P38 Grips

[rrengineer]

I have bought two sets of replacement grips for my Walther P-38. Both sets fit very poorly and the finish was far from acceptable when compared to the originals. Does anyone know who sells the best replacement grips for this gun?

[zinfull]

War era or post war era?

[Grendl]

If you're looking for WWII Bakelite, you'll be disappointed. Nothing comes close to real Bakelite with the wartime filler. That's my biggest fetish.

I purchased resin reproductions on ebay to improve the appearance of my P1 shooter, but they look silly next to actual Bakelite grips.

Good when you're letting a newbie shoot "the guns of WWII" (as my P1 is billed at the range) or if you want to replace the real ones to avoid damage when shooting, but that's the extent of it. If you find good ones, please let us know.

[rrengineer]

[QUOTE=zinfull;22743994]War era or post war era?[/QUOTE

Serial number places it's manufacture in 1944.

[alpha_romeo_XV]

I think true Bakelite with WW2 era filler would contain too many carcinogens for todays standards and need a CA prop65 warning. Sure glad I got some originals before they caused climate change. They still do glow in the dark a little. JK

[zinfull]

This guy has the best war era grips for sale. I have a pair from him and they fit great. Not a fan on the brown color. I assume you have a cyq P38.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/GERMAN-ARMY-WWII-WW2-REPRO-P38-P-38-GRIP-COVERS-black-/292756038677?nav=SEARCH&redirect=mobile

https://www.ebay.com/i/263972113925?chn=ps&ul_ref=https%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fi%25252F263972113925%25253Fchn%25253Dps%2526itemid%253D263972113925%2526targetid%253D596465665428%2526device%253Dt%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9032339%2526poi%253D%2526campaignid%253D1689407489%2526adgroupid%253D74365778308%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-596465665428%2526abcId%253D1140476%2526merchantid%253D101714839%2526gclid%253DCj0KCQiAn4PkBRCDARIsAGHmH3dEOQSNmUGBtQfuZ5718TjO3vIaPIgqr5CkqRvgj4qiirA3vNV4Uk0aAmJpEALw_wcB%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1886767914348%2526rvr_ts%253D5bf1e8b01690ad4d1a015aa5ffedbb34

[rrengineer]

Zinfull, thanks. I ordered the black set. I have an AC 41 (Walther). The original grips are a dark reddish almost black color anyway. Never going to get a duplicate of that. The reason for replacing the grips was because this gun was recovered from East Germany. For some strange reason it is not uncommon for wartime guns that ended up in the eastern block countries to be lightly engraved with a small capital letter on both sides of the slide, the frame, the grips and on a few more parts that can be seen from the assembled pistol. I have a small letter "T" scratched on both grips as well as some damage to one lower corner of the left grip. I just thought some nice unmarked grips would improve the overall look of the pistol for not much cash.

[crotter]

Zinfull, thanks. I ordered the black set. I have an AC 41 (Walther). The original grips are a dark reddish almost black color anyway. Never going to get a duplicate of that. The reason for replacing the grips was because this gun was recovered from East Germany. For some strange reason it is not uncommon for wartime guns that ended up in the eastern block countries to be lightly engraved with a small capital letter on both sides of the slide, the frame, the grips and on a few more parts that can be seen from the assembled pistol. I have a small letter "T" scratched on both grips as well as some damage to one lower corner of the left grip. I just thought some nice unmarked grips would improve the overall look of the pistol for not much cash.

Pictures of the East German stamps/ markings?

[rrengineer]

OK, I checked for any East Block markings and found none. I was told by the seller on GunBroker that it came forom an eastern block country and it was typical to see a letter scratched on most of the parts of the gun. Why I do not know. Anyway her is an album with all the closeups of the acceptance markings and you can clearly see the "T' scratched in to the gun and the grips.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Tmmou2XoH647Hea37

[Grendl]

I like the grips. Much nicer than the resin repros, but I also don't see the damage.

[rrengineer]

I guess the "T" doesn't show as well in pictures.

[Grendl]

I can see it, it's just a lot less offensive to me than repro grips w/out any filler or variation. There's really no comparison to me. But again, keep the repros on if you're going to shoot her since the originals are a bit fragile.

[mj1]

Did the OP find grips ? I think I have a set of originals someplace.

[rrengineer]

I did not find an acceptable pair of grips for my Walther. None of the repros have the look of the reddish/black grips of the originals. I would be interested in a good original pair.
Mike

[mj1]

The best I could find.





Not matching.
No cracks.
Originals with screw.