What OKCShooter said. I'll admit this is a steel, but I only paid $1000 for this Yost-Bonitz 8 or 9 months ago.
Well, I agree that was a steel. And if GMThunder's crack is smoking I think the dude that sold you that pistol was tokin.
What OKCShooter said. I'll admit this is a steel, but I only paid $1000 for this Yost-Bonitz 8 or 9 months ago.
I've seen only a few of his pistols and he's got the talent to do whatever he wants in the custom 1911 market. He may not want too but he could. His work is certainly as good if not better than Night Hawk, Les Baer, Wilson, Ed Brown and the like
Yes, NH, Wilson & EB all make there own frames/slides but that does not mean they are better than Springfield.
Hi Guys...
There are a lot of things that can be addressed in this thread.
There are a lot of "issues" that people have in defining customs , semi-customs, and upgrades.
In terms of doing "custom" work it all varies depending on what a client wants, his experience, and his budget.
My "philosophy" is more like recommendations to clients depending on their experience in shooting 1911s. In general, I always advise not to make your 1911 pistol a lifetime project, i.e. don't drag it out over a couple of years. You can never get the full appreciation for the pistol when you are changing things all the time and scarring up the pistol with machine work. I always recommend reliability tuning, then a better ignition group, then better sights, and a new barrel if accuracy is an issue, and finally refinishing. The refinishing is as much for me as well as the client since people tend to be super critical when looking at other peoples work product. They are not privy to the conversations and/or planning between the client and 'smith. So it's always going to be better if it looks like it came new out of the box when the job is finished and for ease of maintenance if you are working with Carbon Steel. We won't get into EGO at this time whether the client's or the 'smith's-lol.
As for Will wanting to sell his 1911, yes I did the work that he listed. I would consider it an upgrade and I think that if someone wants to upgrade it again to "semi-custom as a "complete version" the addition of new sights, front strap treatment,(checkering, golf-balling etc.), and any other cosmetic/functional ,ergonomic machine work, and refinishing would give someone the basis for a very nice "semi-custom" or "full custom." The price that someone sells the pistol for is what ever the buyer at the time thinks that it is worth. I NEVER tell clients that just because my name is associated with a pistol that they can sell it for more than what they have in the pistol. I believe that the value of my doing the work on a pistol is that I am going to do my best to give my client the best "reliability" that I can squeeze out of the pistol. THe basis of this philosophy is "If you have to use it to defend your life...What is your life worth?" For a tactical pistol everything that comes after reliability is "gravy!" I always call my clients after the work is done to the point of pestering them to make sure that there are no "issues" with the pistol. Once they give me the thumbs up for the springing and the load that they are going to use my job is done.
Now, as to dollar value, if I was going to venture a "SWAG"(sophisticated wild-ass guess) as to commercial value. IMHO, from a buyers point of view that is looking for a base pistol to continue upgrading you would have a very nice starting place with GMThunder's recommendation and Boehlertaught being very generous in his estimate.
I usually refrain from jumping in on posts like this because you are always going to "piss" someone off-lol...usually the seller. I hope that this post helps and not hinders.
I also hope that by jumping in here it will add a bit of depth to the thread.
Be well,
Barry
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