1919a4 Spade Grip Comparison from the 1919a4 discussion forums by hkg3k and shots Since many out there have or want to buy a set of spades for their 1919a4, I thought I would give my impression of the spades I have had 1st hand experience with. I would also like to point out that spade grips were NEVER issued as an original 1919a4 item. They were however an integral piece on the ANM2 .30cal aircraft gun in the flexible mounting. To the 1917/1919 purist, spades may well just be an ugly add on. To me, they really set the gun off (looks wise) as well as providing an easier triggering of the gun and better pointability. The spades which I have (or have tried): Ohio Ordnance Without a doubt the best made, best fitted, best finished and overall highest quality set of spades I have used. They are pricey @ $350. If you balk at the price, (which I did at first) you will be completely satisfied when you receive the product. They manufacture these spades utilizing the handle frame and handles from the .50 cal browning. If I had a nit to pick with these spades, it would be that to disconnect them from the trigger (for backplate removal) the entire spring loaded trigger lever must be removed, rather than just the trigger cam. It is a very small nit which detracts little (if any) from an otherwise supurbly made set of spades. Also has the full length buffer tube for a complete stack of fiber buffers to provide for maximum protection of the gun. Brian Bramble's Spades Brian's spades are a little bit rougher (comparatively speaking) than those offered by Ohio Ordnance. Every piece of these spades appear to be built from scratch. Brian did a very good job with these spades, I bought one of the last sets he has said he will build. Price was good @ $260 for them unfinished. Features desirable in these spades are good price, full length buffer tube and easy disconnection of the trigger by removal of the trigger cam only. Nits to pick, handles which are shorter than the std BMG .50 handles and the trigger lever with an ever so slight amount of side to side play. His handles although completely functional, are kinda rough and proof that Brian is a machinist and not a wood worker. Add to the purchase price the cost of parkerize and in my case having a nice set of handles turned from walnut, then the true cost of these spades will be somewhere around $300. Still a good value for the money and his spades certainly don't require the handle replacement. With enough urging, Brian may very well resume producing these spades. Carl Silver's Spades I had a set of these a few years ago, and unfortunately Carl Silver has passed away. The quality of his spades were high, and he also used BMG .50 cal handle frame and handles. Again, this gives more room to grasp. From what I can remember, Carl adapted the .50 spade handles to the backplate from a selonoid-fired fixed model 1919. The backplate from the selonoid models had a much shorter buffer tube to clear the selonoid. That being the case, there are only about half as many buffer disks in this model than a set of spades with the full length buffer tube. Some say it makes a difference in protecting the gun, some say it does not. With the cost of transferable 1919's I would say go with spades with the full length buffer tube. Features I liked about these spades were easy disconnection as only the trigger cam had to be removed and 2 separate thumb pads. The separate thumb pads meant that the thumbs do not have to "reach" to a central thumb pad. Again, well made and finished, but not quite as heavily made as the previously discussed spades and the trigger lever has a little play. These spades also do not feature a spring loaded trigger lever return, as do the Ohio Ordnance and Brian Bramble models. Revelation Arms I do not have any experience with this set of spades. Based on my experience with another Revelation Arms product, I'm sure they are quality built and completely functional. It appears they do feature a "butterfly" trigger just as the military BMG .50 cal model spades do. They do not appear to be as heavily made as the Ohio Ordnance or Brian Bramble models. Revelation Arms sells them for $350, the same price as Ohio Ordnance. If anyone has anything to add to this, please pass it on and I'll add the details to this article. Hesse Arms The Hesse grips are slightly larger than the others, about five inches tall, and six inches across. They are also lighter than the others, weighing just under 2 pounds. Unlike the other spades mentioned in this article, the Hesse spades don't ship with a buffer, so you'll need to either buy a spare to use, or take the one out of your pistol grip. The wood grips themselves are similar in quality to the Bramble grips. I didn't have any problems putting them on my semi TNW 1919a4, but the trigger roller bar didn't lift the trigger up enough to fire--the same problem I had with the Bramble grips. To fix the problem took me about 2 minutes--I cut part of a bic pen tube off, push the trigger roller bar through it, and I was in business. Worked like a charm. The action works great, and I think I'll be able to crank out some serious rapid fire with my semi 1919 using these spades--and they look too cool for words. All things considered, you just can't beat these spadegrips--they only cost $100!! A community member pointed out another company that is selling spadegrips. The company is called Sunset Weapons Systems, and from their appearance, their grips are identical to the Brian Bramble grips covered above. Hope this has helped anyone out there considering picking up a set of spades for their gun. Regardless of which model you are able to buy, I would say you would be completely satisfied with spades over the original grip handle. Editor's note: also see the latest review of TNW Spade Grips provided by James Jones.