ltwguns.com

details later, all by Jim Garthwaite

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Bravo! Author, author (i.e. details, details.) Great looking guns, my sincere congratulations. Dave

The top gun is a 70 series 9mm, built into a tackdriving 9x23.

The second is a 70 series "Combat Government" that I rescued from some Pachmayr's, cold blue and Millet sights.

I call those guns the "fraternal twins" because they are not quite identical, they are pretty close. The both wear Bar-Sto's, heinie's, tool steel slide stops, dish crown muzzles, and Extreme engineering fire control parts. Greider triggers.

The pictures do not show the depth of bluing and fine finishing Jim can do.

His work is all about the "little" details that many builders miss.

The next gun is a Colt '80 series .45 CCO that is the merger of a Commander top and OM bottom. I purchased bith guns in 1995 and sent the bastard child to Jim and it has yet to ever miss a beat. This has very fine handcut checkering and a handmade front sight that dovetails in from the front of the slide. This gun is the prize of my stable. It shoots like a big gun but carries like a little gun! It has Kart barrel that I picked out at Fred's shop in NC.

The last piece is my latest project-an alloy 9x23 Commander.
Jim is a real 9x23 buff and so am I. He used a Kimber frame from a new series-1 pro-carry and a Caspian slide. We also used a Schuemann AET barrel that puts one on top of another....nice gun and again, very reliable. The shoulder rig is from survivalsheath.com--the best in my experience. Mags are Tripp 10 round .38 super mags..

All but the CCO have Jim's gold bead front sight. I am sending the CCO this year for an upgrade to that sight and a slant pro in the rear.

The man is a master. His turnaround is excellent and his communication is also top notch. You get what you pay for!

_________________
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

CHECK OUT MY CUSTOM 1911 BLOG
http://thearsenalofdemocracy.blogspot.com

Really nice stuff.......... Thanks for sharing.

Jeffro

[quote][/quote]The man is a master. His turnaround is excellent and his communication is also top notch. You get what you pay for!

I wholeheartedly agree with Anthony's statement. I have a full house gov't model XSE Jim did, and it is a work of art. Unfortunately, I don't have a digital camera to post pics. Suffice it to say that it's ridiculously accurate and reliable, masterfully dehorned, and wonderfully finished. Honestly, I have no idea how one man consistently turns out such quality with such a quick turnover time.

By the way, great pistols Anthony!

Mr. Lombardo,

I really like your taste in guns. They fit my preferences VERY closely. All of them are top shelf. It's nice to see a classy gun from a not often seen builder. Thanks for sharing.

~Jim Keeney

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

Nice to see some builds from the past. While parts and styles change and get better a blued Colt with ivories is still a nice gun. Thanks for the pictures.

Anthony,
Doesn't your computer make those pictures bigger?

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"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

Anthony,
What type of grip safetys is on the "fraternal twins".

Thank you.

Hi Evan,
The twins have different grip safeties and slide stops.

The 9x23 has a Wilson grip safety, reshaped by Jim and a Greider slide stop.

The .45, built one the "Combat Govt." has a Brown grip safety and Wilson bulletproof slide stop-it was built a while back before I could get a Greider.

Bost were recently refinished and spruced up.

_________________
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

CHECK OUT MY CUSTOM 1911 BLOG
http://thearsenalofdemocracy.blogspot.com

Here the 9x23 "twin" again. I didn't do a very good job of wiping it down, but you get the idea. The slide stop pin is domed and reduced, but not so flush you need a pin to take the gun down. Note the carry bevel on the Heinie rear sight. Another nice touch, often overlooked.
One thing Jim also does is gunkote the rear sight to prevent corrosion and help guard against dings.
Grips by Mike Poulin.

_________________
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

CHECK OUT MY CUSTOM 1911 BLOG
http://thearsenalofdemocracy.blogspot.com

Very nice set of pistolas!!!

Danmmit i can't stop drooling

Anthony the last picture you posted of the 9X23 the gun has a cobra mag in it. I know Virgil did a run of 38 Super mags but stopped making them because he couldn't get them to meet his standards. How does that mag work for you?

The good news is that he is making a substantial investment of time and money in a revamped line of cobra mags which will include new and improved 38Super and 9MM mags. IIRC he said that when the line is up and running in June he was going to have 35+ mag SKU's.

The cobra mag works 100% after I replaced the plastic follower with a Metalform round top. Still holds 10 rounds too.

_________________
"The most effective armor is to keep out of range"-Italian proverb

CHECK OUT MY CUSTOM 1911 BLOG
http://thearsenalofdemocracy.blogspot.com

I think that CCO is one of my all time favorites. It seems to have the perfect setup for CCW. I don't know that I'd change a thing.

In fact all of your guns look great. I like their style, nothing too flashy.

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Hard work pays off