A lot of people ask me who makes the best guns. Well if you’re talking about rifles it’s hard to say. I’ve seen a lot of nice guns from Echigoya, Redwolf, Blake Abe from Airsoft Hawaii, and there’s a few of my own guns I’m partial to. If you’re talking about pistols then in my mind two people stand out above the crowd, Tanio Koba from Japan and Clarence Lai from Hong Kong. For this article I will be featuring the work of Clarence Lai. Without a doubt I feel Clarence Lai is the best pistol gunsmith in all of Hong Kong.

I was lucky enough to acquire one of Clarence’s STI pistols a few years ago. The gun I own is a STI Eagle double stacked .45, 2011 model, based off of a Western Arms SV 5” Infinity.

The first thing you will notice is the grip. Clarence uses a technique where the stock grip is slightly melted and re-shaped to offer a secure yet comfortable grip. The overall shape is rounded to fit the hand more naturally than the stock square shape. Additionally the trigger guard is trimmed slightly to prevent rubbing on the middle finger, a problem with the stock SV grip.

Second is the metal slide. You can tell that Clarence takes a lot of time tuning the slide to the frame. There’s no wear, no rubbing on the barrel or frame. No visible file or sanding marks. And if you look closely at the rear of the slide you’ll see the acc-u-rails.

The acc-u-rail system involves two polished stainless steel rods, which are what the slide actually glides on. Clarence is the only airsoft tech I know that installs acc-u-rails. Installation can only be done by the most skilled techs as it involves heavy modifications to the slide and frame. These acc-u-rails give this gun the smoothest blow back action I have ever felt on an airsoft gun.

One feature on this gun most people don’t notice is an extra spring on the barrel to assist in the necessary chamber movements. This also helps with smooth blow back action and no extra friction or rubbing on the slide. As far as I know Clarence is the first to do this modification on WA guns. This little trick works so well that Western Arms now puts a similar spring set up on their new SCW pistols.

Clarence has also installed his own custom made steel hammer and extra long firing pin. The pin is so long that the slide needs to be back to put the mag in. This long pin and steel hammer open the magazine valve wider and longer than normal. Additionally there is also a heavier hammer spring. This uses more gas from the magazine resulting in higher velocity and more importantly faster blowback in conjunction with the heavier recoil spring.

One other feature of this gun is a light, short, smooth trigger. This allows very fast rapid fire shooting for IPSC style matches and short times on quick draw contests.

Overall the gun is the best for what it’s made for, competition pistol shooting. True this gun may not be best for outdoor scenario games, but that’s not what it’s built for. Few people know that a large portion of the airsoft market in Japan and Hong Kong is focused on ISPC shooting, fast draws, target shooting, and other match style competitions. This gun clearly shows the true diversity of the airsoft market and that airsoft is not only about mil-sim games, and modifications are not only about velocity.