He will be honored, I’m sure. Very nice of you, sir.

 

I was surrounded by incredible, dedicated, hard-working, generous men my whole career. They made room in their very busy lives to teach me, mentor me, and show me how to be successful in my own career and life.
Gotta pay it forward, because a lot of those guys are dead, and I cannot pay it back

 

You pay it back by paying it forward.

Wherever our "village" may be, it really does take a village. It looks like your village is in good stead, Sir.

 

Well that’s going to be an awesome day when he gets that!

 

You're a good man, Squid.

We are looking forward to the build pics and narration.

 

I am occasionally a very bad man. I am a freakin mess 90% of the time, and the men who came before me are the reason I can keep it together long enough to try and do something nice for someone

 

Can’t wait to see it! Been thinking of picking up a 9MM Garrison to hack on myself!

~Augee

 

If anyone is a good candidate to cut in a Garrison, it is you

 

What a great gift, full of all the right stuff...... and I aint talkin bout the new parts.
Well done Sir!

 

So, how long did you have to comb the phonebook to find a neighbor with the same name as a line of 1911s?

 

I actually had no idea what his last name was when we started working together. The kid's uncle came to me, and said "hey man my nephew wants to join the Army. What should he do?"
I started talking to him about it, went to the recruiter with him each time he went, talked to some Army buddies of mine, and then built a plan for him to prepare.
After about two weeks of instruction, mostly on land nav, I asked, "hey man what's your last name?" (it is different from his Uncle, who is my friend and neighbor)
"Garrison"
That was all it took to get the old sprockets rolling in my Brain Control Group

 

"The Kid" is fortunate to have such good, caring neighbors. Not to mention neighbors with your skills. 🦈

 

Do you have a build thread already detailing your method for hand cutting french borders? I’ve seen you mention it in a couple build threads but i’d be super interested in how you set up and do it

 

What you see is what it is:
I place the slide in the Vice with a machinist’s ruler lined up as nice as I can get it along the line where I intend to make the cut. I scratch it in with a triangle file, and then pull it from the vice and deepen the groove till I am happy with it, then repeat on the other side.
It is “difficult” but not impossible

 

Squidsix,
Good on you!

Blessings,

1chessiefan

 

Squidsix,
You come across as one who was/is an old cantankerous feller that’s been there, done that and got the patch; yet inside a warm heart. The young man going into service for our great nation will not only receive a beautiful 1911; but more importantly knowing you invested personally to gift him something he will cherish for life. Your act alone is worth more in life than the gift given. Well done!

 

I second the good on you! That is impressive in more ways than one. In for the transformation.

 

Your life philosophy is impressive in that you believe in paying it forward, especially to influence the life of a young man. That's what's missing in the lives of many young people and they often navigate life like a boat with a broken rudder. The generosity of teaching him land nav will always be remembered and appreciated by young Garrison along with the pistol you are building for him. Men like you make a profound difference in the lives of others.

 

You guys are too kind. Lets hold any praise till I finish the gun. What happens if I bugger it all up?

 

French border done on the slide.

Super fancy tool:

 

Starting the high cut and flattening the front strap

 

Nice. Thanks for keeping us updated. Anyone know why it is called a French Norder?

 

No idea. I have looked it up a few times and got nothin. The stories are so varied to be impossible
One was that an engraver (supposedly the guy who Alvin White apprenticed with) who called that line a “french border”.
But he made an actual border. All around the flat area of the slide

 

My assumption has always been that it is simply an adaptation of more broad “French” decorative design styles, which often include ornate and embellished interior borders on everything from things like furniture and interior design to page design / book covers / stationary:

French design, in addition to being considered “luxurious” is usually a little elaborate and somewhat unnecessary but elegant / an opportunity for the craftsman to showcase their virtuosity, and “traditional” French design is anything but minimalistic (think Versailles and the general “reputation” that “French” as an adjective has for being decadent and and refined, French wine, French food, the whole old “French vs. British” cultural binary—“French” tends to refer to anything excessively ornamental).

Adding a line or border on the inner edge of a 1911 slide flat would fit within that “style” especially if it evolved out of full engraving practices as an “extra” ornamental line that doesn’t really do anything of practical function, but it’s just a little embellishment added to give a touch of elegance and artistry to even a simply styled gun, and I could see something along the lines of an engraver being asked not to or not wanting to do a fully embellished “French style” engraving job on a gun, but being asked “maybe just leave the ‘French’ border” on the slide, and it evolving from there as a “style” slide embellishment as its own “thing” for 1911s / pistols / gunsmithing.

~Augee

 

New guy here. What exactly is a french border? What is its function? Thanks

 

Purely for looks.
It is just a line cut into the slide to mark where the flat part stops and the rounded part begins.

 

Squidsix, that will be a magnificent gift.

 

I certainly hope so. Time will tell

 

I am out of town for a bit. Will keep at it when I get home.

 

 

So ... the Summit is at the Alcatraz Island International Resort & Spa??

 

Would be pretty believable honestly.
I was driving thru SF, and this was outside the car window.
It seems the stories are true

 

I promise it is legit. I took that photo today out the window of my rental car.
This is a strange place

 

freaking fruitcakes