Valkyrie Dynamics manufactures aluminum grips for 1911-style pistols, Beretta FS 92 and SIG P238. Their grips have either deep machined textures or all the way cut through. The textures are mainly of honeycomb and what they call “Cobra” style resembling the snake’s scale pattern. They also come with various finishes and colors.

Valkyrie Dynamics 1911 grips are priced from $39.99 to $99.99. The full size 1911 grips fit all standard (5″ barrel) and commander (4.25″ barrel) size 1911s with normal length grips (7 or 8 round capacity). The distance between grip screws is 78mm or about 3.07″.

The selection of Beretta grips is a bit less with only two models available right now at price of $49.99. These grips fit the following Beretta pistol models: 96, 92FS, 92A1, M9, M9A1, Brigadier, Centurion and Elite.

The purpose of this post is not only to tell about these grips and the company, but also to address the trend of skeletonized and metal grips in general. We see more and more such gun parts appearing on the market recently. While in the case of many parts usage of metals helps to dissipate the heat and sometimes even reduce the weight by skeletonizing, it is not so when it comes to grips.

So the issue I see here is the lack of any practical use. With the exception of the “cool” looks, these grips have no advantages over conventional wooden or plastic ones. Moreover, I see some disadvantages. The most important issue is that metal transfers heat faster. If you have touched metal gun parts in desert heat or freezing cold, you’ll agree that it is not the best feeling, to say the least. You may say that I should always wear gloves, but that’s not the case in the real world.

And with the all the way through machined handgun grips, slides and AR-15 receivers these are obviously a good recipe for jamming the gun. Just imagine how fast external particles can find their way into the gun.

Of course, my arguments are true if you are considering the gun for use as a defensive or survival tool. These grips are absolutely perfect to have on a sort of a BBQ gun and they really make guns look “cool”.