Kyrie,
In response to Doubs, you wrote (in part):
"...the striker spring is not compressed by the rearward movement of the toggle train. Rather it is compressed by the forward movement of the toggle train after the teat on the striker contacts and is held to the rear by the sear..."
The second part of this exerpt is good as gold, but the first part is not borne out by the realities of the relationship between the toggle action and the striker. In fact, the striker spring is progressively compressed throughout the entire rearward (opening) movement of the toggle train!
This can be observed by pushing out the rear toggle pin and sliding the toggle/breechblock assembly out of the receiver (barrel extension). One can then see that there is a projection or "ear" at the front end of the forward toggle link which engages the forward end of the striker lug (teat) and begins to cam it rearward, relative to the breechblock, as soon as the toggle knobs have raised by 1/16 inch or so. This camming continues throughout the breech opening, and is of course accompanied by increasing compression of the firing pin spring.
The analytically inclined person will wonder at once why the ear was provided, since its action has nothing to do with the actual cocking of the striker in preparation for firing! I have contemplated at some length why the function exists and discussed it off-line with Johnny Peppers. Between us we came up with a couple of plausible reasons, but perhaps they are best reserved for another time.
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