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Novaculite for gun flints

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I made some novaculite chert flints for my SMR in .45 cal that seems to work really well from initial experimentation and was wondering if anyone else has tried this material for gun flints? They're made from flakes rather than blades hence no ridge in the back leaving them much flatter.
 

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I made some novaculite chert flints for my SMR in .45 cal that seems to work really well from initial experimentation and was wondering if anyone else has tried this material for gun flints? They're made from flakes rather than blades hence no ridge in the back leaving them much flatter.
That's pretty cool. Where do you find/how do you make these?
 
When I got into flintlocks novaculite was one of my first thoughts for flints.... been knapping a lot longer than I've been making/shooting flinters. If it hasn't been heat treated it's tough stuff. A well shaped flint should last a long time.
 
I knap arrow and spear points and use the waist flakes from the spawls I order to make my gun flints. I use percussion and pressure flaking tools to shape and sharpen them. Once you start using these flat gun flints it will spoil you for the ridge backed ones you buy. They spark every bit as well, last as long if not better than the English flint I was buying from TOTW. I also like and use the Keokuk chert from I think Oklahoma but wanted to try some of the novaculite and see how it compared. Both spark like crazy but am curious to see which last the longest and which is harder on the frizzen face.
I think another benefit to using flatter flints is it leaves more room for the top jaw of the cock (being screwed down closer to the bottom jaw) to clear the frizzen face when arching down to make contact. This should allow more of the flint length to be used as it shortens from wear, thus increasing each flints useful life.
 
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I am glad what you are using works well. But, I have to wonder, how do you know the material is novaculite? We have novaculite mines in Arkansas. Most of the material is used for sharpening stones. Some (very little) is sold for gun flints. I once thought a good sideline would be to sell novaculite flints. I market tested with other shooters. Not one showed interest. I couldn't even give samples away. I have tried it and found it to be a poor sparker. Dunno why, on the Rockwell scale it is right up there in hardness with real flint. All said, I have seen reports of flint shooters that like it. Such is the paradox in our game. Even then, novaculite cut into flint sizes is prohibitively expensive. IMHO, it might be a last resort material if real knapped flints cannot any longer be imported.
 
I am glad what you are using works well. But, I have to wonder, how do you know the material is novaculite? We have novaculite mines in Arkansas. Most of the material is used for sharpening stones. Some (very little) is sold for gun flints. I once thought a good sideline would be to sell novaculite flints. I market tested with other shooters. Not one showed interest. I couldn't even give samples away. I have tried it and found it to be a poor sparker. Dunno why, on the Rockwell scale it is right up there in hardness with real flint. All said, I have seen reports of flint shooters that like it. Such is the paradox in our game. Even then, novaculite cut into flint sizes is prohibitively expensive. IMHO, it might be a last resort material if real knapped flints cannot any longer be imported.
I only know what the folks I buy the spawls from call it. It is heat treated. I ask the seller about how heat treated chert would work for gun flints and he said it would not be good material for that purpose but being of experimental bent I had to try it anyway and it sparks as good or better than any I have bought from TOTW. I've made up some packets of Keokuk gun flints of five count and given them to friends to try out and make a comparison for me. Two of them wanted more of the flat flints and were willing to pay for them as they had the same opinion I did of how well they worked.
I have read that it is harder on frizzen faces but will have to test this to see if true as well. They're is lot of apple sauce in print out there stated as fact.
I don't really understand what heat treating of chert does to the crystiline structure as it is only about 400 degrees for 6-8 hours! It does make tough chert flake easier but I doubt it is hot enough to change the hardness level.
 
In watching folks sharpen their flint edges with small hammers , notching tools and drawing them back words against the frizzen I am becoming increasingly convinced of the need to preach and teach how to pressure flake. It looks to me like most folks routinely ruin a third to half their flints sparking life potential with these much less controlled methods of flint sharpening. Accuracy is effected as well when the spark shower is continually changing it's brilliance efficiency.
 
I bought a pressure flaker and am trying to learn but feel its a skill that may take a while to master any tips are greatly appreciated.
 
Here's the pressure flaker I made copper small and brass large and some indirect impact points (look on utube) buy a cut resistant glove or bandaids
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I bought a pressure flaker and am trying to learn but feel its a skill that may take a while to master any tips are greatly appreciated.
Bring up flint knapping on Utube and you will quickly learn of the tools needed and easily made along with techniques to use them. I have made all my own tools and they work very well. Copper or brass, even aluminum is good soft metal for making pressure flaking, percussion and indirect percussion tooling. One of my best point notching tools is made from a 12 penny nail glued into an antler for a handle.
Antler works fine but wears quickly. A copper nail or ground wire just takes a couple licks with a file to re-point and your back in business. Copper tools are the most efficient for working chert especially for tuning up sharp edges.
When competing with my flinters in pistol or rifle I find that if I take the time to tune up the edge after every relay I have far better results as the spark generation is much more consistent and the flint last longer as the edge profile and integrity is maintained. One mans opinion.
I think the first thing is to get your lock tuned to best performance and then learn to pressure flake. The combination will make your gun operate a peak and extend the life of both !
I much prefer fakes to blades for gun flints as you wind up with a flat flint without a ridge to contend with.
 
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The pistol flints are usually smaller at 5/8s wide and 3/4's long so one can make a "Jillion" of them from debatage (sp) (waste) but the large rifle flints use up material faster and this size can be used for small game arrow points. My rifle lock likes the 7/8s by 3/4 inch flints .
The other thing about regular edge tuning is that it moves the impact area on the frizzen around to space out wear with less tendency to cut grooves across the face.
When ever you flake off another row of small chips across the edge it raises the edge and makes the new chip scarfs hit the firzzen in a different place then did the previous row. This happens any way as the flint edge fractures to the rear but the pressure flaking keeps this natural attenuation under better control.
 
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this stone is new to me. I guess that the knoweledge doesn't get to NEW ENGLAND? thanks for sharing with us.
 

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