Getting my flint pistol to spark

[garandman]

Built up a Deer Creek flint pistol. Turned out pretty, but its a real weak sparker.

At first the frizzen was too still, so I tweaked the spring. Now the frizzen will open all the way, but I get little / no spark.

What are all the best tips / tricks to getting this to be a good sparker?

Flint setup? Knapping? Length? Type?

Anything else?

 

[garandman]

UPDATE -

A combination of some real Goex 4F flash powder, and some proper English flints have my flint pistol up and firing well.

Now to finish the build, and post some pics.

 

[Fox.45]

:surrender: I dont wanna hijack this thread,but I have a question on the subject.
I have a Tower flintlock .69cal and I cant get it to spark.
I bought this new about 25 yrs ago and never paid much attention to it.
I had the frizzen made harder and i tried various flints ,t/c , lyman , tom fuller fron totw and nadda, aside from putting it up for sale or hangin it on the wall, does anyone have any suggestions?
And, Iam assuming that they are safe to fire,are they not?
Thanks for lookin, Be safe and well ,, fox.45 :idunno:

 

[Bill Bryan]

I've had a number of flintlock pistols and rifles. They all spark differently and you have to learn their ways. Sometimes just turning over the flint is all that's needed. Make sure your using a sharp flint. Also make sure the front edge of the flint is aligned parallel to frizzen. It really doesn't take much of a spark to work. I also like to use a flattened lead ball instead of leather to hold the flint.

My two cents.