First Look: OTDefense Firearm Stippling Kit

Oregon Trail Defense, a veteran-owned company, announced the launch of its new Firearm Stippling Kit, designed to allow gunsmiths and hobbyists to do custom stippling work on polymer handgun frames.

The stippling kit ships in a polymer hard case with a desert-sand finish and comes complete with a 25-watt wood-burner tool, along with specially textured tips that put a custom touch on any handgun surface. The kit ships with the company's custom 20 LPI Finish Tip, 20 LPI Waffle Tip and Rectangle Tip, as well as two large and small round tips and a chisel tip.

In addition to the tips included, the kit also ships with a tool stand and a US-manufactured Wall Lenk Stippling gun. This wood-burning tool features a short shaft that allows users to maintain control over the gun, ensuring that patterns burned into any polymer pistol frame are free from errors. The kit is perfect for a newcomer to the stippling scene, since the plastic case is designed to work as a practice platform, able to hold most stipple patterns.

The gun itself also lends itself to novice users, due to the low-wattage temperature output provided by the gun. The burner operates with a temperature of just under 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is less than the 40-watt tool used by most stipplers. This ensures that more time is taken in imprinting a pattern into a pistol frame, providing less chance that an error will result in a poorly stippled gun.

One of the things the company warns about when stippling is that different materials will produce different results. For example, Glock pistol frames are made from a harder polymer than Springfield Armory XD pistols, which means that it will take more time to imprint the same pattern. The company also warns that the backstraps found on Smith & Wesson M&P pistols is very soft and requires a gentler touch.

Oregon Trail Defense recommends that users practice on A2 pistol grips, magazine floor plates and polymer magazines before attempting a stippling job on a serialized pistol frame. However, the company warns that practicing on Magpul PMags, made from a very hard polymer, may give users an incorrect idea about how much pressure and time needs to be spent on a softer polymer pistol frame. For reference, the company recommends that users not exceed a stippling depth of 0.04 inches. In addition, OTDefense also warns users that colored polymer frames will most likely not retain their factory color after stippling.

The suggested retail price on the Oregon Trail Defense Firearms Stippling Kit is $64.99.