Once they are mounted, these grip scales will put a deep-etched, wavy layered pattern on each side of a 1911 pistol, all in steel the maker forged personally. For a first try at grips, the result looks remarkably clean, and the etched surface really shows off the twist pattern.
The process starts at the anvil, where a glowing red billet gets hammered flat using a hammer and tongs. Once the bar cools, a wooden template serves to check dimensions and trace the outline, marked on with a ruler and pencil. Clamped in a bench vise, the blank gets its extra steel trimmed away with an angle grinder and cutting disc, sparks flying, before moving to a vertical 2x72 belt grinder fitted with a flat platen and work rest for shaping and profiling. The blank is surface ground right on the moving belt.
Two choices stand out to me. The twist billet was sliced down the middle before forging, so the two panels should come out with patterns very close to identical, which seems like a smart way to get a matched pair. The etch was done in an acid bath held in a plastic container, and the maker describes the etching as super deep.
One thing still open: the grips are not fitted to a firearm yet. The maker has said the plan is to try the finished pair on a stepdad's Kimber once they are done, so how they sit on the pistol remains to be seen.