Ingo, I have a trio of extremely special pistols to share! This is the first of the three, and will likely have the most detailed write up as a lot of this came direct from the man himself back when he originally built it and posted about it!
It’s a gem of a pistol and I couldn’t be more blessed to now own her. IMO it’s one of the more iconic pistols I have seen. It is a Blued Colt Gold Cup Commander… that none other than the mad genius: Ned Christiansen put together back in 2002. Honestly, it is simply one of the finest guns I have ever laid my hands on.
I hope the pictures show off its brilliance, but as most of you know, they never do. In this case, they certainly will not come close to showing the exceptional talents of Ned's work, or the genius that went into the final product! I’ve heard it said as “Ned does things to guns in very exemplary fashion”… things that others couldn’t even dream up, he executes on…
Before getting too deep into the 1911, I want to call special attention to the rear sight! It’s incredible and it gives this GC a tactical type look and feel.
This Colt was reworked from base gun to masterpiece. All parts were replaced with all top components, some of which include a Kart barrel, BCP hammer and ignition system, Ed Brown parts, and much more..
Based on my reading, Ned spent countless hours on the rear sight… along with the serrations on the top of the slide to allow everything to work as one and flow perfectly throughout the entirety of the gun.
Let’s get into it!
The gun started as a Series 80 Gold Cup Commander Custom Edition… I know Ned hasn’t cared much for the Colt GC… But even Ned will tell you this one came out damn nice.
The first goal of the original owner was to lose the adjustable sight on the GC. Per Ned, there’s just nothing out there fixed-site wise that will cover the cuts in the slide of a Gold Cup so he had to make one from scratch. The rear sight is the stuff of legends!! It fits very precisely into cuts he made on the slide and is held in place by a cross-pin, which runs from under the firing pin stop forward, through the sight, and back again into slide metal. In other words, this pin is not visible. It is a “light tap fit” and is retained from coming out the back by the FP stop.
Ned made the sight out of stainless so that it would be less prone to ever rusting in place. To give more perspective to Ned’s genius, the retaining pin he made has a small hole reamed through it lengthwise; this allows it to be removed hydraulically by filling the hole with oil and then tapping a pin into it… The sight had to be a bit long to cover the old adjustable sight cuts/channel so there is a 3-48 screw out in front that really does nothing more than make sure the front of the sight doesn't move at all.
Per Ned, the existing front sight is a wide-tenon job. He found that due to this and its location, a standard dovetailed sight would not cover the old cut. He and the original owner discussed a “from scratch” front sight that could be silver soldered on, but with the rear sight absolutely fixed, Ned ultimately decided that the front should be dovetailed. With that said, He did end up making the front one, too! Both sights have the tritium inserts recessed forward about .080. This way they're not visible to anybody but the shooter or somebody within about a 40-degree wedge behind them.
All I can say about all of this is I’ve never seen another person make metal grow and literally look as if this was original! Totally insane!!
The pistol also consists of BCP ignition parts, Kart barrel, EGW bushing, Challis Grips, Ed Brown safety, slide stop, extractor, and beavertail. The solid trigger is from King's, which I don’t think Ned was originally a huge fan of, but it was his only choice. It turns out that it is perfect for the 1911! I know Ned had a mediocre opinion of King’s stuff for years, but after this project he gladly mentions that maybe he’s been wrong. Ned lightened it on the inside, so it now equals the weight of a standard width, no-hole, long aluminum trigger. Once Ned set the overtravel, he pinned the screw and drilled the hex so nobody could attempt to turn it/tune it and “bollix things up”.
The gun had the standard GC front serrations… Ned certainly expanded on them!
He started by cutting the frame and reshaping the undercut of the frame and then trued up the front strap. This made the imperfections of the serrations much more visible! Because Ned is a pro, he then trued those up as well, and added a few more. There are now some beautiful serrations on the pistol! If you look at the picture, outside of the original full length lines, Ned cut new ones next to the outside of the frame that are ½ the length of the originals that run the full length of the front strap. He then cut two more that are on the outside of those that run ½ that of those! Ned used those serrations and ran them on the mainspring housing to match this motif, and finally the same on top of the slide! You will see those serrations on the mag release, slide stop, and back of the slide! The pistol is perfectly symmetrical and makes total sense in terms of cuts and the way everything lines up and flows!
Ned also did the magwell in the manner that he called "FLH": Fairly Large Hole (which is fugging perfect)!
I want to add that the gun is soft yet edgy! It’s a GC without being a GC…
He finished the 1911 in blue with polished flats and matted rounds. The safety and slide stop are also polished/matted, and the grip safety (is shiny where the frame flats continue onto the sides of that part). A little added touch is that the Kart NM barrel and hammer have been chromed…
A lot of these words are Ned’s, not mine… but who better to give some color to the painting than the artist himself!!
I have to say, this is now the second Ned Christiansen gun I own, and with each passing minute I hold them, I grow a new level of respect for this man! I am not sure there is a more out of the box thinker, innovator, or metal worker than him. It’s really beyond words for me at this point…
As always, I am very blessed and fortunate to be able to own some of the finest 1911’s this world we live in has ever seen. I hope you all took some pleasure in seeing and reading about this one! I will say, I still have the original Ivory that came on her, but the Challis grips look damn sweet on her!
*More to come on the other two pistols as they flow in later this week!
Video to come once it is not insanely cold here in IL
It’s a gem of a pistol and I couldn’t be more blessed to now own her. IMO it’s one of the more iconic pistols I have seen. It is a Blued Colt Gold Cup Commander… that none other than the mad genius: Ned Christiansen put together back in 2002. Honestly, it is simply one of the finest guns I have ever laid my hands on.
I hope the pictures show off its brilliance, but as most of you know, they never do. In this case, they certainly will not come close to showing the exceptional talents of Ned's work, or the genius that went into the final product! I’ve heard it said as “Ned does things to guns in very exemplary fashion”… things that others couldn’t even dream up, he executes on…
Before getting too deep into the 1911, I want to call special attention to the rear sight! It’s incredible and it gives this GC a tactical type look and feel.
This Colt was reworked from base gun to masterpiece. All parts were replaced with all top components, some of which include a Kart barrel, BCP hammer and ignition system, Ed Brown parts, and much more..
Based on my reading, Ned spent countless hours on the rear sight… along with the serrations on the top of the slide to allow everything to work as one and flow perfectly throughout the entirety of the gun.
Let’s get into it!
The gun started as a Series 80 Gold Cup Commander Custom Edition… I know Ned hasn’t cared much for the Colt GC… But even Ned will tell you this one came out damn nice.
The first goal of the original owner was to lose the adjustable sight on the GC. Per Ned, there’s just nothing out there fixed-site wise that will cover the cuts in the slide of a Gold Cup so he had to make one from scratch. The rear sight is the stuff of legends!! It fits very precisely into cuts he made on the slide and is held in place by a cross-pin, which runs from under the firing pin stop forward, through the sight, and back again into slide metal. In other words, this pin is not visible. It is a “light tap fit” and is retained from coming out the back by the FP stop.
Ned made the sight out of stainless so that it would be less prone to ever rusting in place. To give more perspective to Ned’s genius, the retaining pin he made has a small hole reamed through it lengthwise; this allows it to be removed hydraulically by filling the hole with oil and then tapping a pin into it… The sight had to be a bit long to cover the old adjustable sight cuts/channel so there is a 3-48 screw out in front that really does nothing more than make sure the front of the sight doesn't move at all.
Per Ned, the existing front sight is a wide-tenon job. He found that due to this and its location, a standard dovetailed sight would not cover the old cut. He and the original owner discussed a “from scratch” front sight that could be silver soldered on, but with the rear sight absolutely fixed, Ned ultimately decided that the front should be dovetailed. With that said, He did end up making the front one, too! Both sights have the tritium inserts recessed forward about .080. This way they're not visible to anybody but the shooter or somebody within about a 40-degree wedge behind them.
All I can say about all of this is I’ve never seen another person make metal grow and literally look as if this was original! Totally insane!!
The pistol also consists of BCP ignition parts, Kart barrel, EGW bushing, Challis Grips, Ed Brown safety, slide stop, extractor, and beavertail. The solid trigger is from King's, which I don’t think Ned was originally a huge fan of, but it was his only choice. It turns out that it is perfect for the 1911! I know Ned had a mediocre opinion of King’s stuff for years, but after this project he gladly mentions that maybe he’s been wrong. Ned lightened it on the inside, so it now equals the weight of a standard width, no-hole, long aluminum trigger. Once Ned set the overtravel, he pinned the screw and drilled the hex so nobody could attempt to turn it/tune it and “bollix things up”.
The gun had the standard GC front serrations… Ned certainly expanded on them!
He started by cutting the frame and reshaping the undercut of the frame and then trued up the front strap. This made the imperfections of the serrations much more visible! Because Ned is a pro, he then trued those up as well, and added a few more. There are now some beautiful serrations on the pistol! If you look at the picture, outside of the original full length lines, Ned cut new ones next to the outside of the frame that are ½ the length of the originals that run the full length of the front strap. He then cut two more that are on the outside of those that run ½ that of those! Ned used those serrations and ran them on the mainspring housing to match this motif, and finally the same on top of the slide! You will see those serrations on the mag release, slide stop, and back of the slide! The pistol is perfectly symmetrical and makes total sense in terms of cuts and the way everything lines up and flows!
Ned also did the magwell in the manner that he called "FLH": Fairly Large Hole (which is fugging perfect)!
I want to add that the gun is soft yet edgy! It’s a GC without being a GC…
He finished the 1911 in blue with polished flats and matted rounds. The safety and slide stop are also polished/matted, and the grip safety (is shiny where the frame flats continue onto the sides of that part). A little added touch is that the Kart NM barrel and hammer have been chromed…
A lot of these words are Ned’s, not mine… but who better to give some color to the painting than the artist himself!!
I have to say, this is now the second Ned Christiansen gun I own, and with each passing minute I hold them, I grow a new level of respect for this man! I am not sure there is a more out of the box thinker, innovator, or metal worker than him. It’s really beyond words for me at this point…
As always, I am very blessed and fortunate to be able to own some of the finest 1911’s this world we live in has ever seen. I hope you all took some pleasure in seeing and reading about this one! I will say, I still have the original Ivory that came on her, but the Challis grips look damn sweet on her!
*More to come on the other two pistols as they flow in later this week!
Video to come once it is not insanely cold here in IL
