WJK 1911

There has been a lot of positive reaction to my Facebook page’s cover picture of “WJK M1911,” one of the two pistols I built with and for “The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide.” I thought some might find this pistol’s background of some interest.

The preparation for the Assembly Guide began with attending Larry Vickers’ second-ever M1911-building class. Larry had arranged for the students to begin with Caspian “gunsmith-fit” frames and slides; each frame’s serial number began with “LVP.” My frame was #11, hence “LVP 011.” Unfortunately, a family medical emergency took me away from that class when I was not yet halfway through it. Fortunately, during the photography and writing of the “Assembly Guide” I was able to finish this pistol. LVP 011 became the cover pistol for the book, and was featured in Cerakote’s booth at the SHOT Show that year.

While LVP 011 provided many opportunities to demonstrate many of the steps in an M1911 build, it was almost halfway finished before the book project began. In order to show slide/frame fitting, for example, I needed to build a second pistol. Thus, “WJK M1911” came to be. Caspian offered custom serial numbers, so I selected a “number” that would be representative of the book.

I didn’t want to simply duplicate the first pistol’s build, so I decided to use the second pistol to demonstrate different configurations, showing, for example the installation of an old-school staked tenon front sight. In order to cover as many bases as possible, with the frame I ordered two different slides and fitted them to the frame. One slide has Caspian’s “honeycomb” serrations front and rear; I call this the “modern” setup. The other has classic rear serrations, hence, it’s the “retro” slide. The modern slide has an Ed Brown barrel, the retro, a Kart. In order to show the installation of an ambidextrous safety, there’s one now on the WJK M1911 frame.

I must admit to have been a little apprehensive the first time at the range. Yes, the finished pistols looked good, but would they shoot? I needn’t have worried.

Yes, with the aid of the Assembly Guide, there’s no reason you can’t build your very own M1911. If all you’re interested in is a component replacement or upgrade, the Assembly Guide can help you there too. Enjoy .

BY WALT KULECK

IMAGE: (Left) WJK M1911 retro and modern. (Right) WJK M1911 “before,” LVP011, WJK M1911