Karl Sokol Custom Browning Hi-Power

[Tokarev]

Sporting the Sokol gun today. It carries well. I often wonder why I don't carry it more regularly.

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[Tokarev]

So here it is almost July. Karl has had my second Hi Power since right around the start of the year.

The first gun took right at five months to complete so I am hoping to hear something any day now.

Patience...

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[ECVMatt]

I love the Hi-Power and wish many times that I picked one up in my gun shop days. During college I worked in a gun shop and we were a master Browning dealer. We has so many cool Hi-Powers come through. I was helping to pay tuition to USC at the time and did not have the extra dollars to pick one up. That is a beautiful pistol and I can't wait to see what come next!

[Tokarev]

I love the Hi-Power and wish many times that I picked one up in my gun shop days. During college I worked in a gun shop and we were a master Browning dealer. We has so many cool Hi-Powers come through. I was helping to pay tuition to USC at the time and did not have the extra dollars to pick one up. That is a beautiful pistol and I can't wait to see what come next!

DWJ Imports and Mach 1 Arsenal both list surplus pistols on GunBroker.com. Inventory is kind of hit or miss though. I don't know if surplus stock is drying up overseas or what but neither seller has a ton of pistols listed currently.

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[Tokarev]

So here it is almost July. Karl has had my second Hi Power since right around the start of the year.

The first gun took right at five months to complete so I am hoping to hear something any day now.

Patience...

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Just to bump my old thread. I have heard from Karl. No, my pistol is not done and on its way back but he says it is well under way.

I imagine the curled over slide edges have caused some delay. They are likely taking him some extra time and attention to fix. Plus the whole COVID thing has caused backlogs and delays all across the industry.

That's all I've got for now. We're sneaking up on a year since I shipped the gun. But I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

Happy Holidays!

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[DrkBlue]

Thanks for the update. I sent a GP to Karl a little while after you. Been wondering.
I will chill for awhile.

[Tokarev]

I sent a GP to Karl a little while after you.

Cool. What are you asking him to do?

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[Jim Watson]

I have heard from Karl. No, my pistol is not done and on its way back but he says it is well under way.

I imagine the curled over slide edges have caused some delay. They are likely taking him some extra time and attention to fix.

That's all I've got for now. We're sneaking up on a year since I shipped the gun. But I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

Which brings up my curiosity about gunsmith work practices.
A few will put you on a wait list, call you when your number comes up, and turn out your job in relatively short order. That policy failed on me the one time I tried it, though. The guy quit doing that work before my number came up.

Most, though, will keep your gun for a long time. I figure a lot of guns are just on the shelf until the 'smith gets around to them, but this one sounds like an off and on project. You are sure not paying him a year's salary to work on one gun, so what is he doing? "Yawn, I am tired of messing with this thing, I will do something else for a while."

[Tokarev]

"Yawn, I am tired of messing with this thing, I will do something else for a while."

There certainly could be some of that going on. I guess I can't blame him since I'm asking for a silk purse from a sow's ear.

I know Ted Yost does most everything in batches. He'll accumulate Government Models or Hi-Powers to whatever until he has a batch of guns. Then he'll fit all the sights or checker all the frames or whatever is required rather than doing all the work to each individual gun as they come in. Karl may work in a similar fashion. Also keep in mind he probably does all the bookkeeping, shipping, receiving, etc all by himself.

On the other side of this are shops like Wilson and Novak. Here you're paying for the shop name and not an individual maker. Guns are probably returned much faster but with little or no info on which 'smith did the work. Does that really matter?

[HCM]

Which brings up my curiosity about gunsmith work practices.
A few will put you on a wait list, call you when your number comes up, and turn out your job in relatively short order. That policy failed on me the one time I tried it, though. The guy quit doing that work before my number came up.

Most, though, will keep your gun for a long time. I figure a lot of guns are just on the shelf until the 'smith gets around to them, but this one sounds like an off and on project. You are sure not paying him a year's salary to work on one gun, so what is he doing? "Yawn, I am tired of messing with this thing, I will do something else for a while."

Likely doing things in batches on multiple guns. Set up for certain types of machine work and finishes can be time intensive.