PPK firing pin spring question

[Ethan Verity]

I have a new production Fort Smith Walther PPK. I took the slide apart today for a deep cleaning of the firing pin channel after ~500 rounds, and noticed my firing pin spring looks like this.


It's wider on one end than the other. Is this normal for the new PPKs? I know the older models just have a straight spring.

Anyway, normal or not, I'm having a hard time getting the spring to fit back in the firing pin channel, the fat end is too fat! My guess is this spring is defective and somehow slipped past their QC during assembly. I already have a new one on order from Wolff Gunsprings that I plan to use anyway.

 

[Col. Harrumph]

Well, I don't know. My own PPK is an early (really early) S&W knock-off and has the same issue, but with the slide return spring not the firing pin. Generally, coil springs that are more open at one end than the other are meant to be fitted one-way and the user is expected to figure it out. No idea what's going on with yours, but please keep us posted because you never know who will have the same question... years from now.

 

[5-SHOTS]

The spring seems normal to me, evidently it was designed like this. The widest part of the spring should be the one that goes all the way into the firing pin channel. The narrowest part should go into the firing pin. To introduce the spring more easily you should first insert it into the firing pin. However, you were right to order a replacement, just in case.
I can't understand how that spring that you see above in the photo is made. Is that original too?

 

[Ethan Verity]

Well, I ask because all of the aftermarket/new-old stock replacement PPK firing pin springs I see online, including the one I just bought from Wolff, is a simple straight coil (same size on both ends) like this picture I took off the internet. That's why I'm wondering if the one in my new PPK is some newfangled design, or just defective. I can't find any pictures of the new PPK springs online to know for sure.

I can't understand how that spring that you see above in the photo is made. Is that original too?

That piece at the top of my original picture is the loaded chamber indicator pin, and is also original. The spring has the end pulled straight to make a small upward wire spring extension, in order to keep the pin pressed in the downward position of the breech face when the gun is unloaded. When loaded, the cartridge rim pushes that pin up, and it headspaces off the chamber mouth and gets pushed slightly out the back to provide a visual/tactical indicator that the gun is chambered.

 

[herrwalther]

Pretty much every company that has cranked out PPK or PPK/s over the decades have made small design changes to them. It looks like yours was made that way on purpose, and not a misshapen part.