Benjamin Franklin once made a comic with a snake separated into segments with a simple caption, “Join or Die.” I learned about this in Social Studies and it always stuck with me. When I had to option to choose a set of grips for my Wicked Grips review I spotted the Join or Die grips and I was sold.
Before I start the review, I want to thank Wicked Grips for reintroducing me to an old friend. My 1911 has long been replaced for duty by a number of different 9mm handguns. This 1911 is nothing fancy, it’s quite plain. My 1911 was a gift from my ad when I was 16. At that time it was the best handgun that ever existed to me. It was used in many a bowling pin competition. At 16 I placed 3rd in an adult league my first season. Wicked Grips made me dust off this bad boy and it was like shaking the hand of an old friend. So thanks, Wicked Grips.
Quality
I spoke in my first look than 20 dollar Hogue grips usually work fine, but having an option for a high quality, good looking set of grips is welcome. The joy of a free, and capitalist society. Since I wrote my initial first look of the Wicked Grips I’ve been concealed carrying the grips and gun for two weeks.
I learned a few valuable things.
- 1911’s are freaking heavy.
- 1911’s are nice and thin.
- These grips don’t have any give in them.
Join or Die
By give I mean they don’t compromise, flex, or fail in any way. These grips are of course a piece of art and I can appreciate art. When it comes to guns, though, in my humble opinion, function, is a part of the art. When it comes to guns if it looks good, and doesn’t function you should hang it on the wall, not on your gun.
I live if Florida, and believe it or not it is hot and muggy here 10.5 months of the year and our only real option for carry is concealed. Top this off with the fact I live on the nature coast, it’s also salty. Because of this my 1911 and the Wicked Grips are going to be exposed to a corrosion conducive environment. This includes the salt in the air because I live a mile from the ocean. It’s also exposed to normal tropical humidity. Don’t forget I’m hot, and the gun is concealed. This means sweat, lots of sweat. When concealed the weapon is held tight to my body, most of the weapon is protected by the holster.
I’m a little rusty, they aren’t.
Pop quiz time. What portion of a handgun is not protected by a holster? You guessed it, the grips. Whenever I carried the 1911 it became soak inside and out. Sweat even found it’s way underneath the grips. With this in mind the question is, did they rust?
They didn’t rust, not on the back of the grips, not the front, not even in the area where the grip screws are located. This is a high friction area for grips because of the screws, but the finish held strong.
I have concealed carried the gun and grips extensively. These grips have been bumped, rubbed, gripped, and holstered. They haven’t faded, the finish remains the same, and they haven’t failed at all.
At the range, they stood strong for two hundred rounds of standard 45 ACP ball ammunition. They felt solid in the hand and fill it well. They are standard size. Wicked Grips does make a thinner profile grip. There is no sharp edges, no burrs, nothing to catch and dig into the hand as the weapon recoils. The grips are smooth against the hand, like classic 1911 wood grips. I did find this smoothness comforting while carrying the pistol. Aggressive stippling is great, but sometimes it really rubs the body raw while carrying.
Wicked Grips
Overall these Wicked Grips are extraordinarily nice. The grips well built and after two weeks of rain or shine carry they look still look brand new. Not so much as a smudge on them. They are a functional piece of art that reintroduced me to an old friend. If you want some high quality 1911 grips I would suggest wholeheartedly Wicked Grips.