I am planning to put a wood pistol grip on my SAM7, and I am looking at either the blond Bulgarian wood grip from KVAR, or a darker Chinese wood grip at Gunbroker.  Has anyone compared these grips side by sisde?  Which is fatter?  I like the looks of the Chinese grip better, but I'd probably wind up getting whichever one is a thicker/fatter grip.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.  

Ironwood sells pistol grips also. Either walnut or laminate.
Don't overlook them.

Here is a  Bulgarian wood grip from KVAR:

Quoted: I am planning to put a wood pistol grip on my SAM7, and I am looking at either the blond Bulgarian wood grip from KVAR, or a darker Chinese wood grip at Gunbroker.  Has anyone compared these grips side by sisde?  Which is fatter?  I like the looks of the Chinese grip better, but I'd probably wind up getting whichever one is a thicker/fatter grip.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

The Bulgarian grip is quite fat and I think it's fatter than the fat chinese grips, and it's made of a denser wood, where as the Chinese is made of a cheaper type of wood that's more likely to chip.

I would go with the Bulgarian blonde wood grip that's available from KVAR.

here's a comparison of the thickness between the Chinese and the Bulgarian.  Keep in mind that the Bulgarian grip pictured had the checkering sanded off on both sides, while the chinese one is left intact, therefore the Bulgarian grip is in reality even fatter than what it looks from the picture.



You might also want to consider a Polish wood grip, because those are the same thickness as the Bulgarians but they are made of more easily stained wood, in case that you want to refinish the grip to match the rest of the furinture.

I would go with the Bulgy from K-var. They are barnd new and only $20. I have 5 of them and they are nice. It seems like all the Chinese I have seen on Gunbroker sell anywhere from$45-$65.

Thank you for all the replies.  I will get the Bulgarian from KVAR.

A couple more questions, if I may.  

Darkest2000, I see that the Bulgarian grip you sanded down is very dark.  It's really nice.  How does it feel with the checkering removed?  What kind of stain did you use?  When I get the blond grip, I'd like to refinish it so that it's darker and matches the black furniture better.

Again, thank you for all your help.

Well, I just ordered one of the laminated polish grips from Winslow.  Thanks Templar he
I really want to shape the grip so it fits my hand perfectly.  I assume it's OK to sand laminated stuff? (I have no experience with any of this).

Thanks again, guys.

Quoted: Darkest2000, I see that the Bulgarian grip you sanded down is very dark.  It's really nice.  How does it feel with the checkering removed?  What kind of stain did you use?  When I get the blond grip, I'd like to refinish it so that it's darker and matches the black furniture better. Again, thank you for all your help.

I use Minwax's red mahogany, however, if you want a darker finish, like I said the Polish hard wood grip will accept stain much better.  The Bulgarian wood is very hard to deal with in terms of having it accept stain, at least in my experience.  

With the checkering removed...it feels well, smoother, i did it mainly because the original Russian type III AK pistol grips didn't have any checkering, plus I think it looks better without it.  Just a matter of personal preference.

I would go laminate from ironwood or blond bulgy...the chinese look cheep