Pax Per Mortem: When the Art Is the Texture

Some grip designs start with texture.

Pax Per Mortem started with an idea.

We wanted to create something that looked like an old piece of martial artwork—dark, gothic, a little medieval—but we didn't want to make a grip that was simply decorative.

It still had to work.

Actually, it had to work just as well as a traditional machined texture.

That's really the whole idea behind our Pax Per Mortem series.

Instead of machining rows of checkering, diamonds, blocks or another repeating CNC pattern into the grip, we took original artwork and engraved it deeply enough that the artwork itself creates the texture.

The result is one of the designs that probably best represents what we've been trying to do at Wicked Grips for years:

Make something functional.

Then refuse to make it boring.

What Does Pax Per Mortem Mean?

Pax Per Mortem is Latin and can be translated as “Peace Through Death” or “Peace By Death.”

It is intentionally a hard phrase.

That's part of why it fit the artwork.

The sentiment has the same stark, uncompromising character found in military and defensive imagery throughout history: the unfortunate reality that peace is sometimes preserved because someone is willing to stand between violence and the people behind them.

The meaning isn't intended as some celebration of death.

It's closer to an old warrior's contradiction.

Peace sometimes has a price.

And somebody has to be willing to pay it.

That's the idea that began shaping the design.

That's Not the Grim Reaper

This is probably worth explaining because we get the comparison.

The central figure in Pax Per Mortem is not meant to be the Grim Reaper.

It is a medieval warrior angel.

That distinction matters to the design.

We wanted something that felt like it could have come from an old illuminated manuscript, cathedral carving, medieval tomb or piece of ancient martial iconography.

An angel—but not the soft, decorative version usually seen in modern artwork.

The older idea.

Armored.

Severe.

A guardian.

Something associated as much with judgment and battle as with peace.

The gothic elements surrounding the figure reinforce that theme. There are references to medieval ornamentation, mortality, conflict and the idea that protection sometimes exists because someone is willing to confront violence rather than simply hope it goes away.

That's the contradiction behind the name.

Pax Per Mortem.

Peace through death.

The Artwork Came First

The original Pax Per Mortem artwork was created in-house by Wicked Grips artist Kade Strange.

It wasn't taken from a library of clip art or dropped over an existing grip texture.

The design was created as artwork first and then reworked specifically for engraving into a pistol grip.

That's more difficult than it sounds.

A pistol grip is a terrible canvas.

You have screw holes running through your composition. There are edges, clearances and frame geometry to work around. You have very limited space, and what looks great as a large illustration can completely disappear when reduced to the dimensions of a grip panel.

Then there's another problem:

We wanted you to be able to feel it.

So individual lines and shapes couldn't exist only because they looked good.

Their spacing, depth and location also had to make sense when somebody wrapped a hand around the finished grip.

That's where Pax Per Mortem stopped being just an illustration.

It became a grip.

Why Not Just Machine Checkering?

Traditional machined grip texture works.

We're not going to pretend otherwise.

Diamonds, checkering, grooves, blocks, scallops and repeating geometric patterns have been used on grips for a very long time because they provide predictable traction.

A CNC machine can also repeat them extremely efficiently.

But there are only so many ways to arrange a diamond.

With Pax Per Mortem, we wanted the same basic function without separating the functional part from the artistic part.

Look closely at the engraving and you'll see raised areas, recessed lines, borders, curves, edges and changes in elevation throughout the artwork.

Your hand doesn't care whether those shapes came from conventional checkering or the wing, armor and surrounding gothic detail of an engraved warrior angel.

It simply feels the texture.

That's why we've described these as having combat-level texture created through engraved artwork rather than a conventional CNC-milled pattern. Our current 1911 and Beretta versions use exactly that approach.

The Art Is the Texture

This has become something of a philosophy for us at Wicked Grips.

The art is the texture.

With a lot of decorative grips, there is the artwork and then there is the functional texture.

Maybe there is an image in the center with checkering around it.

Maybe the artwork is laser marked onto a preexisting textured grip.

There's nothing wrong with doing it that way.

We just wanted to eliminate the separation.

On Pax Per Mortem, the angel, the surrounding gothic elements and the detail within the composition create the physical surface you hold.

The engraving isn't printed on.

It's cut down into the metal.

That gives the artwork actual depth.

Run your finger across it and you're moving across the image.

Put the pistol in your hand and you're gripping the artwork.

It's difficult to explain what we mean by “functional art” any more literally than that.

Deep Engraving Makes the Difference

Depth is important here.

A shallow mark can reproduce an image beautifully, but it doesn't necessarily change the feel of the surface very much.

Pax Per Mortem is deep engraved.

We're actually removing metal and creating relief.

That creates shadows and visual depth, but it also creates physical peaks, valleys and edges.

Depending on the material and finish, those recessed areas can also take on completely different appearances.

On black aluminum, the raw or contrasting engraving can jump against the darker surface.

On red anodized aluminum, the design has an entirely different personality.

On copper, things get much less predictable—which is exactly why we like it.

Pax Per Mortem in Solid Copper

The solid copper Pax Per Mortem grips may be some of the most dramatic versions we make.

Copper already has considerably more visual character than a uniform industrial finish. Once we deeply engrave the artwork into it and begin applying patinas, the design takes on another dimension.

Dark colors can remain down in the engraving.

Raised surfaces can expose warmer copper.

Our color-case-style patina treatments can introduce browns, greys, reds, purples, blues, pinks and warm copper tones across the same piece.

And because patina doesn't develop identically every time, individual sets have their own personality.

Our copper Beretta 92FS Pax Per Mortem grips, for example, are individually hand finished, and variations in the patina mean the actual sets are photographed and sold individually.

We also make the design in solid copper for the Beretta 92X Performance, with the artwork deeply engraved into the copper and finished with patina.

For the CZ Shadow 2 Compact, we've taken that even further with solid copper, deep engraving, a dark contrasting first patina and a second hand-finished color-case-style patina process.

It's difficult to make those grips look mass produced.

We consider that a feature.

Pax Per Mortem 1911 Grips

The 1911 was one of the natural homes for the design.

There's something about the combination that just works.

The pistol has more than a century of military history behind it, while the Pax Per Mortem artwork reaches much further back visually into medieval martial imagery.

Our full-size 1911 Pax Per Mortem grips are available in deeply engraved machined aluminum, including two-tone and deep red anodized versions, as well as deeply engraved solid copper billet.

On the aluminum versions, the engraving creates aggressive functional texture without needing a separate conventional checkering pattern.

On copper, the additional mass, natural warmth of the material and potential for patina completely change the character of the same artwork.

Same angel.

Same theme.

Completely different grip.

Pax Per Mortem Beretta Grips

The larger grip surfaces found on many Beretta models give Pax Per Mortem a different kind of canvas.

We currently make versions for several distinct Beretta platforms.

For the traditional Beretta 92FS/M9-style frame, we offer deeply engraved aluminum as well as solid copper versions. The 92FS-pattern grips also fit a number of pistols in that family including the 92F, 92A1, M9, M9A1, 96, Brigadier, Centurion and Elite configurations that use the same grip frame.

We also make a separate aluminum version specifically for the Beretta 92XI / 92XI SAO straight-grip frame.

And for the Beretta 92X Performance, we offer Pax Per Mortem in deeply engraved aluminum as well as solid copper.

Those aren't interchangeable grip frames, which is why we machine different versions rather than trying to make one design fit everything.

Visually, though, Pax Per Mortem translates extremely well across all of them.

The broader Beretta panels give the artwork room to breathe, so a lot of the smaller gothic details become especially visible.

Pax Per Mortem CZ Grips

The design has also made its way onto the CZ Shadow 2 and Shadow 2 Compact.

We currently produce deeply engraved aluminum Pax Per Mortem grips for both platforms.

We also make solid copper versions, including our hand-finished patina treatments for the Shadow 2 family. Current Wicked Grips listings include solid-copper Pax Per Mortem options for the full-size CZ 75/Shadow 2 pattern as well as the Shadow 2 Compact.

The shape is very different from a 1911 or Beretta panel, so the artwork has to be adapted rather than simply scaled down.

That's something customers don't always see.

The same design has to be reworked around entirely different screws, edges, proportions and usable engraving areas while still retaining the original composition.

And Yes, We Put It on a Desert Eagle

Because of course we did.

The full-size Desert Eagle Pax Per Mortem grips are machined aluminum with the artwork deeply engraved directly into the panels.

It's a large pistol with a large grip, which gives us room to retain a lot of the finer detail in the original artwork.

More importantly, the design is still functional.

Instead of covering the panels in rows of conventional texture, the deep engraving itself creates the gripping surface.

Subtle probably isn't the word we'd use for the combination.

But if subtle were the goal, we probably wouldn't be making engraved Desert Eagle grips in the first place.

One Design, Different Personalities

One of our favorite things about Pax Per Mortem is how much it changes depending on what we put it into.

Black aluminum makes it feel stark and almost architectural.

Red anodized aluminum pushes it in a much more aggressive direction.

Copper gives it warmth and an older-world character.

Add dark patina and the artwork starts to resemble something aged.

Add a multicolor or color-case-style patina and areas of the same design suddenly catch completely different colors depending on the light.

That's why material is never just a manufacturing decision for us.

The material becomes part of the design.

More Than a Skull on a Grip

It's easy to look quickly at dark gothic artwork and reduce it to “skulls and death.”

Pax Per Mortem was meant to go deeper than that.

The figure isn't death coming to collect someone.

It's a warrior angel.

A guardian.

The surrounding gothic imagery deals with mortality, conflict, protection and the uncomfortable relationship between violence and peace.

And then we took that symbolism and made it physically useful.

The lines aren't there just because they look good.

The recesses aren't only decorative.

The depth isn't just there to make the photograph better.

You actually grip them.

That's what we like most about Pax Per Mortem.

It doesn't make you choose between art and function.

The artwork is the function.

Pax Per Mortem at Wicked Grips

Pax Per Mortem has become one of those designs that represents what Wicked Grips is about better than we probably realized when we first drew it.

Original art.

Made in-house.

Machined into real metal.

Deep engraving instead of a printed surface image.

Functional texture instead of decoration for decoration's sake.

And enough detail that you can keep looking at it and find something you didn't notice the first time.

We could have cut checkering into a grip.

That would have worked.

Instead, we put a medieval warrior angel on it.

Pax Per Mortem.

Peace through death.

Sometimes function doesn't have to look functional.

Sometimes it can look like art.

Behind the Grips

This article is part of our Behind the Grips series, where we tell the stories behind the artwork, materials and manufacturing that go into Wicked Grips.

Continue reading:

The Art Is the Texture: Why We Engrave Our Pistol Grips Differently

What Goes Into a Premium Pistol Grip? Materials, Art, Machining & Hand Finishing

Copper Pistol Grips: When a Functional Part Becomes Functional Art

Explore Wicked Grips Pax Per Mortem 1911, Beretta, CZ and Desert Eagle grips at WickedGrips.com.