A note about Volkmann 1911's

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  • mikec

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 1, 2007
    11,453
    Off I-83
    Found this elsewhere and copied it here.

    For those who don't know who Luke Volkmann is, he was an apprentice/student of Ed Brown, the noted 1911 builder, and Luke went off on his own a short time back. Someone in MD convinced Luke to submit his guns for approval, because they are on the roster.

    Must suck to have a company named after you and have to quit it.

    I just read this on another forum and thought it might be of interest


    Volkmann Pistols
    Hello, this is Luke Volkmann.
    Another individual and I own equal shares in Volkmann Custom, Inc. He and I have recently had serious disagreements over the operation of the company. Those disagreements have made it impossible for me to work as the company's gun builder. Since there is no immediate solution to our differences, and since he would not permit me to do the work to complete current pistol orders, I have resigned as an employee and manager of the business. If you have questions or concerns about work in progress at the company, I encourage you to speak to George Horne at 303-237-1300. I realize that this turmoil may have inconvenienced some of you who are in Que for my builds. Though the circumstances were beyond my control, I truly apologize for any confusion or concern that any client of mine has experienced. Those of you who wish to have your custom 1911 still built by me personally, may contact me at Volkmann Precision, LLC. I am the sole owner and gun builder of the business. My new shop, equipment and tooling will only better the product I create. Of course, I will hand build your pistol one at a time as i did before and there will be no other gunsmiths involved in the process. My goal is to be up and running by March 2011. This will put back my previous build schedule by only a few months. If you feel you have been negatively effected by my departure from Volkmann Custom, Inc., please let me know and i will do my best to make right with you. My contact number is 303-884-8654. Thank you for your business and support, I appreciate both and will do whatever it takes to keep them. I truly look forward to working for you in the future at Volkmann Precision, LLC.
    Thank You
    Reply With Quote
     

    IlikeNFA

    Certified Gear Queer
    Aug 27, 2008
    504
    Goodbye MD, Hello freedom
    I saw this on another forum as well. The rumor is that he was asked to sacrifice quality for quantity purposes and, happily, refused. Its good to know that there are men in this world that won't bow to the dollar to sacrifice his reputation and good name. He creates 100% custom 1911's that are real works of art and this only makes me want to own one all the more.
     

    honda53s

    Ultimate Member
    May 4, 2009
    4,389
    Baltimore County
    I saw this on another forum as well. The rumor is that he was asked to sacrifice quality for quantity purposes and, happily, refused. Its good to know that there are men in this world that won't bow to the dollar to sacrifice his reputation and good name. He creates 100% custom 1911's that are real works of art and this only makes me want to own one all the more.

    Wow. This guy sounds awesome from that letter. Now I want one of his guns!
     

    trbon8r

    Ultimate Member
    All I got out of that letter was that a business relationship went sour, and now this smith is moving along to a venture of his own. If he is that good, I'll bet he will be successful and have a legion of loyal customers. That being said, I don't want to be the guinnea pig if he is laying money out of pocket to set up his own shop. It might be the best move he ever made and things might end up just swell.

    The flip side of the coin is that the guy could be paying for shop space and machinery that ends up costing more than the money he brings in for a finished product. That means bad news for the buyer whose gun is in his shop if he decides to pull the plug. Why take a chance with all the 1911 wrenches you can choose from whose businesses aren't in a state of flux?

    I will continue to let that queer jerksmith in Glen Dirty do my custom work if his schedule permits. At least with a local guy I know where to find him if I have to. :D
     

    WSM

    Rugeritis
    Oct 8, 2009
    6,364
    Lancaster, PA
    The conversation went like this....

    Horne-"Dude, we are losing our shirts EVERY DAY, the bank is going to foreclose on my house. You said my investment would let you churn out x number of guns an make x amount of profit."
    Volkmann-"Quit crying about your house, you can't rush perfection."

    :D:D:D
     

    mikec

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 1, 2007
    11,453
    Off I-83
    I looked at buying a Volkmann this past summer, but my business was slow so I delayed my purchase. When I was ready, Volkmann's old venture raised their prices about $300 and they entered Wilson Combat's mid range prices. The issue is, that is a lot of money for a gun without the history of either Wilson or Brown. A Brown Kobra lists for $2,200 or so. A base Wilson CQB is $2,300 or so.

    True, the CQB is built by what Wilson calls a "cell" and Luke Volkmann built each gun by himself but if one member of Wilson's cell got sick or went for jury duty, the rest of the cell continued to work.

    plus he only works on guns made in the USA!!

    That means he will not work on SA guns, frames are from Brazil, nor Nighthawk, the company that supplies their frames gets the raw forging from Korea.
     

    64Post

    Member
    Mar 30, 2010
    75
    Millers Island, MD
    Having lived in Denver for 15 years and having the opportunity to use and inspect Luke's handiwork I have no problem recommending his pistols even over the older, established builders.
     

    Fustercluck

    Active Member
    Aug 4, 2008
    776
    Eastern Shore
    Wait... Nighthawk, the manufacturer of $3,000 guns, has their forging done in KOREA??

    FWIW, not all Nighthawk frames are Korean. My Enforcer frame is a Caspian "Race Ready", made in the good ol' USA.

    Volkmann made some really nice 1911's. I had the opportunity to shoot a Combatant Carry that compared very favorably to my Nighthawk T3. It was an awesome Commander-sized 45 with truly impeccable worksmanship. I don't dig on stainless guns, but if I did I would have given it serious thought.
     

    mikec

    Ultimate Member
    Dec 1, 2007
    11,453
    Off I-83
    Wait... Nighthawk, the manufacturer of $3,000 guns, has their forging done in KOREA??

    According to a well known 1911 pistolsmith, Nighthawk buys their frames from a company in MA called Remsport. Remsport buys the raw forgings from a company in S Korea. Remsport machines the frames and then sends a percentage to Nighthawk.

    I do not know where Volkmann was getting his frames from, since there are only so many sources. Much like AR lowers. He might have been buying them from STI? Would Brown have enough capacity and the desire to sell frames to his former apprentice?
     

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