I've noticed some recent 1911s sporting external extractors, including guns from Kimber and Wilson Combat.  Anybody care to comment on these?  Are they supposed to be an improvement over the old-style extractor?

I'll take a shot at it .
From all I thought I knew, one thing you are not supposed to do is chamber a 1911 type by hand feeding, that is dropping the round in, then dropping the slide.
The original design is meant to strip a round from the magazine, with the rim sliding under the extractor, not flexing over it.
With the external type extractor, it can pivot OVER the rim, as it is spring loaded and won't over-flex like the original design. It does seem like a better system overall, at least more up to date to me.