Unica Hammer and Unica Sear (short review)

[johnbu]

Bought a Unica Hammer and sear from the good folks  @PatriotDefense . The hammer is solid steel, no holes, no lightening.  It also has a silver coating on it that is slippery.  It also has different geometry from the Titan hammer.  Lot's different. 

 

First off, it has a longer "throw" or swing arc.  That puts the spring further down into the hole and a short stubby strut is included (along with a factory disconnector) as the normal strut won't work.   The longer stroke causes some issues.  First off, the PD 15.5 spring won't work (in my gun).  It reaches coil bind and the slide can't get past the hammer with out hard rubbing.  That was cured by snipping off 1 turn of the spring end.  All the other PD springs do work, but I wouldn't use anything lighter than 15.5 because the SA is light.  (In fact,  i went to the EG "Medium" spring .}

 

That brings up the Single Action.   Yikes !  it's light.  They reduced the SA hooks on the hammer and probably the angle of the hooks too.  With the EG MEDIUM spring, the SA breaks at 1# 4oz.  Yes,  1# 4oz.  Sharp crisp  and light. Very Very light.  For reference, With the Titan hammer and PD 15.5 springs the gun was 2# 4oz in SA. 

 

How does it work?  The hammer hits harder than the titan at least from the famous pencil test.  The DA and SA pencil launch are essentially equal.  My gun is pretty slicked up and well used.  With dry fire there has been "a lot" of trigger pulls, so it's pretty light.  If you want a harder hitting hammer with a lighter SA break, this is a good choice.  Of note, the fitting needed to get the safety to work  with the titan is also needed with the Unica hammer.  I had undercut the  sear leg and it worked without touching anything. 

 

I'm unsure about keeping it in the gun or returning to the Titan hammer.  I like the harder impact, but really feel the SA trigger pull is too low.

 

The Unica sear... ahhh, that's a different story.  In my gun with unica hammer and factory disconnector, it doesn't drop the hammer.  With Titan hammer and BOLO, it also won't drop the hammer.  The leg of the sear that is pushed by the trigger bar sits too low. The trigger bar then doesn't push it  and the sear doesn't move.  Bummer.  I haven't put in the time to fit it and get it to work.  I suspect it would work with "fresh" parts like sear cage, trigger bar.  Looking at it, the leg rotates too far forward.  Probably they made it for a newer version of the sear cage... but that's unverified.  I have a friend with a new Stock 2 and will probably  stick the sear in his gun at some point to see if it works in a new one.

 

Of note (and an important note), the UNICA sear is PRE-MADE with the correct undercut to be used with the Titan hammer or Unica hammer.  So if you had previously fit your titan hammer to the sear by adjusting the SAFETY LEVER...  i strongly suspect the safety won't work.  Just something to keep in mind.

 

[SouperMan]

Thank you for the useful info!

[Polymer]

Thanks John, I was always curious about those parts. Going to be interesting to see how it compares to new hammer and sear PD is suppose to come out with.

[motherFNbrandon]

35 minutes ago, johnbu said:

the PD 15.5 spring won't work (in my gun)

 

Mine, neither! And I did zealously polish and gently ream the hole slightly larger.

 

For me, the Titan+Bolo combination feels better.

 

In DA, the Unica (+Bolo and regular one piece sear) makes you pull through in order to get a smooth shot. Whereas with the Titan, I can prep on it with little difficulty and still have a smooth shot. The Unica seems difficult to prep on.

 

In SA, the sear slips off the Unica's hooks very quickly due to them being shorter. 

The feel of the Unica releasing so quickly was different that what I was used to. The Titan has more of a well defined wall and seems more natural, to me.

 

Edited September 13, 2018 by motherFNbrandon

[johnbu]

1 minute ago, motherFNbrandon said:

In DA, the Unica (+Bolo and regular one piece sear) makes you pull through in order to get a smooth shot. Whereas with the Titan, I can prep on it with little difficulty and still have a smooth shot. The Unica seems difficult to prep on.

 

Yes,  I did see that too.  Pulling through the trigger without any pause or prep,  gives the lowest and smoothest feel .  I got 7#4oz to 7#8oz pulling through without pause.  Pulling slower and pausing, the trigger pull is just under 8#.  Those numbers are with the EG Extreme Medium trigger spring. 

With the PD 15.5 with one coil cut off, it was right at 1# to 1#2oz SA and 5 #4oz DA.   For me, the SA like that is too "twitchy" . 

 

I would bet that on an IPSC gun, out of the box with no prep or polish, it would be awesome. 

[IHAVEGAS]

19 hours ago, johnbu said:

1# 4oz.

 

Not for me, but, I am assuming that is with the PD (or equivalent) reduced weight trigger return spring. 2# wish with a lot of it being spring force is interesting. 

 

Interesting write up, thanks. 

 

Edited September 14, 2018 by IHAVEGAS

[johnbu]

Well,  both were  installed in a buddies new stock 2.

 

With the factory hammer, sear and hammer spring it was   9 1/2# DA and 3 3/4#SA.  Adding the Unica hammer, sear, clipped PD 15.5 spring and 2-wing disco, it dropped to 6# 7oz DA and 2#3oz SA.

 

But in this gun it was FAR from drop in.

 

Adding just the hammer, DA stayed the same and SA dropped 1/2 pound. But, the hammer on a slow pull SA would sometimes drop to DA. Putting the disco that came with the gun (unica hammer comes with a disco) it wouldn't consistently drop in SA. This is a timing issue with the sear lift being out of sync with the trigger bar /disco wing clearing each other.   putting the unica sear in didn't change things.

 

I dug up some old 2-wing discos and fiddled with them. Adjusting the wing to get it to clear the trigger bar.  Naturally, the discos i chose were thru hard and a bear to work on.  Took a while, but it got done. 

 

My opinion is the Unica hammer is right up to the edge of maximum geometry and any slight variation in parts can tip it over the edge to not working.  Or maybe my buddy's gun is out of tolerance? Not sure, but fitting this was a PITA!

 

But once fit, i think it will give the lightest trigger with the hardest strike force to the primer.  The need to remove one coil from the 15.5 spring for clearance should be kept in mind.

 

Interesting,  no fitting of the sear was needed.  AND the firing pin block works without going to the extended on.

[Fasthenk65]

amazing.... hoped the Unica hammer would further improve trigger on my limited custom but I doubt now...

[paopao]

Is the hammer ipcs legal?

[johnbu]

I don't shoot ipsc... but i believe so. It is a factory part.

 

But, you would need to verify that

[dhdeal]

I really enjoy these threads. Being in my latest phase of life (2011's) and possibly moving to a Tanfoglio, I've been reading about everything I can get my eyes on about them.

 

I understand and can do most anything that doesn't involve a mill or lathe on a 1911/2011, but these CZ styles intrigue the heck out of me. They don't strike me as particularly difficult, just different. 

 

I appreciate what you guys are doing and taking the time to share.

 

FWIW my main interest will be a Limited in 9mm just for fun (aesthetics and being a SA with the heavy barrel being deciding factors). 

[fellas]

On 9/14/2018 at 11:23 PM, johnbu said:

Well,  both were  installed in a buddies new stock 2.

 

With the factory hammer, sear and hammer spring it was   9 1/2# DA and 3 3/4#SA.  Adding the Unica hammer, sear, clipped PD 15.5 spring and 2-wing disco, it dropped to 6# 7oz DA and 2#3oz SA.

 

But in this gun it was FAR from drop in.

 

Adding just the hammer, DA stayed the same and SA dropped 1/2 pound. But, the hammer on a slow pull SA would sometimes drop to DA. Putting the disco that came with the gun (unica hammer comes with a disco) it wouldn't consistently drop in SA. This is a timing issue with the sear lift being out of sync with the trigger bar /disco wing clearing each other.   putting the unica sear in didn't change things.

 

I dug up some old 2-wing discos and fiddled with them. Adjusting the wing to get it to clear the trigger bar.  Naturally, the discos i chose were thru hard and a bear to work on.  Took a while, but it got done. 

 

My opinion is the Unica hammer is right up to the edge of maximum geometry and any slight variation in parts can tip it over the edge to not working.  Or maybe my buddy's gun is out of tolerance? Not sure, but fitting this was a PITA!

 

But once fit, i think it will give the lightest trigger with the hardest strike force to the primer.  The need to remove one coil from the 15.5 spring for clearance should be kept in mind.

 

Interesting,  no fitting of the sear was needed.  AND the firing pin block works without going to the extended on.

 

so when you say tweaked the disco u mean filing the left from underneath to get it thinner ?

thanks for the review

[billthemarine2862]

I also run a Unica Hammer.  Had the exact same issue with a 15.5 Hammer Spring.  I use the Xtreme Medium.  Love that hammer.  Really cleaned up the action.

[johnbu]

If only "someone" could "optimize" a spring for the unica hammer application!

 

Cough cough @PatriotDefense cough cough

[Fo0]

On 9/13/2018 at 11:10 AM, johnbu said:

Bought a Unica Hammer and sear from the good folks  @PatriotDefense . The hammer is solid steel, no holes, no lightening.  It also has a silver coating on it that is slippery.  It also has different geometry from the Titan hammer.  Lot's different. 

 

First off, it has a longer "throw" or swing arc.  That puts the spring further down into the hole and a short stubby strut is included (along with a factory disconnector) as the normal strut won't work.   The longer stroke causes some issues.  First off, the PD 15.5 spring won't work (in my gun).  It reaches coil bind and the slide can't get past the hammer with out hard rubbing.  That was cured by snipping off 1 turn of the spring end.  All the other PD springs do work, but I wouldn't use anything lighter than 15.5 because the SA is light.  (In fact,  i went to the EG "Medium" spring .}

 

That brings up the Single Action.   Yikes !  it's light.  They reduced the SA hooks on the hammer and probably the angle of the hooks too.  With the EG MEDIUM spring, the SA breaks at 1# 4oz.  Yes,  1# 4oz.  Sharp crisp  and light. Very Very light.  For reference, With the Titan hammer and PD 15.5 springs the gun was 2# 4oz in SA. 

 

How does it work?  The hammer hits harder than the titan at least from the famous pencil test.  The DA and SA pencil launch are essentially equal.  My gun is pretty slicked up and well used.  With dry fire there has been "a lot" of trigger pulls, so it's pretty light.  If you want a harder hitting hammer with a lighter SA break, this is a good choice.  Of note, the fitting needed to get the safety to work  with the titan is also needed with the Unica hammer.  I had undercut the  sear leg and it worked without touching anything. 

 

I'm unsure about keeping it in the gun or returning to the Titan hammer.  I like the harder impact, but really feel the SA trigger pull is too low.

 

The Unica sear... ahhh, that's a different story.  In my gun with unica hammer and factory disconnector, it doesn't drop the hammer.  With Titan hammer and BOLO, it also won't drop the hammer.  The leg of the sear that is pushed by the trigger bar sits too low. The trigger bar then doesn't push it  and the sear doesn't move.  Bummer.  I haven't put in the time to fit it and get it to work.  I suspect it would work with "fresh" parts like sear cage, trigger bar.  Looking at it, the leg rotates too far forward.  Probably they made it for a newer version of the sear cage... but that's unverified.  I have a friend with a new Stock 2 and will probably  stick the sear in his gun at some point to see if it works in a new one.

 

Of note (and an important note), the UNICA sear is PRE-MADE with the correct undercut to be used with the Titan hammer or Unica hammer.  So if you had previously fit your titan hammer to the sear by adjusting the SAFETY LEVER...  i strongly suspect the safety won't work.  Just something to keep in mind.

 

 

What trigger are you using to get that pull weight and what other parts? And the PD 13lb hammer spring wouldn't allow the slide back on mine either.

[Fo0]

Will a 13lb Wolff hammer spring work or do I need to cut coils on a PD spring?

 

edit: i dont have anything to cut coils off so its either Wolff 13lb spring or Xtreme light spring (13lb i think)

Edited March 26, 2019 by Fo0

[haiedras]

I put in an uncut Wolff 13lb spring to test. The da is heavy but smooth, the SA is still stupid light. Have to ask a buddy in Australia what he did, I tried his gun at magnus and the da worked great with a 14lb pd spring and the SA had a distinct wall.

[DBX1987]

On 9/14/2018 at 11:23 PM, johnbu said:

Well,  both were  installed in a buddies new stock 2.

 

With the factory hammer, sear and hammer spring it was   9 1/2# DA and 3 3/4#SA.  Adding the Unica hammer, sear, clipped PD 15.5 spring and 2-wing disco, it dropped to 6# 7oz DA and 2#3oz SA.

 

But in this gun it was FAR from drop in.

 

Adding just the hammer, DA stayed the same and SA dropped 1/2 pound. But, the hammer on a slow pull SA would sometimes drop to DA. Putting the disco that came with the gun (unica hammer comes with a disco) it wouldn't consistently drop in SA. This is a timing issue with the sear lift being out of sync with the trigger bar /disco wing clearing each other.   putting the unica sear in didn't change things.

 

I dug up some old 2-wing discos and fiddled with them. Adjusting the wing to get it to clear the trigger bar.  Naturally, the discos i chose were thru hard and a bear to work on.  Took a while, but it got done. 

 

My opinion is the Unica hammer is right up to the edge of maximum geometry and any slight variation in parts can tip it over the edge to not working.  Or maybe my buddy's gun is out of tolerance? Not sure, but fitting this was a PITA!

 

But once fit, i think it will give the lightest trigger with the hardest strike force to the primer.  The need to remove one coil from the 15.5 spring for clearance should be kept in mind.

 

Interesting,  no fitting of the sear was needed.  AND the firing pin block works without going to the extended on.

I have exact the same problem.

On black friday I couldn't resist and bought a Unica DA/SA hammer which comes included with a new disco.

After installment I noticed the SA drops in DA all the time. DA was fine.

When I swapped the disco's(from my Titan, fitted by EG his gunsmith), the SA didn't drop in DA unless I didn't let the trigger fully forward.
So after racking the slide and letting the trigger fully forward, then the SA would work and not fall into DA.

When racking the slide and then just letting the trigger reset, the hammer would fall into DA.

I clearly see the disco getting stuck at the trigger bar.

Should I take some off the underside of the wing? And to possibly compensate for earlier release of DA take a lil bit of on the underside of the disco?

Small note: my EG modified disco has the top of it fully flattened, so there's no more a hump?(this kinda confuses me)
And on the inside of the diso the rounded corner is made square.