# Opinions would be nice...



## Holly

So, _eventually_ I *will* have my Kimber Solo Stainless. I have a general idea of the engraving that I want done, and also have someone who will do it. Here it is:

Kimber Solo Stainless









with aluminum grips









and _these_ daisies all over.









My question is, what should I have to tie the flowers together? Also how dense should the design be? I would prefer high density, but would a more sporadic design look better?

Thanks in advance.


----------



## 45Sidekick

something kinda like banner ribbons if done right should be able to take up unused space and look pretty cool.


----------



## 45Sidekick

or some form of waves, kinda like the borders on a dollar bill. but id suggest looking at tattoo designs, since its essentially a tattoo for your gun


----------



## Holly

Looking for something kind of cartoony.


----------



## Holly

:smt104 Really? That's it? No advice from Mr. Bear or Steve??? Disappointed.


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell

daisies and smilies :smt001


----------



## Holly

Thanks. :smt017 Hmmm... Smilies...


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell

or perhaps a smurfette or a powderpuff girl


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell

or the pink panther


----------



## Holly

You must think you're soooo funny. Smart ass.


----------



## TedDeBearFrmHell

Holly said:


> Looking for something kind of cartoony.





Holly said:


> :smt104 Really? That's it? No advice from Mr. Bear or Steve??? Disappointed.





Holly said:


> You must think you're soooo funny. Smart ass.


you asked about cartoony..... you asked for my comments specifically AND i gave you PINK AND CARTOONY

and i DO think i am sooo funny


----------



## Holly

Good point.


----------



## Holly

Cartoon-like... but, not cartoons. Thank you for your opinions. I DO appreciate them, even when you're a Smart Ass.


----------



## ponzer04

bulldozer3


----------



## jdunn41

I would worry more about it going bang. Mine has been back to Kimber twice.


----------



## Holly

jdunn41 said:


> I would worry more about it going bang. Mine has been back to Kimber twice.


Trust me, I am VERY worried about that. I'm tired of it. This is my wishful thinking.


----------



## Holly

No one has any more pretty ideas? I shoulda known better than to ask a bunch of men. :smt100


----------



## BeefyBeefo

jdunn41 said:


> I would worry more about it going bang. Mine has been back to Kimber twice.


Ditto. Mine was the biggest POS I've ever owned...

As far as the engraving, it's personal taste. Probably why you're not getting many opinions...


----------



## Raymond

jdunn41 said:


> I would worry more about it going bang. Mine has been back to Kimber twice.


My Pro Crimson Carry II and my Ultra Covert II always go boom. The latter pictured in my avatar is my ccw.


----------



## ponzer04

your 1911 kimber may go boom which is a copy of a pistol that is over 100 years old, but kimber can't make a new pistol that goes boom...


----------



## Raymond

ponzer04 said:


> your 1911 kimber may go boom which is a copy of a pistol that is over 100 years old, but kimber can't make a new pistol that goes boom...


Not interested in anything but the 1911 from Kimber.....just one of many copies made by multiple manufacturers.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

Holly said:


> So, _eventually_ I *will* have my Kimber Solo Stainless. I have a general idea of the engraving that I want done, and also have someone who will do it...My question is, what should I have to tie the flowers together? Also how dense should the design be? I would prefer high density, but would a more sporadic design look better?...


OK, Holly, I went to art school, for all the good it did me, so I am uniquely qualified to answer your original question.

I have repeatedly thought about fancying-up my daily carry piece. It has pleasing proportions and a nice shape.
I have considered engraving in the gun's stainless steel, since we have a pretty good gun engraver, right here on this island.
I have given thought to fancy grips, after seeing samples of Handmade Grips's gorgeous scrolled inlay work. (They're in Turkey.)
And every time I think carefully and hard about the idea, I say to myself, "No. This is a working gun. It rides in my pocket. It will get banged up. If I have it made into something fancy, I will end up leaving it in our pistol safe, instead of carrying it. That would be an insult to the gun, and a foolish risk to Jean and me."

Well, I met my fantasies half-way: I bought some dyed, layered, impregnated wood as used to make fancy knife handles, and I used it to have simple, pretty, inexpensive, almost indestructible new grips made for it. If I remember correctly, that cost all of about $40.00, including the wood and its shipping, and the gunsmith's labor.

So, now to your question.
I suggest that the flowers be connected by simple, leafy vine work, in a fairly sparse pattern, around the grips' perimeters, with emphasis on places where the line changes direction or rounds a curve. The background might be lightly stippled, but only behind the vines and flowers, not in an overall pattern.
I, personally, do not like checkered grip panels. I find that smooth grip panels, and deeply stippled or checkered front- and backstraps, give me better control over the pistol, and make it easier to reach the magazine catch for reloads.
Get a full-size drawing of the proposed work, and live with it for at least a week. Make changes, if you want to. Then make a copy of that drawing and your changes, and send it in for the artisan to use as a pattern, while you keep the original. That will help you achieve full satisfaction.

I hope you like it.


----------



## Holly

Thank you so much. You have been truly helpful. I am no longer getting my Solo, however I still would like to use this idea in the future on another gun. 

Thanks again, Steve.


----------



## sbubrick

Why are you not getting the Solo?


----------



## Holly

Kimber won't actually release the pistol. After a year of waiting on the stainless, I decided that if it ever wound up in my hands I would no longer have the love for it that I once did. I was tired of waiting and tired of not being able to actually speak to anyone representing Kimber. They wouldn't even give the dealer I was purchasing from any solid information. I was just tired of it all.


----------



## Holly

Holly said:


> Kimber won't actually release the pistol. After a year of waiting on the stainless, I decided that if it ever wound up in my hands I would no longer have the love for it that I once did. I was tired of waiting and tired of not being able to actually speak to anyone representing Kimber. They wouldn't even give the dealer I was purchasing from any solid information. I was just tired of it all.


One year, eight months... got a phone call today that my Stainless Solo was in.

Now, I don't want it.


----------



## berettabone

You're probably better off...now you can purchase 2 firearms with that cash..........


----------



## halfmoonclip

Holly, I stumbled into a Solo at my FLGS; had them put it back for me, did a little research, and bought it. Mine shoots straight as the road to hell, and it has fed everything I've fed it, from WWB to Gold Dots to _snakeshot_, and it has gone bang each and every time. Current round count is somewhere north of 300. If your shop still has it, take it, shoot the snot out of it, and call it good. 
Listen to Steve's counsel about not prettying up a carry gun too much. The only thing harder on a pistol than carrying it on your person is dragging it behind your pickup with a log chain.
It's one of the things I really love about the LCP(beyond the total reliability); it's a tool, and nothing more.
Moon


----------



## Holly

Alright, alright, alright... I have it. 

My wonderful husband brought it home for me a few weeks ago, after I'd given up hope for a year. 

I'll admit, I love it. Just thought I'd share. 

Also, hello friends. :smt039


----------



## sbubrick

Congrats, hope your Solo is one of the better ones. Stay with Steve's suggestion and not do any engraving, at least till the gun has proven relieable. Mine has close to 700 rounds through, and continues to jam with failure to eject. I dont think that it will ever become my daily choice for carry. Kimber has not offered a solution just excuses.


----------



## Steve M1911A1

*Holly*;
I have revised my opinion, now that I carry a holstered pistol OWB. (It's a Colt's Pocket Hammerless in .380 ACP, made in 1912.)
For my 75th birthday, Jean gave me a full engraving job for my new/old carry gun, complete with composite ivory handles. It's stunning.
Of course, it had already fully proven its reliability during the past 101 years, so I had no hesitation in making the decision to have it prettified.

I offer you one further piece of advice: The engraver suggested fire-bluing all of the gun's pins and screws, its extractor, its trigger, and its magazine catch. He was right. Fire blue against engraved antique-gray steel adds lovely punctuation to the artwork.
Do that to yours, too. You won't regret it.

(Arthritis now keeps me from, um, enjoying shooting a .45 ACP. Thus the change in armament.)


----------



## casurvivor

jdunn41 said:


> I would worry more about it going bang. Mine has been back to Kimber twice.


I was thinking the same, but women..............


----------



## CW

Old thread but if your still out there Holly:

Fire and Water
Silk and Sandpaper
Gunpowder and Lace

contrasts....


Tie the flowers together with concertina or barbed wire.

A coral snake or cobra winding through the flowers would work too.


----------



## Mike47

000


----------



## win231

Holly said:


> No one has any more pretty ideas? I shoulda known better than to ask a bunch of men. :smt100


LOL! I'm really trying hard to think of something "pretty" for that gun, but....wouldn't you rather spend the money prettying up a larger gun that you'd want to display?

But, a Yosemite Sam on each grip panel would be nice.


----------

