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The Legenday Sandalwood Grips from the Big Irons of Arthur Eld , Steven Deschain, and Roland Deschain (The Gunslinger)
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In the Keystone World:
Some Sandalwood (Indian & Australian) is part of the Genus Santalum, which belongs to the family Santalaceae, which has over 30 genera and 400 species in tropical and temperate parts of the world. Only a very few produce a suitably pleasant scented oil. Yellow Sandalwood is the most widely recognized. Boards or scales sell at a premium, and in the case of yellow sandalwood (santalum album, India or Santalamu Spicata-Australia) it is hard to get from India in any solid form, as it is all state regulated and an integral part of India’s religious culture. Annual consumption in India is so high that oftentimes Australian sandalwood is imported into India to help meet the demand. Primary exports are the oil and incense produced from the wood, contributing to the difficulty in obtaining large intact quantities.
(THE BACKGROUND TO THIS PAGE IS AN ENLARGED PHOTO OF A 4x4 SECTION OF YELLOW SANDALWOOD.)
African Sandalwood,, also known as Tambootie or Tamboti, (Spirostachys africanus,) has a pleasant scent also. It is revered as a mystical wood also by the tribes that use it. It is a beautiful hardwood, but heavier and darker than Indian or Australian sandalwood . It is also extremely expensive difficult to come by. Luckily, kiln-dried African sandalwood is exportable to the US. It tends to be VERY hard, taking a good polish. It also has beautiful grain patterns.
In the Dark Tower Books:
Here are all the descriptions (as far as I know) of the Grips on Roland's Big Guns:
The Gunslinger
Page 12: The stocks of the guns were sandalwood, yellow and finely grained.
Page 104: The guns crisscrossed over the wings of his hips hung at the perfect
angle for his hands, the worn sandalwood handles looking dull and sleepy in
this languid indoor light "The head cook," his father said softly.
Page 171: His birthright was the guns - not the heavy ones of his father, weighted
with sandalwood - but guns, all the same.
Page 216: He dreamed his dreams and watched as the stars came out; his purpose
did not flag, nor did his heart falter; his hair, finer now and gray, blew around
his head, and the sandalwood-inlaid guns of his father lay smooth and deadly
against his hips, and he was lonely but did not find loneliness in any way a
bad or ignoble thing.
The Drawing of the Three
Page 164: Balazar yelled. 19 The sandalwood grips of the revolver were so smooth
that Eddie's first act upon receiving it was to nearly drop it on his toes.
Page 176: Eddie was standing over him, screaming and sobbing, dry-firing the
big revolver with the sandalwood grips again and again, as if the man with the
red hair could never be dead enough.
The Wastelands
Page 13: The belt and the revolver which cocked its eroded sandalwood grip out
of the ancient oiled holster had once been the gunslinger's; the holster had
hung on his right hip.
Page 174: His hand fell from the sandalwood butt of Roland's gun.
Page 226: His left hand dropped to the sandalwood grip of his remaining revolver
and he pulled it a little way out of the holster.
Page 236: When they reached Roland, they knelt before him and touched the sandalwood
butt of the revolver which jutted from the holster he wore on his left hip.
Page 332: Maud pointed to the big revolver with the worn sandalwood grip which
Susannah held in her hand.
Page 414: He stood on what appeared to be nothing, legs apart, his right hand
on his hip and his left on the sandalwood grip of his revolver.
Wizard and Glass
Page 4: He stood on what appeared to be nothing, legs apart, his right hand
on his hip and his left on the sandalwood grip of his revolver.
Page 109: Jutting from them were the sandalwood grips of the pistols the boy
would someday bear to lands of which this scowling man with the furious blue
eyes would never dream.
Page 178: That such guns could never be quite the same as the big ones with
the sandalwood grips might haunt them for the rest of their lives, but those
who needed guns could still find them, even in this world.
Page 270: The big ones with the sandalwood grips."
Page 270: "Sandalwood grips, old dad?"
Page 393: In fact, for one heart-stopping moment, Jonas thought he had found
the big revolvers of a gunslinger-true-blue steel barrels, sandalwood grips,
bores like mineshafts.
Page 653: There are other changes as well: Roland is now wearing the guns which
are his birthright, the big ones with the sandalwood grips.
Wolves of the Calla
Page 73: One gun, a pistol with a worn sandalwood grip, hung at his left side,
the holster tied down with rawhide.
Page 123: Overholser looked at their guns (Roland and Eddie each wore one of
the big revolvers with the sandalwood grips; the .44 Ruger from New York City
hung under Jake's arm in what Roland called a docker's clutch), then at Roland.
Page 132: Susannah saw Eddie's hand creep to the sandalwood grip of the ancient
revolver he wore.
Page 645: As always, the sandalwood grip felt smooth and eager against his palm.
Page 679: Roland and Eddie each had one of the big revolvers with the sandalwood
grips.
Song of Susannah
Page 131: Roland went for his gun and was relieved to find it still in its holster:
the reassuring sandalwood grip.
Page 181: Now he turned to the left, stopped, and laid his left hand on the
sandalwood butt of his gun.
The Gunslinger (Revised Edition)
Page 4: The stocks of the guns were sandalwood, yellow and finely grained.
Page 110: The guns crisscrossed over the wings of his hips hung at the perfect
angle for his hands, the worn sandalwood grips looking dull and sleepy in this
languid indoor light.” The head cook,” his father said softly. “Imagine it!
Page 183: I need it.”His birthright was the guns, not the heavy ones of his
father—weighted with sandalwood—but guns, all the same.
Page 231: He dreamed his dreams and watched as the stars came out; his purpose
did not flag, nor did his heart falter; his hair, finer now and gray at the
temples, blew around his head, and the sandalwood-inlaid guns of his father
lay smooth and deadly against his hips, and he was lonely but did not find loneliness
in any way a bad or ignoble thing.
The Little Sisters of Eluria
Page 35: Although he could still feel the smooth sandalwood grip of the other,
he thought it was nevertheless already gone.
Page 71: He raised a big revolver with worn sandalwood grips.
Established descriptors of Roland’s Grips:
sandalwood, yellow and finely grained
looking dull and sleepy
so smooth that Eddie's first act upon receiving it was to nearly drop it on his toes
eroded sandalwood grip
smooth sandalwood
Therefore; ideally, in Mid-world, per Sai King’s descriptions, Roland’s grips are badly eroded, worn smooth, and are made of yellow, finely grained sandalwood.
Now, I submit to you the idea that the "sandalwood" of Roland's world is no more real in THIS world than Billy-bumblers are. We can all strive for "as close as we can get," though, can't we?
Periodically, as time and effort permit, I will have available some handgun grip scales (blank blocks of sandalwood.) These grip scales are roughly sized to the particular pistol listed in the description. Custom fitting and finishing WILL be required, and should be performed by a competent gunsmith. These will be available on an EXTREMELY limited basis.
I may also have smaller scales for pocketknife handles , sandalwood sawdust (for whatever use,) and perhaps pen blanks for you creative types. most scales will be Yellow Indian or Australian Sandalwood; I will have the occasional item that is the darker Tambootie (african sandalwood.) You may wish to check Ebay by searching for "Galts Sandalwood"
