Gutta Percha

by
posted on March 13, 2012
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
wiley-clapp.jpg

Remember back in the 1970s when Smith & Wesson offered a series of beautiful die-struck belt buckles? A full collection of these handsome artifacts from a never-to-return era would be worth a lot more than what a 70s-era collector paid for them. Sadly, mine does not include every buckle in the series. It does, however, include the famed “gun box” buckle. This variation was a metal rendering of the top of the boxes found in the first few years of the Smith & Wesson partnership. The top of those boxes portrayed the tip-up revolver contained in the box. The original boxes are of course quite valuable, but the belt buckle is also collectible. Original boxes were made from a material known as gutta percha, a form of sap from a particular tree.

The tree grows on the Malay Peninsula and some of the East Indies. Collected by harvesters, the substance has been used commercially for a variety of applications. It was essential to the sealing of underwater cables that established telegraph and telephone service between continents, was used for inert containers to hold various kinds of chemicals and was once the basis for the fillers that took up the space in a root canal in dentistry. To say the least, this was a very flexible material.

For gun folks who admire the old shooters, gutta percha is best known as a material for handgun grips.

Sometimes used interchangeably with “hard rubber,” gutta percha is actually a little different. It molds well and produces a marbled swirling black intermingled with veins of reddish-brown. It is very exotic and old fashioned—a part of firearms history.

Latest

Rost Martin RM1S 9 mm pistol right-side view black polymer grip serrated slide with tenifer finish
Rost Martin RM1S 9 mm pistol right-side view black polymer grip serrated slide with tenifer finish

Gun Of The Week: Rost Martin RM1S

We’re on the range with a concealable defensive pistol from one of the newest gunmakers in the firearm industry. This is the Rost Martin RM1S, and it’s an even smaller version of the company’s flagship design, the RM1C.

The Keefe Report: Remembering Frank Brownell

Frank Brownell, the patriarch of the Brownells family and a longtime leader in the firearm industry, passed away on Wednesday, June 18, at the age of 85.

The Armed Citizen® June 20, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Review: Lone Wolf Arms Timberwolf 19X

In its Timberwolf 19X, Lone Wolf Arms focused on incremental updates and tweaks to the seminal Glock design, resulting in a versatile "crossover" handgun design capable of fulfilling a variety of roles.

May NICS Numbers Show Possible Improvement In Gun Sales

Despite the 1.6 percent year-over-year decline in firearm sales for the month of May, the 31-day period marks the 70th month in a row with more than 1 million gun sales.

2025 Shotgun Of The Year: SDS Arms MAC 1014

For each of the past 23 years, the editors of American Rifleman have convened to select our top picks for the past year’s best and most innovative products. Here are the most recent winners.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.