reading the other reviews i knew to expect an "unfinished" product. i figured id have to stain them to get the red color i wanted. but out of the package they were red enough for me and just need some kind of oil or "sealing" of the wood to preserve them. i did 2 coats of toms 1/3 gun wax on them and they look great! fit nice too. with the hardware it was under 40.00 very much thinner than my stock rock island grips.
much better grip on the gun now.

Perfect fit and strong!!!! Slim and feel great!!

I have Navidrex slimline stocks on all of my serious use 1911s. Love them.

The fit and finish on them is excellent, and they are impervious to just about everything.

I don't really have much more to add to what has already been said. The wood is Philippine Mahogany, which I discovered AFTER-the-fact isn't really mahogany at all, but some kind of cheap jungle plant (lauan). Actually I shouldn't say "cheap"; apparently it has some good qualities, but it is NOT mahogany by any stretch of the imagination. Its main use is to make plywood.

The wood came unfinished. I rubbed in several layers of boiled linseed oil, which was an improvement.

The color of the wood is really light. Again, the linseed oil helped darken it a little, but it's still much lighter than I would have preferred. I'm hoping the wood will darken with age/use, and I plan to continue applying linseed oil during regular cleanings. I may end up just staining them if I don't see an improvement.

As someone else mentioned, the checkering is rather shallow. In spite of that, I think it functions okay.

On the plus side, the grips dropped right in without any additional fitting required (don't forget to order slim grip screws & bushings, too). I didn't need to sand mine to remove "fuzz", either.

I used a calipers to measure the difference in width between these slim grips and the originals; unfortunately, I didn't write down the measurements (my bad). IIRC, there was about a 0.15" difference in width; call it an eighth (but take that with a grain of salt since I'm quoting from memory).

My number 1 reason for buying these grips was price. I'm not disappointed in that regard, but let's face it... the time out of my schedule to finish the wood, the lower quality wood, etc is a trade-off, so the true "value" of the grips is in question (IMO). Nevertheless, if you're like me and don't feel like spending an arm and a leg to "try" a set of slim grips, then these will certainly fill the bill.

These grips aren't going to "wow" you out-of-the-box, but they've met my needs.

These grips were very well matched and the fit was good, too. The slim contour really helps, especially with my short fingers. While they appeared to be "unfinished," the quality and grain of the wood looked great. After just a little "de-whiskering" and a traditional and easy linseed finish, they looked three times their price! These were well worth their modest cost.

The grips I received looked like the were unfinished. They were very light in color and the edges were "furry" and needed to be sanded. The left grip was too tall and was pushing against the plunger tube and did not line up with the bushings. The right side had the mag release notch cut too high. That being said, I sanded them to fit and cleaned them up, and finished them with tung oil. They now look and feel good. All in all, they are worth the price. Don't forget the slim bushing and screws.

I wanted to try a set of slim grips but didn't want to break the bank on something I was unsure of. That being said, these are inexpensive and not too bad. This was not quite a drop in replacement. The set of grips I received seemed like they were unfinished and very light in color. The checkering wasn't as deep as the set they are replacing either. The cut out for the mag release was a tad bit too high. And they were also too tall on the plunger side pushing up against the plunger and not lining up. This all wasn't too big a deal for me. A little sanding and some finish and these turned out looking good. They also feel good too. Don't forget the slim bushing and grip screws.

Perfect fit on my 1911. I added a Pearce grip enhancement underneath and the fit is dead on with my short fingers. Very positive control. You need the slim bushings for the panels and standard length screws with the addition of the Pearce grip. My grip screws are allen heads and I sanded the heads down just a tad for a more flush fit. The sanding was not needed,just my personel preferance. No thread protrusion into the mag well at all.

Easliy installed with the bushings and screws I ordered at the same time. The 1911 isn't bulky, but these are amazing in the way that they improve the feel of the pistol. I know the trendy thing these days is for aluminum or composites, and these are supposed to improve your purchase of the weapon. I cannot stand the feel of those things. These are traditional, nicely grained, checkered wood, the checkering is sharp, crisp, and easy on the hand.
They aren't ostentatious, they don't have fancy designs, etc. If you want "pretty" grips like that, look somewhere else. If you want something that WORKS, and works WELL, then you want this.