I’ve come to the conclusion the Glock is the gun for me. Simple. Reliable. I would like to customize one of my Glocks with wood grips. Has anybody here done that? I’m not finding much info.

I thought I had something here:

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Then I realized it’s an airsoft gun. Hey, if those can be securely fitted to the real thing, I’d be ok with it.

Glock pistols, leather holsters, wood grips! Sounds awesome!

Any ideas? Please me in the right direction.

Actually, as far as Glock mods go, that doesn't really make the gun look that much more UGLY, in fact it looks rather nice. But it does make the gun a LOT less practical for IWB carry since double stack Glocks are already thick as brick to begin with.

 

One would have to have really big hands if this would be on a Standard sized Glock.

 

Maybe not so much with a full, compact, or sub-compact small frame Glock, but definitely not ond a G20 or G21 Large frame Glock Also, the Gen 4's have a slightly smaller frame with the smallest backstrap installed. But it would still make an already thick grip almost a half an inch thicker if those grip panels were a 1/4 inch thick each. But maybe on a G43X?

 

The fact that you're not finding much should tell you something

But good luck!

 

It just tells me nobody’s bothered to do it to a Glock yet.

Wood grips on a pistol isn’t exactly a new idea.

 

This would be a perfect application for a decorative process called Hydrographics.

It's an operation that imparts a decorative film onto a plastic substrate (like a Glock for instance).

Basically you put a pattern (there are thousands of them - wood, metal, technical, stone etc etc) on a backing sheet and then dissolve the backing sheet in liquid. Then you take the substrate and dip it in the liquid and the pattern adheres to it. It's very thin, like Aluminum foil thin. The auto industry uses the process to make decorative films for door and instrument panels and there are many tool shops that use it for custom applications.

It would be an interesting project for sure. You might need to smooth out the grips first and mask off any areas you don't want film on, but I've designed parts a lot more complex than a Glock frame that use the dip process.

Durability may be a concern as most decorative parts don't get handled that often but there are coatings and such that might help.

The patterns are really amazing, it's hard to tell they are not real wood or metal or whatever.

I suggested using the process for a luxury car I was designing wood panels for, and the marketing team denied it because they said it was their strategy to be able to market (and get revenue for) real wood even though they could not tell the wood from the dip pattern. Bummer for me because real wood is a PITA to design around.

Good luck.

 

This would be a perfect application for a decorative process called Hydrographics.

It's an operation that imparts a decorative film onto a plastic substrate (like a Glock for instance).

Basically you put a pattern (there are thousands of them - wood, metal, technical, stone etc etc) on a backing sheet and then dissolve the backing sheet in liquid. Then you take the substrate and dip it in the liquid afoil thin. The auto industry uses the process to make decorative films for door and instrument panels and there are many tool shops that use it for custom applications.

I am sure that would work but, I want real wood. For me, it’s not a fashion statement. I sincerely like the feel of real wood grips as opposed to rubber or plastic.

And definitely no Gorilla Glue, LOL…seriously?? Would you guys really glue stuff onto your Glocks?

I‘d think a skilled woodworker could make something without altering the Glock. Yes, it would make it thicker but the grips could still be fairly thin. Maybe 1 or 2 millimeters thick. Maybe a wood version of those rubber sleeves some shooters use. It could clasp onto the gun without altering it.

I’m sure it could be done. I don’t think I’m motivated enough right now to make it happen.

I assume nobody’s done this because the Glock is a unique, still somewhat unconventional gun. I guess that’d be like making an all metal lower receiver - would it still be a Glock If it were made with 100% metal and no polycarbonate material? Would it still be a Glock if it had traditional wood grips affixed over the polycarbonate frame? Maybe….

I am really surprised though that there’s nothing on the topic!

 

your just gonna have to hang out with us ugly square boxy guys, I can find you a deal on some rubber or sandpaper grips tho!

 

You aren’t joking! Sandpaper grips!??? I’d never heard of that before but I bet those work great. Interesting….

 

This is what I am trying to achieve. For me - just a personal preference - this would be the ultimate pistol.

Alas, it only exists as an airsoft toy.

 

That's an interesting look. I prefer wood grips on my handguns. I'm not sure that I would do something like this since Glock grips aren't removable and it would definitely change the profile. Those are made by Pandora Arms in Japan. I've also seen them at Octagon Airsoft in Hong Kong for $60. They're CNC machined from birch and given a nice stained finish. As for airsoft, I have a CO2 replicas of my Gen 3 Glock 19 and my Sig P365 and they are dead-on copies of the real things. The question remains, how are they attached? I don't see any option other than glue.

 

I've been in this camp for awhile now.

Sometimes, wood isn't the best choice.

..this isn't so bad however.

 

Here's my "let me see if I can" wood grip attempt:

 

why not Sig Sauer P320 AXG Grip Set - Walnut | armorycraft

 

... here some stuff to go with that wood.

 

Wooden grips would at least add some appeal to the ugly Glock, but as already noted the extra thickness would be problematic, and hydro printing on top of the existing grip surfaces IMHO would make the pistol look even cheaper and fake, like the imitation wood on the sides of late 20th century model "woody" station wagons did.

Glock really needs to do something substantial to stay in the game because other manufacturers are picking up the ball and running with it, e.g., SIG is taking many a Glock customer away with their serialized FCG system and OEM aluminum frames with removeable grip panels, and the burgeoning amount of aftermarket entities manufacturing aluminum and polymer grip frames for their P320 and P365 product lines are providing great products that firearm enthusiasts want...not inconsequential "improvements" such as the "new" lack of finger grooves, front slide serrations, aftermarket metal sights, etc...

 

So my interest is in ‘how’ would they be attached?

 

Let me one of the few that like this idea

I would think with a CNC machine the grip could be milled. A very small depth to create an outlined and flat area to mount a wood grip to.

It could be done right. Then you'd have something no one else has. Regardless if you're the only person who wants it or not

 

 

Hey OP, I just posted a pic. $35 for a vinyl wrap to make a non permanent look. I’d be willing to give that a try. Also, I just looked for “gun skins vinyl wrap” in my search. I have no affiliation with the company I posted.

 

This would be interesting on a G48. Using the slim line guns would give it thickness similar to a G19.

 

$7 at Wally-World.

 

Interesting idea...

 

Thanks for the information, fellow Glock owners! I’m not interested in a wrap or sticker to make it look like wood. I want the real thing. It’s my personal preference. The stock hard plastic grips on a Glock function fine. Real wood grips would also function well.

Wood grips on a Glock would have to be machined precisely to fit every groove and crevice. They’d have to be thin. They could be clipped on with a bands that go around the whole grip.

As stated, It could be done. It’s just that nobody’s done it before.

You’d need a gnarly set of tools to make something like that!!

 

 

@Retired_LEO i also had the idea of doing something similar to Hogue wrap around grips. Where the grips are connected by rubber on the front strap and back strap, and that would give you the flex to pull the grip panels over the actual gun grip. If that makes any sense. Lol.

 

The primary difficulty IMO is that Glock has chosen to make the frame the serialized component (what ATF considers "the gun").

So, if I fuss with my frame, and it's a "learning experience" (aka pooched) I can't just go online and buy another like I could for a replacement spring, trigger, even barrel. Otherwise I'd be with our OP, would've bought a half-dozen scrap Glock frames and a hobby CNC router to learn how to carve out just enough of the frame to slot in a wood grip panel without impeding function.

(That said, there may be mechanical reasons not to add a rigid element like a wood grip -- the slight flexibility of the frame is part of the Glock action and changing it could potentially alter the recoil cycle timing; or the flex might crack the wood over time)

 

I think this is a ridiculous idea, but if the airsoft grips from Pandora Arms are based on a faithful reproduction, they should fit a gen4 OE frame.

So if that's what you want, just rough up the frame, degrease, mask, and break out the epoxy. Or have someone use the Pandora grips as a template to add whatever changes might be needed.

 

You've got something there. If I were willing to break out the Dremel tool and epoxy, I‘m sure I could securely fit those air soft grips (or custom grips) to my Glock and make it look like it came that way. Maybe I could even get some professional help from a gunsmith to ensure it functions properly afterward. It could be done, but I’d have to permanently alter a gun.

I just don’t have the stomach to monkey around guns that I paid hard earned money for. I’d want something that does not permanently alter the gun but unfortunately that does not exist.