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How often do you sharpen flint?

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johnybondo

Pilgrim
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Sep 20, 2005
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Grettings all,

I'm new to the flintlock's. I just finished building a rifle and have shot a few dozen rounds through and love it. Never having shot another flint lock I'm not sure how well the lock/flint are set up. The only time I get mis-fires is when I let the flint get dull. It seems like I have to chip off a fresh edge every 6 shots or so. Is this normal? How many shot should I expect from a flint?

Thanks for sharing - the information on this forum has been great!
 
I'm relatively new as well, but needed to replace/refurbish my first flint after, hmmm, 15....
 
JR Scott,
I guess the short answer would be when
the flint needs it. I probably average 15-20.
Just wonder what type flint and where are you
getting them. I think that if you are using a
good flint and only getting 6 shots then my quess
is your seating of the flint. Just my opinion
though and i am sure you will get many more
knowledgeable than mine. :hmm:
snake-eyes
 
JR Scott said:
Grettings all,

I'm new to the flintlock's. I just finished building a rifle and have shot a few dozen rounds through and love it. Never having shot another flint lock I'm not sure how well the lock/flint are set up. The only time I get mis-fires is when I let the flint get dull. It seems like I have to chip off a fresh edge every 6 shots or so. Is this normal? How many shot should I expect from a flint?

Thanks for sharing - the information on this forum has been great!

For my range sessions, I've gotten into the routine of shooting 5-10 shots, then take a moment and clean the frizzen, flint, and pan with alcohol on a rag.

At that time, I'll either lightly knapp the flint, or depending on it's shape I may just flip it over in the jaws...from bevel up to bevel down...and it'll sort of self-knapp itself as I shoot the next several shots, then I'll reverse it again the next time I clean the frizzen/flint/pan.

For hunting, I put in a fresh flint at the beginning of the season and very lightly knapp the edge so I'm certain it'll shower sparks, then lightly re-knapp it after any shot that I take.
 
JR Scott said:
How many shot should I expect from a flint?

It all depends on the flint in question, depending on how it was knapped (against the grain or with the grain), what type of flint it is... (Agate, Black English, Amber French, ect.)

Some flint will break (wear) sharp and you don't need to fuss with it at all, some you can't keep an edge on to save your hide...

Another trick is to have bevel up or bevel down, this will wear the flint at different rates as well, producing more or less sparks...

TIP: Make sure the flint is not set out in the jaws too far, it will hit the bottom of the pan when fired and promptly remove any edge it ever had...
 
I knap mine when it gets dull. depends on the lock and the flint. Some locks aren't hard on flint, others are.. I have an L&R Queen Anne that I regularly get 70 to 100 shots out of, I've had as many as 140 shots out of one flint on that lock. The flint in that lock will usually need knapping after 30 to 40 shots.
There are locks out on the market that use up a flint in a dozen shots.....I dpn't build guns around those locks. :winking:
 
Thanks for all the great info! The lock is a large siler with English flint from Track of the Wolf. It sounds like I'm not too far off and just need to keep checking the flint as I shoot. I will try the bevel-up/bevel down switch and make sure the flint isn't whacking the bottom of the frizzen.
 
Unless I'm shooting in a "hammer fall counts as a shot" match, I shoot untill I get a clatch then knap and go on till I get another clatch and knap...etc..... :thumbsup:
 
Mike Brooks said:
... I have an L&R Queen Anne that I regularly get 70 to 100 shots out of, I've had as many as 140 shots out of one flint...

OMG!! :shocked2: Up to 140 from one flint? Man! I have a Caywood .62 Type "C" and using the good (I think?) English flints, by Tom Fuller (from TOTW) and I get from 5-15 at best, even with flipping the flints. Then they go into a little jar, waiting for the day I have a clue about how to re-knap them. :shake: My cost of shooting would go WAY down if I could do so well from a flint.
 
The Baron said:
Mike Brooks said:
... I have an L&R Queen Anne that I regularly get 70 to 100 shots out of, I've had as many as 140 shots out of one flint...

OMG!! :shocked2: Up to 140 from one flint? Man! I have a Caywood .62 Type "C" and using the good (I think?) English flints, by Tom Fuller (from TOTW) and I get from 5-15 at best, even with flipping the flints. Then they go into a little jar, waiting for the day I have a clue about how to re-knap them. :shake: My cost of shooting would go WAY down if I could do so well from a flint.

I would be thinking about selling that gun and getting something a little easier on flints... :winking: 5 to 15 shots on a flint is unacceptable in my book.
 
You can knapp the edge while it's still in the cock of the gun. I use a piece of 3/8 brass rod for this.Just tap lightly along the edge and you will see the pieces flake off. Just be sure to keep the edge even. Patience and practice and you will be suprised how many shots you can get before changing flints.
 
When I started shooting flintlocks, I'd get around 12 shots before knapping. As the learning curve increased it's probably around 15-20 shots now. As others have said you will get the occassional magic flint that seems to go on forever. I've also had one flint that didn't make it past the first shot (shattered when it hit the frizzen). Guess it all evens out in the end.
 
The Baron said:
OMG!! :shocked2: Up to 140 from one flint? Man! I have a Caywood .62 Type "C" and using the good (I think?) English flints, by Tom Fuller (from TOTW) and I get from 5-15 at best, even with flipping the flints.

Most muskets (especially military muskets) have a heavy, stout main spring, as to that of a Lancaster rifle... (for example)

This "beefier" spring makes the flint hit the frizzen a lot harder than those lesser springs, this could be why you are going through flints faster than you should be...

Just my opinion, of course...
 
Let me agree with both Roundaball and Mike Brooks...I wipe the flint before every shot, and in humid times, wipe the pan and flint both with some bore cleaner....I don't have a set number of shots after which I knapp, I guess I say I do it after the failure to get a spark tells me I need to...I'd guess I'm somewhere in the 30 shots+ range before the first knapping, and then the number of shots between Knapps gets fewer and fewer...Hank
 
hank said:
Let me agree with both Roundaball and Mike Brooks...I wipe the flint before every shot, and in humid times, wipe the pan and flint both with some bore cleaner.... Hank

I would also like to add that even dull a flint will cut, so wipe it off with a rag, not your thumb and/or fingers...
 
JR Scott said:
Grettings all,

I'm new to the flintlock's. I just finished building a rifle and have shot a few dozen rounds through and love it. Never having shot another flint lock I'm not sure how well the lock/flint are set up. The only time I get mis-fires is when I let the flint get dull. It seems like I have to chip off a fresh edge every 6 shots or so. Is this normal? How many shot should I expect from a flint?

Thanks for sharing - the information on this forum has been great!

Granny asked me to tell you that you can knapp the flint while it's still in the jaws of your'n gun, just empty the priming powder first in case you make a spark. Put a little thumb pressure on the back side of the jaws to help absorb the tapping of the knapper, this way you don't marr up your sear and tumbler notch. Mind you now, you don't have to tap very hard to flake a nifty edge on the face of the flint, just enough to refresh the edge will do. Another thing to be on the lookout for is having the flint too close to the barrel, if'n it is, you'll know it, it'll shatter the flint and promptly skor up the finish of ther barrel where it hit.
 
I go 15 to 30 betrween knaps. I give up after 90 to 100 shots and when I get home toss them in a jar for future use after reworking back to an edge (just in case the supply ever dries up).

Not all flints are created equal. The thick ones need knappping sooner, and some seem to have weaker structure or coarser grain and need more attention.
 
FLNT4EVR said:
You can knapp the edge while it's still in the cock of the gun. I use a piece of 3/8 brass rod for this.Just tap lightly along the edge and you will see the pieces flake off. Just be sure to keep the edge even. Patience and practice and you will be suprised how many shots you can get before changing flints.

Good Point,Flint4ever. I'm a Rev War re-enactor I've gotten a complete season out of a good English flint (That's a few hundred blank rounds) and have gotten an average of 50 to 100 before re knapping. (I use a leather not lead on the flint, and check it a few times a day to keep it tight in the jaws) Then some flints won't last the day.

Sometimes you're in line firing and all of a sudden Ole bess just won't light. One trick is to blow the powder out of the frizen, take out your bayonet and use it like Flint4ever's brass rod. Works very well. (You can use the back spine of a short belt knife as well)

In the field, re-enacting or shooting a quick knap is to blow out the frizen, open it until its in a position that the flint will hit it at about a 60 degree angle. Put your off hand behind the frizen in that position so that it can’t move when struck, and pull the trigger. The cock will fall and come to a screeching halt when the flint hits an unmoving frizen.

Now prime and fire. You will get 2 or 3 shots out of that quick nap.

My TVM fowler has a siler lock on it and I get many more shots between knaps, but the flints don't last as long (must be a stiffer main spring.)

Had a Pedersoli Queen Ann pistol that just shattered flints. I'd get 20 shots with out knapping, but after that, the flint was junk.
 
I figure a dull flint has a better chance of sparkin than one I tried to knap..so I don't..I go bout 25 shots and put a new one in.
 
Gentlemen: If you have to knapp, the lock is not set up correctly. But here is an easy and sure way to knapp, without the fuss you all seem to be going through. Raise the frizzen up so that the edge of the flint will strike the bottom 1/8 of the vertical plate. Hold the frizzen with a finger, or some artificial stop, cock the gun, and pull the trigger. The steep angle created by the flint falling so far to hit that bottom edge will sheer off a thin edge even across, with minimum damage to the flint.

Make sure that no moving parts are rubbing against the lockplate, as the resistence also adds drag to the cock's fall. To check this, simply remove the lock from your rifle or shotgun, and examine the backside of the lockplate in good light. Rubbing will leave marks that shine at you.File, grind, and polish the parts that are rubbing, until they don't leave a mark any more. On new locks, you may find a burr or two that will be doing this.

Now, lock set up. The springs of almost all modern locks are TOO STIFF, or strong. You only need 2.5-3 lbs of feather spring pressure to hold the frizzen closed, but most feather springs will go over 10 lbs. The main spring on almost all flintlocks will be more than 25lbs. when they only need to be about 10 lbs. And, sadly, some locks still have the angle of the cock to the frizzen set so that the flint strikes the face of the frizzen at almost a 90 degree angle. That angle should be 55-60 degrees, so that the flint actually scrapes and throws chips into the pan. As is, these locks create washboard gouges in the surface of the frizzen, where sparks have to fall into the pan by luck, rather than be thrown into the pan by the stroke of the cock. And, contributing to the wash board, most flintlock shooter wrap their flints in some kind of leather, which always creates a " shock absorber" effect, rebounding just as the edge is cutting steel, so that the steel shavings are ripped away from the frizzen, and wrap around the edge. That is why this man is only getting 5-6 shots before he starts having misfires. I have seen musket locks that had such massive main springs( well over 50 lbs. in spring tension) that they literally smashed large musket flints in one blow!, making them useless for another shot. My rifle gets 80-100 shots per flint,using black English flints, with no knapping, and my new American Fowler will give me more than 75 strikes before I will need to replace it. And no knapping. Now, I do have to check the position of the flint as the edge wears down, and move it forward in the jaws of the cock, and wedge a twig behind the lead wrap to hold the flint in place. My gunmaker( Craig Witte, Fairmount, Il.) widenned the pan of my fowler so that I get sparks igniting the prime for much longer than with my narrower pan on my rifle. I intend to grind the pan open on the rifle this spring. But I have reduced the spring tension on both springs by using slow grinders, belt sanders, and even a dremel tool, continually testing the springs to determine what the tension has been reduced to by my efforts. And, I tested the lock as I reduced the tension every 5 lbs. and then every lb as I got close to my target weight. The result is a lighter action, flints that last a long time, and absolutely positive ignition every time I pull the trigger on a properly primed charge. :grin:
 
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