Midnight Moonlight: Novak's Caspian Snakeskin-Damascus 1911 is a platform for his newest adjustable sight!

American Handgunner, March-April, 2003 by Gary Paul Johnston

Long renowned for his Novak Lo Mount Sight, pistol-smith, Wayne Novak passed the one million mark in this sight two years ago and is still going stronger than ever. However, not being one to rest on his laurels, Wayne Novak became interested in an advanced adjustable combat sight not long after his Lo Mount Sight went into production, and experimented with several designs.

The one thing Novak insisted on was that his adjustable sight look exactly like his fixed Lo Mount Sight. He was also determined to make a sight that was tough enough for the most extreme duty while at the same time being simple.

After nearly twenty years, Wayne Novak notified me he had designed and produced the adjustable sight he had been in search of for nearly two decades. He calls it the "Novak Extreme Duty Adjustable Sight." Based upon the Novak Lo Mount sight in outline, the Extreme Duty is nearly always mistaken for its fixed predecessor at first glance. Consisting of a total of only nine parts, the Extreme Duty Adjustable Sight is a lesson in simplicity.

To debut his Extreme Duty Adjustable Sight, Novak selected a Colt pre-Series 70 Gold Cup frame and a 6-inch slide from Caspian Arms, and assigned the project to his master gunsmith, Joe Bonar. This wasn't just any 6-inch slide, but one of Caspian's deluxe Damascus slides. Forged from several types of steel including stainless, Damascus steel has been used to make superior knife blades for thousands of years. Not only is Damascus steel very strong, but it is also extremely beautiful with the various steels swirling throughout the metal. Master forgers who make this steel create almost unbelievable art forms within it.

Recently, Caspian Arms began using Damascus billets to make exotic slides for 1911 pistols. With no two, being identical in pattern, each slide is unique and beautiful. However, it's the Caspian 6-inch long slide that stands alone, and this is the slide Novak chose for what is his flagship 1911 pistol.

Different from Caspian Damascus slides I have examined previously, the pattern of the steel in this one resembles that of a python having dots within circles running its entire length The extra length of this slide provides a quantum leap to the beauty of the Damascus pattern--but more on that later.

A Blend of Talent

In addition to its pre-Series 70 Colt Gold Cup National Match frame, the pistol's Caspian Damascus Long Slide is fitted with a Novak 18 kt. gold bead front sight. After precisely drilling the hole for the solid gold rod and installing it in the steel sight blade, both are drilled and a pin is installed to prevent the gold bead from ever coming out. I have this sight on several of my Novak Custom pistols. and believe me, if you can see your target, you Wan see this genuine solid gold bead.

Precisely fitted to this long pistol is a long 6" .45 ACP Match barrel. This one is crafted by Kart, along with their match bushing. Long favorite of Novak's Kart barrels are made well and perform' just as predictably. Beyond this, Novak's flagship. pistol is equipped with a Videki Colt Gold Cup style wide adjustable trigger, to which Joe Bonar orchestrated a fine trigger job. Also fitted by Bonar is an Ed Brown Memory Grip Safety, a Brown Tactical Thumb Safety, and Brown's 30 LPI checkered mainspring housing and Ultra Lite "no bite" hammer.

The front strap of this gun is perfectly machine-checkered with 25 LPI by master machinist, Pete Single, after which Joe beveled the mag well. Joe then gave the entire gun Novak's reliability package and "Carry Bevel" job, where all exterior sharp corners are subtly blended. The entire pistol was then fine bead blasted and blued. Yes, the entire pistol, including the Damascus slide was blued. This was the first time one of Caspian's Damascus slides was blued -- and left that way. Since these slides contain both carbon and stainless steel, they are normally left in the white to enhance their beauty with a natural patina. However, Wayne Novak had other ideas.

Recognizing the glamour of a standard unfinished Damascus slide, Novak nonetheless, elected to try the blued route. Bluing stainless steel requires a special operation using special chemicals and just a dash of magic -- but the result is clearly more than worth the work -- and risk -- involved. Actually, one would describe the finish as matteblack, as the surface was first bead blasted. This subtle texture causes the bluing to darken as it absorbs the light cast upon it. Looking like nothing I've ever seen before, this snake-skin Damascus Novak seems as if it's being silently observed under the midnight moon...waiting to strike.

The final touch to this special Novak 1911 is a set of exotic walnut stocks by Spegel. If all the special treatment to this unique pistol was not enough to set it decidedly apart, it is the first 1911 to be equipped with the new Novak Xtreme Duty Adjustable Sight, and what better way to introduce this new sight but riding on the back of this snake?

We Actually Shot It

This pistol literally cried out to be test-fired, and having always been one to come to the rescue of a cry, I could not resist. No, I did not torture-test by any means. Far from it. I merely fired it for familiarity, and to shoot a few record groups. With as perfect a fit as one could ask for, the pistol performed as well as any other 6" long slide 1911 I've fired -- and probably better with its Match trigger breaking cleanly at about 2.5 pounds.