I have owned several Sig 1911s and love the quality of the pistols, but every one of them has such sharp front strap checkering that it is very painful!!! Is there a remedy for this? My current one is in Nitron black finish.

How old/used are they? Every checkered front strap 1911 I've owned has come painfully sharp when new and straight out of the box, but quickly wears down to an acceptable level with a little bit of shooting and handling.

Just bought it used, but unfired. Born on Halloween 2017

You might try finding a 1911 that has alternative front/rear strap treatments like chainlink or snake skin. It was a pleasant change in my situation and solved the problem. I'm pretty sure that manufactures other than the higher $$ semi-custom manufactures have these kind of treatments. I think Kimber offered a variation of Ed Browns Kobra Carry snake skin treatment.

Snake skin and chainlink have an excellent purchase in hand and comfortable to shoot.

A gunsmith might be able to sand it down, wear it down a bit or smooth it out a bit but would need to most likely refinish that area.

If you have the feel of it, why did you buy it? There are plenty of quality 1911's out there without it such as Colt.

I hate front strap or rear strap checkering......I have an Ed Brown with snake skin and don't find that to be obtrusive and like it.

This is one of the options you have. Or you can get a wrap around rubber grip. But that will make your grip circumference a bit bigger.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
A gunsmith might be able to sand it down, wear it down a bit or smooth it out a bit but would need to most likely refinish that area.

A thin layer of rubber cement? maybe?

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
A thin layer of rubber cement? maybe?

This may help without permanently creating issues.
I had a S & W revolver that I started doing a lot of double action shooting with and the grooved trigger was eating up my finger. Too cheap to replace the trigger I filled the grooves in with JB Weld and solved the issue. Much later I picked the JB Weld out, guess there was enough oil residue to keep it from becoming a permanent fix. Maybe a thin bicycle tube, or simply wearing shooting/golf/ driving gloves for an extended shooting session?

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
A thin layer of rubber cement? maybe?

Or that plastic coat you buy to put on tools could be painted on the area, or liquid electrical tape, they both come in black.

You could go old school and put on a set of Pachmayr grips that wrap the front strap. I have them on all my non checkered 1911s.
And Talon Grips makes a rubber stick on grip that covers just the front strap.

Yeah, I also think that a little bit of Talon's rubberized grip tape will fix it. They sell then in 6" x 6" sheets if I remember and you just trim to size.

I had the same problem with a Remington Commander (in Stainless) and a gunsmith smoothed down the sharp edges with no problem, making it much more comfortable.

I have flattened checkering on a couple of frontstraps and it is comfortable but still grips. My guns were just blued and cold blue darkened the flattened diamonds, until use wore them gray normally.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
You could go old school and put on a set of Pachmayr grips that wrap the front strap. I have them on all my non checkered 1911s.
And Talon Grips makes a rubber stick on grip that covers just the front strap.

I'd say that this would be a good option for you. Alternatively, you could try what I did, and put a rubber finger groove front strap on there (it's very comfortable):



These finger groove front straps are made by Pearce, and can be found here: http://www.pearcegrip.com/Products/Colt/PG1911-1


Frank

 
This is the reason I bought my Colt 1911s as bare bones Govt models, and taken them to Don Williams. I have the front strap stippled, and a mainspring housing purchased bare and then stippled as well. Stippling provides plenty of grip, without the pain some checkering produces.

That was a common complaint about the front strap checkering on the SA TRP. The remedy was to use a rubber wheel to knock or buff the sharp points off a little on the checkering to your liking. Doesn't take much, just a minute or so from what I have heard. Never bothered me with my TRP.

A buddy of mine used some wet/dry 400 grit sandpaper to smooth down the front grip of his TRP.

I love the TRP and my Baers checkering. I can keep ahold of the gun that way. Same with my Glocks, the RTF grip.

The smooth guns slide around too much.

Maybe a few passes with an Emory board?

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
You could go old school and put on a set of Pachmayr grips that wrap the front strap. I have them on all my non checkered 1911s.
And Talon Grips makes a rubber stick on grip that covers just the front strap.

Or go really old school with hockey tape.

TRP checking is pretty brutal if you don't have the hands of an oil rig worker. I find that 25 or 30 LPI checking to feel the best to me.

As others have pointed out, with time and handling the points will dull down a bit and your hands will toughen up. I'd try shooting it some more before sanding/grinding on it.