*I* envy the people like you who can do this stuff by hand, with traditional tools. Definitely a skill that I lack.
As they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention," and I guess I was never
satisfied with "store-bought" grips (the only way to buy stuff then, before
"somebody" "invented the internet" and online shopping was born! Hehehe!
I started with modifying grips I bought, to suit my smallish hands. Then I found
a source for hardwood and I bought "cut-offs" from saw mills and carpentry shops.
I also looked for neighborhood woodworkers (a vanishing breed, if they haven't
yet disappeared altogether). And I would observe them for hours on end, as
I marvel at the fact that to them, time is inconsequential, deadlines are
non-existent and mass production is very much abhorred and detested.
They work at their own pace and produce works of art, from furniture
pieces to rifle stocks, in their own good time.
When I was starting out, the most intimidating thing about making grips was
doing the checkering...until I say a boy of 11 do it with just a wee wood file
and wet rag. Geez! Woodworkers belong to generations of craftsmen, and
they train their young to someday take over. I was fortunate to be allowed
to watch from the sidelines and learn without tuition fees (aside from the
box of doughnuts or whatnots that I would bring to them from time to time).
.
