Correct Use of a Knapping Hammer

45man said:

those cut rocks don't last at all and can't be sharpened

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I used German sawn flints for decades. They last, and last....and last........and last..........long time. They can be sharpened but I don't recommend doing in the field as it ruins the sharp edge. I take home and sharpen in the shop with diamond grit tools.

Be aware flint or chert on the surface of the ground is useless. It must come from under ground where water, freezing, etc has not cracked it. The art of flaking flint is dying out as is the source of good flint so it gets more costly. Indians dug huge holes to quarry flint and made all the tools they needed before going back home.
If you use a hammer to flake it must be soft metal. I hold flint in my hand with a leather pad to flake. I made arrow heads and gun flints but I have none here where I live. For an experience, go to Flint Ridge Ohio for a vacation. Flint tools Indians made were found all across the country. People sell flint on the roads but it is only good for decoration since it is weathered. Most gun flints today are still knapped in England.

garypl said:

I made a knapping tool around 30 years ago that has worked well. Use 1/4" drill rod and turn a shoulder @0.015" deep about 3/8" from the bottom. Harden the tip and put a 1" wooden knob on the top.

To use the tool, place the lip against the top edge of your flint and tap it with your flint knapping hammer. Repeat 2 or 3 times across the edge of the flint for a nice, even edge. The lip will chip the flint away from the bottom edge and give far superior results as compared to the usual method of tapping the top edge of the flint with your hammer!

Edge of lip against top of flint

View attachment 4103

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Short video showing tool in use - doesn't remove very much and will extend life of your flint.

garypl said:

Short video showing tool in use - doesn't remove very much and will extend life of your flint.

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If you want to use that type of tool then it is best to remove the flint from the cock jaws and use it with the flint in a padded vice jaw. Done in the gun the pounding puts a huge stress load on the half cock notch, cock arm, cock jaws and tumbler/lock plate bearing who's snug fit keeps everything in line with the frizzen strike.
The tumbler bearing fit through the lock plate is one of the most important tolerances in a locks tuning potential. Sloppy bearing fit equals poor lock efficiency and short flint life! That in turn shortens the life of the Frizzen.

M. De Land said:

If you want to use that type of tool then it is best to remove the flint from the cock jaws and use it with the flint in a padded vice jaw. Done in the gun the pounding puts a huge stress load on the half cock notch, cock arm, cock jaws and tumbler/lock plate bearing who's snug fit keeps everything in line with the frizzen strike.
The tumbler bearing fit through the lock plate is one of the most important tolerances in a locks tuning potential. Sloppy bearing fit equals poor lock efficiency and short flint life! That in turn shortens the life of the Frizzen.

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It is good maintenance to also remember to lube the tumbler bearing each time you clean the gun or remove the lock. Being under the cock arm often makes re-lubing this most important bearing in the lock, often over looked.

M. De Land said:

If you want to use that type of tool then it is best to remove the flint from the cock jaws and use it with the flint in a padded vice jaw. Done in the gun the pounding puts a huge stress load on the half cock notch, cock arm, cock jaws and tumbler/lock plate bearing who's snug fit keeps everything in line with the frizzen strike.
The tumbler bearing fit through the lock plate is one of the most important tolerances in a locks tuning potential. Sloppy bearing fit equals poor lock efficiency and short flint life! That in turn shortens the life of the Frizzen.

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Interesting point, but I have been knapping the flints in this same rifle this way since 1981 with no ill effect. The lip is only 0.010” and takes a very small chip from the bottom of the flint. The lock works as good today as it did 40 years ago.

garypl said:

Interesting point, but I have been knapping the flints in this same rifle this way since 1981 with no ill effect. The lip is only 0.010” and takes a very small chip from the bottom of the flint. The lock works as good today as it did 40 years ago.

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I've been repairing quite a few nice flint guns of late including sear face work , sear lift installations, trigger and tumbler repairs. I can see first hand the effects and causes of much of the trouble encountered. Trust me , pounding on the flint in the cock jaws is not the best way to go about achieving the intended goal. For best results remove the flint and knap in a padded vice jaw or better yet learn to pressure flake which is far more controlled and can be done in the cock jaw if supported with the fingers and a pop cycle stick.

M. De Land said:

I've been repairing quite a few nice flint guns of late including sear face work , sear lift installations, trigger and tumbler repairs. I can see first hand the effects and causes of much of the trouble encountered. Trust me , pounding on the flint in the cock jaws is not the best way to go about achieving the intended goal. For best results remove the flint and knap in a padded vice jaw or better yet learn to pressure flake which is far more controlled and can be done in the cock jaw if supported with the fingers and a pop cycle stick.

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All I can say is that it has worked for me for many years with no negative effect on my locks.

garypl said:

Interesting point, but I have been knapping the flints in this same rifle this way since 1981 with no ill effect. The lip is only 0.010” and takes a very small chip from the bottom of the flint. The lock works as good today as it did 40 years ago.

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The other down side of using this type of tool is maintaining the edge level and corner integrity. With a pointed copper pressure flaker tool you can better manage both the edge and corners of the flint edge by up pressure as well and in and down pressure to keep the edge level and the corners in place.
Each time a row of flakes is pressed off the edge is raised for a different impact on the frizzen. This is a good thing in that it makes the frizzen last longer and discourages groove cutting. Eventually the edge will be at the upper side of the flint and it may need to be turned over and the cycle repeated until the flint is worn back to far to clear the cock jaw. This is what makes pressure flaking the very best method of flint sharpening and gives the longest flint life with the added benefit of being much easier on your lock.
One more advantage is with a pressure flaker the scarf on the edge is stronger because of the ridges between flakes. It is the points of these ridges that are impacting the frizzen , cutting steel and making the sparks. When they wear back they become the platforms for the next row of flakes on the new sharp,level edge. What this better edge management translates to is more spark, longer frizzen, flint life and less lock stress.
One more benefit is pressure flaking has far less tendency to fracture a flint than does percussion flaking.

garypl said:

All I can say is that it has worked for me for many years with no negative effect on my locks.

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I would bet you a Dr. Pepper your trigger pull has increased both in weight and creep over the years and that your tumbler bearing is much looser than it started out! Course if you have a set trigger you may not notice it!

I am new to flintlocks an I have seen a few videos on knapping. I cannot find a single video on pressure flaking a gun flint though. Can someone explain in detail how it is done?

Fly103 said:

I am new to flintlocks an I have seen a few videos on knapping. I cannot find a single video on pressure flaking a gun flint though. Can someone explain in detail how it is done?

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You won't find it for gun flint making. I have adapted it from arrow point knapping to gun flint production. I doubt I'm the first to employ it as it is an effective, natural progression . Just look up flint knapping of arrow heads and you will quickly find pressure flaking and the tools needed for it.
I made a short ten minute video of doing one in a cock about three years ago on photobucket but have since canceled that outlet and could not format the video to this forum.

M. De Land said:

I've been repairing quite a few nice flint guns of late including sear face work , sear lift installations, trigger and tumbler repairs. I can see first hand the effects and causes of much of the trouble encountered. Trust me , pounding on the flint in the cock jaws is not the best way to go about achieving the intended goal. For best results remove the flint and knap in a padded vice jaw or better yet learn to pressure flake which is far more controlled and can be done in the cock jaw if supported with the fingers and a pop cycle stick.

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Get real if you don't knap with a sledge hammer you'll be OK .. Been doing it for forty years no prob!em. All it takes is a light tap .

Professor flintlock said:

Get real if you don't knap with a sledge hammer you'll be OK .. Been doing it for forty years no prob!em. All it takes is a light tap .

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OK, have it your way! Don't try and learn anything new and perhaps better!

You try and make things difficult when there is no need to . By the way I try to stay at the cutting edge of things ( no pun intended ) but yours is a dull idea. Learn to knap properly and life will be simple . By the way I have a flint that has given 323 shots. And I didn't have to rebuild my lock.

M. De Land said:

You won't find it for gun flint making. I have adapted it from arrow point knapping to gun flint production. I doubt I'm the first to employ it as it is an effective, natural progression . Just look up flint knapping of arrow heads and you will quickly find pressure flaking and the tools needed for it.
I made a short ten minute video of doing one in a cock about three years ago on photobucket but have since canceled that outlet and could not format the video to this forum.

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If you can send me that "photobucket" video, I may be able to re-format it. No promises, but I'll give it my best shot. Send it to [email protected]

TNsourdough said:

If you can send me that "photobucket" video, I may be able to re-format it. No promises, but I'll give it my best shot. Send it to [email protected]

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Thank you, I'll have to get my son on it again as I'm practically puter illiterate. The trouble we had was compressing it enough to get in on this forum. We tried one program that compressed it a bit but not tight enough for this site. I filmed it on my personal digital camera and then down loaded it from sd card to photobucket. He said he would help me with it to get it to you.

M. De Land said:

Thank you, I'll have to get my son on it again as I'm practically puter illiterate. The trouble we had was compressing it enough to get in on this forum. We tried one program that compressed it a bit but not tight enough for this site. I filmed it on my personal digital camera and then down loaded it from sd card to photobucket. He said he would help me with it to get it to you.

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Thanks! I'll look for it.

TNsourdough said:

Thanks! I'll look for it.

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We just sent it over to you. Thanks If you can make it work on this forum please go for it as I think it will help folks with there gun flint management!

TNsourdough said:

Thanks! I'll look for it.

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What do yah think, any hope?