear, and disconnector. It was originally high cut from the factory, but they left the machine marks and radiuses at the top of the frame where they ran the cutter in, so Dave fixed that. All parts are stainless steel, except for the strut, sear, and disconnector. Here's what it now wears and what Dave did to it:

-Bar-Sto unramped barrel and bushing
-Dovetailed, serrated front sight
-AFTEC extractor
-GI recoil system with secondary spring loaded guide
-Ed Brown beavertail, slide stop, hex grip screws, mag catch w/hex lock, and hammer
-Navridex black linen micarta grip panels
-STI trigger and recontoured thumb safety
-30 lpi hand-cut frontstrap checkering with trued high cut (MSH factory wilson 30lpi - not recut)
-Flush cut recessed crown
-Blackened stainless

It was a two-year adventure, and Dave was great to work with, as he always is. I've got three more 1911s and a rifle with him now, and I can't wait to get them. I should be getting two .45s from him next week, and one, I know, will be... VERY ULTRA SUPER UBER RETRO.

~Jim

_________________
"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Very, very nice Jim! I get to see these on Monday, right?

Merry Christmas.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

Happy Christmas. I'm sitting here in the bathroom watching my three year old take a bath with his "sea creatures". First present he opened and he says, "Daddy! I want to get in the bath with my sea creatures." The plus side is it's only 7:15AM and the rest of the family and guests can still sleep while I entertain him.

Anyway, the pistol looks great. The flat top looks good. I don't care for it on blue pistols, but I think it looks good here. Enjoy.

I need to hear more about that finish. I have a stainless pistol that I've been dying to refinish in something besides shake and bake.

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Jeff

Chip,

You'll most definitely see this one on Monday, along with all my others he's built. When we get to the shop, you'll likely see either the Springfield Dave's working on for me as a gift for my brother, or the "retro" wadcutter gun he's building for me from scratch. Sheriff's Office at 8:30 or 9:30? Short-term memory loss due to holiday overload... sorry.

mrbieler,

The flat top actually came like that from Dan Wesson. They did a pretty good job on it, and I like it, too. Ask away on the finish. What do you need to know? It's simple, doesn't flake or peel (physically impossible), and looks great. It's not a hardened finish, so it has no hard chrome-like characteristics.

~Jim Keeney

_________________
"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Jim-

9:00 - 9:30 will be good. I'm bringing an extra drool rag.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

And that, Sir, is an excellent Christmas morning!! Thanks for sharing it with us.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

It's been a great Christmas. My family is great. This is the first time we've had my parents, inlaws, and brother and sister under one roof for the holidays. My son is having fun with the trucks grandpa brought. A good friend and former student in Iraq with the 82nd got to spend a few minutes internet chatting late last night. Good stuff. Can't think of much that could improve things.

As for the finish, I'm not worried too about wear. A little honest wear is not a bad thing and if it can be replaced at a later date and is comparable to the price of blueing, I'll take the looks over durability.

Pardon my ignorance, but I am not familar with Dave Sams and I'm not familiar with the finish either. Aside from a few comments in another thread about finish work, I had thought only the shake and bakes could be applied to stainless.

So I can pocket it away for a future project, what does this finish run and how would I get ahold of Mr. Sams for the work?

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Jeff

mrbieler,

The cost of the finish is pretty much the same as bluing. It is applied in an almost identical manner, and much more economical, better wearing, and better looking than the spray and bakes.

Dave Sams is a custom gunsmith in Cartersville, Virginia. His number is (804)375-3782. His website is posted below. Dave cut his teeth both training and building guns for the now defunct Marksmanship Training Unit #1 at Fort Bragg, and moved on to be the head of the pistol and revolver shop for the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning. Dave builds a damn nice 1911, but he gained "fame" in the bullseye ring when he developed and built the Match Upgrade for the Beretta M9 that one the interservice matches for many years. It is still in use by the AMU and has been copied by a few gunsmiths since. He retired from the Army and moved his shop to Phenix City Alabama for a few years before coming to Virginia in late 2001. He is better known for building guns for match shooters (his guns have won numerous titles at Camp Perry and in national/international competitions), but he builds a carry gun that will run with the best. To top it off, he builds rifles and revolvers that are limited in potential only by the shooter and load. I cannot recommend anyone higher, as a truly good person or a gunsmith.

He's not a very internet friendly guy, but if you want a little more info on him, check out these links.

http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/oc ... etter.html

http://www.samscustomgunworksusa.com

http://www.gun-tests.com/newspics/pdfs/ ... 20beretta'

Have a very merry and blessed Christmas.

~Jim Keeney

_________________
"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

Everyone,

This gun is listed in the for sale forum: http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/vie ... =9284#9284

Financing another major project.

~Jim Keeney

_________________
"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary