So, I've had this piece of birds-eye maple for a while. Okay, about 40 years.

It wasn't a very large piece, so I didn't know for a long time what I wanted to do with. Plus, while I always knew I had it, somewhere, I couldn't always remember where.

About five years ago I re-found it, and set it on the shelf above my reloading bench. A couple of years ago I finally decided I wanted to make grips out of it, but I was pretty sure I'd only get one shot at it. And then I had to decide what to put them on. Finally settled on the Blackhawk.
So, about a month ago I made a set of grips for my Model 66 out of oak, as a proof of concept. That worked pretty well, and they looked pretty good (for a first effort), but they didn't have enough curve to them front and back, so I re-sanded them down some more, including sanding out enough on the left panel to allow speedloaders. The stain is still drying, so I won't be able to get pictures of those till this weekend.
All in all, I think the maple ones turned out pretty good.