Colt Commander Stainless eye candy

GTJC460

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
1,327
Location
Tullahoma TN
Just finished this Colt Commander for a client in Texas.

The customer had seen some of my work on other colts done in the deep relief Victorian style scroll inspired by Lynton McKenzie and wanted that style in a high coverage. The kicker was he wanted it in 6 weeks or sooner.

I was already pretty booked up so I had to squeeze working on it in between other jobs.

Some of the key features the client requested were the state seal of Texas and his last name. I decided to put the name on the slide stop, to give it a prominent place on the gun. The seal I placed between the rear sight and the ejection port.

The scroll work was fairly straightforward and didn't pose much problems. However the seal on the curved top wasn't much fun. That particular part of the slide seemed to be harder and required constant resharpening. Not to mention, cutting through a bead blasted finish is always a little tricky. There's not really any room to have a oops moment.

I also added a picture of a smoke pull I did. I have started doing them on all my work. It's a great way to keep a record of your work. I'm glad I have the portfolio as I refer back to it regularly. In the case of this project my prior pulls from other guns were very helpful in doing a similar job to what the client saw pictures of and liked. I'd highly recommend starting your own portfolio. Pictures are nice but smokes are very handy because you have the exact scale of the work you previously did.

EDIT: The grips are not my handiwork...they were marked RICK FRAS Houston TX....I don't know who he is.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    114.7 KB · Views: 833
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    112.9 KB · Views: 831
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    63.3 KB · Views: 827
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    83.1 KB · Views: 825
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    107.4 KB · Views: 826
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    86.7 KB · Views: 826
Last edited:

FANCYGUN

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
1,840
Location
West Grove, PA
Bert
Do what I do with my smoke pulls. I scan them in greyscale at 600 dpi. This way I can use them for transfers and more importantly, I use them to help scale and layout my game scenes. You can also adjust the contrast so they are very black and while. Even do an "invert' to make them black lines on a white background.
Now take the weekend off and I will see you in Denver on Friday. Your display case is already in my truck
 

GTJC460

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
1,327
Location
Tullahoma TN
Sounds good Marty. I do that as well...I'm doing a limited production run for a manufacturer right now. I used my smokes of the outlines to make transfers on the computer. It really makes the additional duplicate guns that much faster to do. See ya FRIDAY!!
 

Haraga.com

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
1,264
Location
Skiff
Bert, first let me say that I consider you a friend of mine. Next I will say that in the future I expect better things from you. I will say that for the time that you have been engraving you are doing fine.
 

GTJC460

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Mar 24, 2010
Messages
1,327
Location
Tullahoma TN
Leonard, I'm not sure I follow....if you are referring to the grips, they aren't my work.

I found this etsy store selling Rick Fras....but no info on him
 
Last edited:

atexascowboy2011

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
997
Grips come and go, BUT, the actual pistol engraving will be around 100 years from now.
Good job !

On the other hand, when I build a pair of spurs I like to see straps that I made on them, assuring me that they are shown off to the max. If the customer doesn't want to purchase my straps, I will send the spurs out sans straps rather than having straps that are not up to my desired quality level.
Kinda like purchasing a classic painting and having Joe Blow frame it with barn wood.
 

Beathard

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
1,476
Location
Paige, TX
I'm not sure I would tell.a customer that his grips are ugly. He might take offense and not use me again. Even worse he might talk bad about me. Strange advice being handed out on this thread.
 

chrisintexas

New Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2016
Messages
1
All,

The pistol is mine and regardless of the quality of the engraving on the grips they have a significance. So rather than knock my carry gun why not just appreciate Bert's work. BTW this is a working gun not a safe queen. And if you did a little research you might understand the grips' origin. Great work Bert on both of my pistols.
 

dlilazteca

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
2,659
Location
Laredo, Texas
All,

The pistol is mine and regardless of the quality of the engraving on the grips they have a significance. So rather than knock my carry gun why not just appreciate Bert's work. BTW this is a working gun not a safe queen. And if you did a little research you might understand the grips' origin. Great work Bert on both of my pistols.

Well said!
 

speeedy6

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2013
Messages
271
l like everything about it including the grips. I like it even more knowing it's a carry gun ! People need to see a well engraved gun and any wear ,scratches or dents ( gained naturally not purposely added ) will just add character. The only criticism I would have is the star on the grips look a little plain. It's very cool , thanks for showing.
 

mvangle

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
305
Location
Pilot Virginia.
Chrisintexas, thanks for the challenge.
Rick Fras Engraver, TDCJ (Texas Dept. Criminal Justice)
Inmate Engraver
Life Sentence
2b7545c5c021069b9e24a0f40c05502b.jpg
 

mtlctr

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2015
Messages
378
Location
NW Ohio
I like the engraving. wondering why the pistol is cocked & not locked? is there a reason for that? Curious.
 
Top