An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s $99,000 1911 – SHOT Show 2018

in Authors, S.H. Blannelberry, SHOT Show 2018

Every year at SHOT Show the Cabot booth is abuzz. No mystery on why that is. Rob Bianchin, Cabot’s Founder and President, consistently puts out the cat’s pajamas.

I mean that figuratively, of course.  Displaying feline nightwear at a firearms industry tradeshow would be weird.

We’re talking about the most stunning (you’ll-quickly-run-out-of-superlatives-to-describe-’em) 1911s on the market.  And these pistols aren’t just shootable works of art.  Built to aerospace tolerances, they are real shooters.  One-and-a-half-inch groups at 25 yards.  Guaranteed.

Caution: What you are about to see may induce drooling.  Have a rag handy.

The Icon

An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

The Icon from Cabot

Starting off with my favorite of the bunch, the Icon.  Cabot took Old Slabside and gave it a modern industrial makeover.  What some might call a new twist on an old classic.

The result is a monochromatic pistol with hyper-clean lines that is as concerned with functionality as it is with form.  A truly beautiful gun.  But not too pretty that you’d be afraid to carry it or shoot it on the regular.

Purchasers can order the Icon in .45 ACP or 9mm.  They also have a choice between the Commander model with a 4.25-inch barrel and the Government model with a 5-inch barrel.  Ships with two flush-fitting 8 round mags and an Italian-made black box.

To kick it up another notch, you can order a black Alligator Holster for an additional $500.

The MSRP on the Icon is $4,995.  This is the most budget-friendly option of the three.

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An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

The MSRP for the Icon is $4,995.

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An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

Pictured here with an Alligator holster which can be purchased for an additional $500.

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The Damascus Ladder Deluxe

An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

The Damascus Ladder Deluxe.

Next up is the Damascus Ladder Deluxe, a collaborative project from the artisans at Cabot (#TeamCabot).  I imagine that this pistol is for an individual who wants a little more style and flair on their sidearm.

Don’t be fooled though, the etching that characterizes the Damascus steel slide isn’t just a decorative touch, it also adds to the tactile feel of the gun.  Racking the slide, gripping when wet, and running the gun all become a become easier with the enhancement that sculptural texture provides.

There are oodles of upgrades and options available on this model.  Base price depends on the grips.  Sonoran Desert Ironwood Grips: $7,995.  Morrissey Damascus Grips: $9,995.

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An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

The Damascus Ladder Deluxe.

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An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

The Damascus Ladder Deluxe.

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The Sixth Commandment

An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

The Sixth Commandment.  Sadly, our pictures don’t do it justice.  Make sure you watch the video.

Cabot’s Sixth Commandment is, as Rob says in the video, “An art gallery in your hands.”  It’s gorgeous! The most beautiful gun I’ve ever seen in my entire life!!!

Master Engraver Otto Carter created the artwork on the Sixth Commandment by hand.  No computers.  No machines.  Just a chisel and his vivid imagination.

What I love about this pistol is the narrative it offers the viewer.  Like all great art, it seeks to tell a story.

“In my previous work for Cabot I focused on making a beautiful decorative yet functional object, something to delight and please the eye,” Carter says. “This time ‘round I wanted the gun to make a statement. To tell a story.”

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The artwork on the gun fits two distinct themes.  The top half of the gun features heavenly figures like angles, spirits and contains a golden cathedral window.  The bottom half of the gun contains chthonic creatures like demons, tormented souls, a moonlit Grim Reaper and the devil himself.

An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

All the engraving was done by hand. No machines. No computers.

“The engraving process was exhausting and exhilarating at the same time,” Carter says. “But there’s not a single part of the gun I’d change. I’m fully satisfied that it represents my best work.”

Oh, and as for the name of the pistol, “The Sixth Commandment,” (which is, Thou shalt not murder).  It’s meant to leave you thinking.

“Is it a warning?” Carter asks. “Is it ironic? That depends entirely on your point-of-view.”

An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

Can I borrow $100,000?

The MSRP for the Sixth Commandment is $99,000. For more information on any of the pistols mentioned, visit CabotGun.com.

An Art Gallery in Your Hands! Cabot’s ,000 1911 - SHOT Show 2018

Look at those golden eyes!

About the author: S.H. Blannelberry is the News Editor of GunsAmerica.

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  • Beachhawk February 15, 2018, 6:05 am

    The Sixth Commandment is an awesome piece of art, but way out of the range of most shooters. The only shooters who could afford to buy it would be the heads of Mexican drug cartels. I would have to sell my house and my first born child to afford that thing.

  • lukeum February 14, 2018, 4:52 pm

    shoot it….. hell lets go get us some more of them alligator holsters!

  • Steelhog February 14, 2018, 12:27 pm

    That is one fine handgun! I love the detail. I could look at it for days. It belongs in a museum so that poor bastards like me could see it up close. I wish I had the coin, but sadly, the practical side of me (the wife) would never let me buy it.

  • Todd February 14, 2018, 10:39 am

    First off – I’ll say that the whiny bitches prattling on about how any given thing is “not worth it”, doesn’t “make sense” and the like, is idiotic on it’s face.
    The same arguments can be made by Prius owners about probably 90% of American’s transportation choices.
    Just because you can not afford it does not mean that it is a bad idea.

    Now, on to the firearms.

    I dig them for what they are but am always caught short by this much attention being applied to the entirety of a pistol and yet, not the sights.
    I wonder – why that is? Clearly, most of these extreme-art pistols will not be shot so the notion of changing out the sights is relatively moot. Why not have that exceptional engraving continue to the sights or have a damascus set for the other pistol?

    Todd.

  • Sam Foggin February 14, 2018, 10:03 am

    Guns were meant either to provide or defend. Life imitates art, but this is an elitist tool with a conflicting message about our 6th commandment. Engrave it…fine. Sell it for as much as you want…..fine. But do not evoke a biblical commandment for the sake of selling a gun.

  • Trigger1212 February 14, 2018, 9:08 am

    Heeeck no! I would be shooting The Sixth Commandment about 2 minutes after I paid for it and it would live in a holster on my hip. No safe Queens allowed!

    • Beachhawk February 15, 2018, 6:08 am

      Yeah, me too while robbing a bank to pay for it!

  • Larry kelley February 14, 2018, 9:02 am

    Unless that thing is cut out of solid Gold there ain’t no way in the world that thing is worth $ 99,000.00 period.
    To me there is no gun that should cost or even a person should pay unless they are just totally stupid.

    • ElTacoPelado February 14, 2018, 9:42 am

      Ah – you just jelly, bro.

  • Jeffrey L. Frischkorn February 14, 2018, 8:57 am

    nope.. ostentatious.. horrible selection of engraving images…

    • ElTacoPelado February 14, 2018, 9:44 am

      Ostentatious in your particular case.

  • Don Arnett February 14, 2018, 8:16 am

    That’s a beautiful piece of work. Very nicely executed engraving. It is definitely staking it’s claim in the modern collectable world as well as quality and most importantly a great company. I kinda hate to say it and I’m sure it will start a revolutionary war but I’d shoot it and enjoy it. Just imagine the characteristics it would embark once it had some wear and patina. Be very nice indeed.

  • Cyrus February 14, 2018, 7:55 am

    Awesome looking gun, especially the Devil with Golden eyes. Way way out of my price range and I’m not a collector and would never want to shoot it just display it. 🙂

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