Remington 1858 New Army

[britbit54]

I am new to Cowboy Action Shooting but have a very nice Pietta 1858 New Arm Remington black powder revolver with R&D drop in conversion cylinder that I love to shoot.  The only thing I hate about it is the checkering on the hammer which is an abomination and cuts my thumb raw after a while. Does anyone know if there are custom versions of the hammer available with the nice Colt type of criss cross checking.
Regards

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I had a pistol with sharp checkering on the hammer. I stoned the top of the checkering off to flatten the points and re-colored it slightly with touch-up bluing. Couldn't tell it from another one by the same manufacturer. That completely took care of the problem.

[britbit54]

I tried that and was not able to do a very pretty job; not very good with tools and such. Thanks anyway.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

You may want to pick up a replacement from VTI, then. http://www.vtigunparts.com/ I've bought a few parts from them and have no complaints. Quick service and reasonable prices.

[jiminy criquet]

Yes, but the replacement hammers have to be hand fitted, which is certainly a lot more involved then knocking down the checkering on the top of the hammer. (I don't think I've ever seen a 'replacement' hammer that dropped right in requiring no fitting whatsoever.)

In other words, if sanding down some checkering isn't an option, I'm almost positive the only other available option would be to take the gun to a gunsmith and have them fix it to your liking.
(Unless you're willing to toughen up your thumb instead.)

[Jubel]

Have you tried polishing with the soft dremmel wheel and a little abrasive compound? Just use the slow setting and take your time. 

[britbit54]

Thanks for all the info; I've found a local gunsmith who will do it after he gets a new hammer from VTI. Again many thanks.