The Unofficial P64 Resource Forum

Let me start by saying Dennis is a excellent guy,but I've had 4 sets to break,he replaced them no charge to me everytime.The latest design I have now but haven't had a chance to shoot with them yet.Torpeau, a fellow member has, and they also broke on his.I cannot recommend them for the P64 as I can twist mine back and forth about 2mm,therefore I know there going to break when shot.Until this design is completely substantiated, I cannot recommend anything but the factory grips,IMHO! :-X

protectror,

I too am sorry to hear about your grip problems, and it is hard for me to understand why this keeps happening to your grips. I remember when Bobby J. sent his original P-64 grips to Dennis for him to use in his CNC set up to design the wood P-64 grips. I got a set of checkered red wattle grips not very long after Bobby J received the first set of Dennis's grips. My first set broke at the top where the two pieces came together at the back. I sent Dennis a pic of the grips and less than two weeks I had another set, however, I requested that the new set not be glued but rather come with the two sides separate just as the original grips on the P-64. I have used the second set on both of my P-64's, a 1969 and 1976, with out any problems. BTW, I glued my set that broke with Gorilla Glue and they also have held up just fine. To my knowledge this is the first time I have heard of anything happening like this, I'm at a loss for what to say.

I can't help but think that something is different about your pistol, I realize that is a stretch, but I can't imagine what else it could be, unless you possible have tightened the grip screw to tight and even then I not sure it would break. I guess its possible that there is a flaw in Dennis's CNC equiptment, but after replacing that many grips for you I would have thought he would have checked everything out. Wish I could be of more help.


papabear

I am by far the least knowledgeable wood person but I had a thought.. Could a softer wood be better.. they might strecch and bend more with a sharp recoil.. I know that the metal bolts that grade 8 are strong and more rigid then grade 5 but have little shear strength,have more tensil strength . then grade 5 ..grade 5 is used for more flex applications..Now remeber that6 is not much as we are talking bolts,but wood has many of same qualities in many ways.. justy a thought.

To my knowledge this is the first time I have heard of anything happening like this, I'm at a loss for what to say.

PB, did you simply screw on Dennis's grips using the screw he supplied? Did you add a lock washer or do anything else?

It seems to me, if you don't get the grips really tight, the screw will quickly loosen and this little pistol's sharp recoil will cause the pistol to pivot on that screw and put extreme pressure on the upper back of the grips. I have wondered about adding something like silicone sealant to absorb shock and to lessen any metal to wood movement.

I know of P-64 grips from at least one other source that have broken. Dennis is working on the problem.

Even though I have had a problem with a set of Dennis grips, I would still reccomend his grips to anyone. Dennis IMHO is a stand up guy and fully backs his products, which in this day and time is worth alot to me!!

I definitely recommend changing those thumb rest grips out with a set of aftermarket ones made by some of the folks here in the forum. In addition, as some others have noted, I use a slip over Hogue "finger groove" grip that tames the little beast quite well. If only I can figure a way to shrink my huge hands so the web between my index finger and thumb don't get nailed by the slide when firing... My P-64 is ALWAYS the last one I take out of the case to shoot at the range because of this. After shooting it, it's time to head home and enjoy the burning sensation of some fresh Hoppes in the cuts!

torpeau,

On my grips, which came with two sides instead of being glued together, I didn't get a grip screw from Dennis, I just used the grip screw and nut that came with the P-64, however I did screw them in tight. I haven't had any problems with the grips getting loose on Dennis's grips or Zee's grips or the original flat grips, or the thumbrest grips that some got on their P-64. I wish I could see your pistol and grips in person that way I might could figure out the problem.

FWIW, I didn't change any springs on any of my 5 P-64's, I didn't find the recoil that bad and once I had put 500 rounds down the tubes the DA loosen up and I've been fine with it the way it is. I know many have changed the springs, but I didn't see the need for it. I prefer a little heavy DA, because I carry 6 in the mag and one in the tube with the safety off, be doing that for well over a year now and I am very comfortable with that.


papabear

You may want to glue the grips together. I believe that Dennis recommends it. A harder wood than wattle may be better also. I have some birdseye maple one piece grips made by Chris Bond and I have had no issues with them at all.

It's interesting that http://www.tnguns.com sells the left grip or the set of two -- not just the right. That left side may get more of a beating than the right.

In the interest of science and for the betterment of the P64 shooting community, I am undergoing an experiment to help solve the sharp recoil problem. I will let you know how it goes.

It's interesting that http://www.tnguns.com sells the left grip or the set of two -- not just the right. That left side may get more of a beating than the right.

I think it was smart for them to buy all those grips that were replaced , after they had to put that missed mach thumb rest grip on to them get them imported


NORM

In the interest of science and for the betterment of the P64 shooting community, I am undergoing an experiment to help solve the sharp recoil problem. I will let you know how it goes.

The P64 really needs that. IMHO it is the most unpleasant handgun to shoot that I own.
Sorry, but it really hurts my hand.

PshootR

torpeau,

On my grips, which came with two sides instead of being glued together, I didn't get a grip screw from Dennis, I just used the grip screw and nut that came with the P-64, however I did screw them in tight. I haven't had any problems with the grips getting loose on Dennis's grips or Zee's grips or the original flat grips, or the thumbrest grips that some got on their P-64. I wish I could see your pistol and grips in person that way I might could figure out the problem.

Both my P-64s have had grip problems and I do screw them tight. As I have said before, I know of broken grips from at least two grip makers. I really enjoy shooting these pistols, but they need nice-looking grips. I am wondering if wood is suitable. The grips that lasted the longest were not glued or directly attached to each other.

With my newest wood grips, I'm going to use some silicone sealant to act as a cushion and reduce metal to wood movement.

ok...my grip experiment went well, not because I made a pair of usable grips (I did not) but because I learned some stuff which is encouraging and inspiring.

I have often thought about making grips out of readily available "flexible stuffs", stuff like Grip Dip (the stuff you can buy to reapply a rubbery grip to your hand tools) but I couldnt find any anywhere. So for my experiment I tried something else I had thought about using, PL brand Polyurethane Mastic (roofing caulk).



The mastic doesn't cure rigid enough to be used to make grip panels, as you can see in the below pix. I do think that it would work pretty good if it had a rigid backing plate but I want to try other stuffs before I try to make backing plates.





I still want to try Grip Dip, but if anyone has any suggestions I would like to hear them.

hey, that's neat, although you'd probably need some kind of non sticky outer area so It doesn't pick up so much lint, but good job none-the-less!

white stuff is stuck on plaster-o-paris, but yeah forget the lint...I don't think you could throw the gun out of your hands with these grips