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I am a high school player so please take everything I say with that in mind. I currently play on a king 2341 and have noticed something a little odd. The spring in my second valve is noticeably softer (easier to push) than the other three. The spring looks the same (meaning it wasn't replaced with mismatching spring), so this has brought up a question. How long do springs usually last before they lose their "spring" to the point where it matters? Does this mean that the second valve has just been used more than the others? The performance of the instrument is not effected it was just something interesting I noticed.

Spring steel should retain its original compression resistance for years, maybe decades, under the confined requirements of a brass valve. My guess is that the spring was replaced by a tech with a "similar" spring but not OEM.

Switch the springs around and see if they feel differently.

Your right now that I look at them they do look a tad different. It is not a big difference but definitely a difference. Thanks.

Swapping the spring for one in the other pistons is a good test. Also... realize that your middle finger is quite a bit stronger than the other fingers.

...and stinkier!!