-
May be the recoil spring alignment rod is a little bit too large in diameter and creating friction. Did you change that to when you swapped springs with your friend? I ran some 900 wet and dry over all my sliding parts, including the plastic and use gun grease on all the sliding parts includeing barrel and inside of the slide under the barrel. My cm380 is stiff, but manageable. I use the technique of pushing the gun into the slide instead of pulling the slide back on the gun. My hand on the slide has my thumb pointing away from the front end of the slide. It just seems that you should be able to reduce the friction to the same level as your friends gun.
-
My CW380 is still a ***** to rack after 500 rds or more. However, I've had zero issues so I guess it's a keeper!