The Smith and Wesson K-Frame revolver family are the iconic American double action revolvers. They were the most important platform for the development of all of Smith & Wesson's line of revolvers. The first K-Frame was introduced in 1899 and came, from the beginning, in both round butt and square butt configurations. These revolvers were used in both World Wars and were particularly popular with the English in World War II, where Smith produced 568,204 revolvers for the British armed forces. While there have been many changes in the mechanism or models, Smith has been careful to maintain frame consistency--and grip interchangeability. From the beginning, most of the K-frame revolvers were square frames. Today, most of the K frames produced are round butts. (For a superb, detailed history of Smith revolvers--and more--go to Roy Jinks, History of Smith and Wesson. Find it. You'll like it.)

K and L frames are the same as far as grips are concerned.

The original "Coke Bottle" grips were produced by S&W in the mid 50's to mid 60's, distinctively shaped according to their namesake. They are now a sought-after collector item. These replica American walnut grips feature the historical palm swell and relief cut, along with traditional checkering and classic S&W antique bronze medallions.

Roper Target grips were originally handmade by Walter Roper in the 1930's-1950's in a distinctive thinner target style. ALTAMONT® offers replica Olive Wood Roper Target grips with the historic three arch fingertip ribbon checkering and diamond over the screw hole.

Target grips were not available for Round Butt Smith Revolvers until--according to me--ALTAMONT® developed the Round Butt to Square Butt conversion in the late 1980s.

The New Target Round Butt Conversion grip is a redesigned version of the Traditional K Target grip to fit Round Butt frames. This grip is somewhat slimmer than the Traditional Square Butt Target; the Traditional grip was always a little bulky. The New Target accommodates smaller hands. It had loading scallops at the top of each panel. (The scallop on the right panel was put in to give increased panel area for engraving.)

The New Target grips provide an elegant variation on the Traditional Target and have been used extensively by Smith on their higher end revolvers.

The Boot Grip on the K-frame is a more recent grip development aimed at maintaining good control, but keeping the size small. It has its use in concealed carry but is best with small or medium size hands.

The Legacy Grip evolved from an original hard rubber, Bakelite molded grip (1890's) which has some interesting elaborate checkering that we are replicating here as well. The Legacy wood version was an upgrade to the hard rubber, and really was the most common grip until the 1950's when the classic panel or magna grip with the ears, took over for reasons of economical production.

For special presentations, Smith offered the Legacy Grips in pearl, ivory, and fancy walnut, checkered and smooth. It is an important part of the historic evolution of Smith revolvers and their grips.