That part about the racking effort being greater is usually traceable to the surface finish on the front of the hammer as well as the bottom edge of the firing pin retainer. That bottom edge should be slightly rounded but I’ve seen many that are just square and that makes the rack feel like a sharp break. They’re all here so it’s easy to compare.
And I always advise to not screw with spring tension unless first checked against factory specs. Lightened tensions can cause excessive recoil and/or un-reliable feeding/extraction. Most of the non-Colt 1911’s that are out there now are made of decent stuff but the reason they’re cheaper is they cut corners on working surface finish and that is where half the price of a good one is. Even the high end ones like, oh, say Kimber, get caught “simplifying.”
The “president” fell asleep on camera in the middle of a televised interview pic.twitter.com/ghKioeYx9o— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) October 22, 2022
Thanks, OWB.
Yes, the bottom of the firing pin retainer is rounded. It’s a little bit polished now too. And there is a surface finish on the hammer, but it seems to be breaking in and that will likely wear down to a smooth metal surface wherever there is friction.
It looks like the parts in this are of pretty good quality. Yeah, they cut corners with plastic grips and the very old-style GI sights. Cerekote rather than polished finish.
As long as it works well, I’m good with it pretty much as is. The trigger mechanism appears to be identical to other 1911s, and it’s a series 70 design.