Kibler SMR lock and flints

[painter]

So I'm new to flinlocks, and I have about 70 shots through my new SMR. The lock came with a French Amber flint installed bevel up, and it sparked well, but was striking the frizzen about 1/2 way down. I changed the orientation to bevel down and it still sparks well, hits the frizzen closer to the top, and still has a slight downward angle meaning it's not hitting at a 90 degree angle, but it's close to it. I made this change without actually firing the rifle.

It seems like it's being hard on flints. The original broke because I didn't have it installed square to the frizzen. I bought a dozen from Heritage Products so I'd have spares. The next one lasted about 45 shots before it wouldn't spark and couldn't be adjusted. The next one had a fissure near the corner and the corner broke off after about 15 rounds. I installed the one that's in the lock now and have about 10 rounds on it, and it still looks good.

Is this normal, or should I be getting better life from them? Also, for those that have SMR's do you use French Amber, French Black, or English black flints?

Thanks in advance!

 

[woodsnwater]

My Kibler destroys flints if I put them in bevel down. Bevel up it hits the frizzen half way down and they last a good while.

 

[RobertE]

I prefer the French amber from Heritage.
And you never know with flints. My Kibler SMR isn’t too hard on them, but I’ve had flints chip to the point of being unusable in 10-15 shots.
Im no expert, but if I get 40-50 shots out of one, I’m happy.
Which reminds me, Ive got a pile I need to knap a new edge on.

 

[painter]

I prefer the French amber from Heritage.
And you never know with flints. My Kibler SMR isn’t too hard on them, but I’ve had flints chip to the point of being unusable in 10-15 shots.
Im no expert, but if I get 40-50 shots out of one, I’m happy.
Which reminds me, Ive got a pile I need to knap a new edge on.

Thanks for your input.
Do you run them bevel up, or down?

My Kibler destroys flints if I put them in bevel down. Bevel up it hits the frizzen half way down and they last a good while.

Thanks for the input.

 

[TDM]

So I'm new to flinlocks, and I have about 70 shots through my new SMR. The lock came with a French Amber flint installed bevel up, and it sparked well, but was striking the frizzen about 1/2 way down. I changed the orientation to bevel down and it still sparks well, hits the frizzen closer to the top, and still has a slight downward angle meaning it's not hitting at a 90 degree angle, but it's close to it. I made this change without actually firing the rifle.

It seems like it's being hard on flints. The original broke because I didn't have it installed square to the frizzen. I bought a dozen from Heritage Products so I'd have spares. The next one lasted about 45 shots before it wouldn't spark and couldn't be adjusted. The next one had a fissure near the corner and the corner broke off after about 15 rounds. I installed the one that's in the lock now and have about 10 rounds on it, and it still looks good.

Is this normal, or should I be getting better life from them? Also, for those that have SMR's do you use French Amber, French Black, or English black flints?

Thanks in advance!

I use both English and French in my SMR. If I get 45 strikes from a flint on any lock I’m happy. Some flints are strong and have good geometry with the frizzen and will strike longer than 45. Some you may not get 15-20 from. It’s going to vary.

 

[RobertE]

Thanks for your input.
Do you run them bevel up, or down?


Thanks for the input.

Bevel up.
It’s kind of hard to explain, but you get to know what shape of flints work best in your particular lock. Kind of trial and error.
I‘m now at the point where I will just get a years supply at Friendship so I can hand pick what I want, but I’ve been most satisfied with what I’ve received from Heritage.

 

[Iceman]

On my SMR I always use bevel up.

I have used French amber and English black. I prefer the French amber, they seem to last longer. The last couple of batches of English flints I got had about 25% not usable because they are to tall to fit.

If I get 50 shots out of a flint I'm happy. Some go longer, some a lot less.

 

[TDM]

On my SMR I always use bevel up.

I have used French amber and English black. I prefer the French amber, they seem to last longer. The last couple of batches of English flints I got had about 25% not usable because they are to tall to fit.

If I get 50 shots out of a flint I'm happy. Some go longer, some a lot less.

I have the same problem with humpback flints that are unusable as they are. Even when I request hand selected flints I still get bad ones. And that’s from TOW and LCS. Luckily I have a diamond blade tile saw that I can reshape them with. But I’ve been too lazy to get it out lately. It’s a wet operation so maybe when it warms up.

 

[painter]

Thanks everyone. I think the next time I change the flint I'll go bevel up and see if it increases the longevity noticeably, or decreases the reliability of spark...IOW I'll play with it.

 

[oldwood]

I used to monitor performance of English , vs. French amber. They are 'bout the same quality ,and sometimes French seems better,. I buy flint from Stonewall creek Outfitters ,with good success. I throw both French and British in the same storage box. .......oldwood

 

[ord sgt]

The flint can last for many shots and then there are some that will have the lose the edge after a few shots. I have Siler, Davis, L&R and CVA locks. The mainspring power can and will break flints easily. I use English flint mostly. But I have used chert and had good results with them. I did break some chert after a few hammer falls.
To get the maximum life from the flint sometimes a change of bevel is needed. And then you can gain more hammer falls by knapping the edge while still in the lock. By tapping the forward edge, it will break off small chips resulting in a sharp edge again.
Trial and error are a part of the world of flintlocks.

When the shot is fired, quickly take a deep breath and get your lungs filled with the white smoke. Ain't nothing else like it in the world.

 

[Fly103]

I use black English flints, bevel up for the first 20 or so shots til i get sparking problems as the flint becomes shorter. then I flip bevel down for the next 20 or 30 shots. After that I'm forced to shim toothpicks behind the flint to get good enough geometry to spark and that usually lasts another 10 or so shots before the flint becomes so thick and blunt its impossible to knap a new edge on them. I monitor the flint between shots and knap as needed to keep the edge sharp and wearing consistently.

Here is a Pic of my smr lock with a brand new black English flint installed.

 

[Snydly]

I get more sparks from the French amber but my English black flints seem to last longer. Careful knapping will give me a minimum of 75 shots,,, if I do my part. When I first started using flintlocks I was satisfied with 50 or so shots but as I learned more from "doing" and learning from experts I realized that I was discarding flints way too soon. Each flint is different and has to be checked out as to whether It is bevel up or bevel down. Thickness of the leather flint holder can affect the sparking as well as it determines the angle of the flint. For me.... this is just another aspect of shooting black powder that I love!

 

[Bushfire]

I'm biases toward french things, but I don't noticed much if any difference between the two. I still prefer French flints when i can get them.

The lock is a factor too. My GRRW 54 is very gentle on flints, I can easily get 50 shots out of a flint. The main spring is not strong, but she still sparks well. Well tuned lock I guess.

My Indian trade gun which I sold was great, but 20-30 shots including knapping was my average for a flint. My fusil has a strong springs but doesn't seem to abuse flints as much as my Indian trade did, go figure.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I set up my flints so the edge of the flint is as close to dipping into the pan as possible so I don't have to rely on gravity to deliver sparks where needed. I compete with flintlocks so I have no use for "klatches" and other things that cause ignition delays of any kind, and don't continue to use flints when they are no longer of suitable size and shape just to get more shots out of them.

 

[bigted]

Interesting. I so much enjoy flintlocks which surprises me greatly. I use English flints at somewhete around 2 bucks per flint. I normally get with knapping in the jaws around 20 to 60 shots per flint. I only am a babe with flinters but I am motivated to understand more and more about them. My dependence on those lil caps has diminished to around zero. I really like the pomp and circumstance with flinters. Am getting closer to selling off my modern gunz and investing in more flintlock guns

Thanks all for this post. Enjoying it greatly.

 

[smokepolehall]

I run my flint either up or down so i get the best egde n sparks. I stopped using the Tom Fuller English black flints from TOTW, too many humpbacked n they are breaking with-in 4 shots. I have went to the French Amber flints

 

[Flint Striker]

That’s interesting that this lock seems to like a strike in the center of the frizzen. Most of the locks I’ve used liked it best about 1/3 way down from the top.

 

[painter]

That’s interesting that this lock seems to like a strike in the center of the frizzen. Most of the locks I’ve used liked it best about 1/3 way down from the top.

That's what I thought too. Only way I could get that was to run it bevel down. I'll try it the other way since others are getting good results with a strike halfway down.

 

[EC121]

The flint should strike with a slicing stroke. Sometimes you can shim the back of the flint up a little, and other times you can turn it over.