Which is the right flint?

[D.Summers]

Y'all beat me to it! You can tell he's not from around these parts by the huge, barnyard like animals he shoots!! Gracious, they're almost African big game!!
On some of his other posts!

 

[M. De Land]

I picked up my first flintlock on the weekend and have finally had a chance to look at it.

I ordered some 1" flints after advice from another forum member who also has a pedersoli Indian trade gun. In comparison to the flint it came with there is a fair bit of difference.

I'm below the level of novice with flintlocks so I've no idea what the proper fit is.

Is the current flint at .8" (lead attached) correct or too small? Are the 1" flints too big or do they just need trimming down? I have attached a photo of the frizzen in case that helps.


Flint with the gun
View attachment 101209

View attachment 101210View attachment 101211

Frizzen
View attachment 101212

I knap my own as wide as the frizzen and as long as I can make them without binding as the frizzen opens. This makes them last as long as possible and when sharpened helps keep moving the impact area on the frizzen face discouraging groove cutting.
Tailoring your flints to fit your lock is another benefit of learning to knap your own. Other wise you have to make do with what they offer which is plenty good for most things but each lock has quirks so the closer you can tailor the flints to what the individual lock likes the better it will preform.

 

[flntlokr]

Thank you for the replies.

As I said I literally just had a chance to go over the gun for the first time, it came with lead but when I can get a piece of scrap leather I will change it over.

I did check the half cock and the current piece of flint at least sits perfectly to my eyes, 1mm or 2 clearance from the frizzen.

So the flint hanging a little over on the outward side of the gun is going to be no issue? If so that's a relief, flints are not cheap here as I've seen prices vary from $7-17 per piece.

If you are having to pay that much for flints, you are getting ripped off. I have never paid more than $2 for them.

 

[M. De Land]

I picked up my first flintlock on the weekend and have finally had a chance to look at it.

I ordered some 1" flints after advice from another forum member who also has a pedersoli Indian trade gun. In comparison to the flint it came with there is a fair bit of difference.

I'm below the level of novice with flintlocks so I've no idea what the proper fit is.

Is the current flint at .8" (lead attached) correct or too small? Are the 1" flints too big or do they just need trimming down? I have attached a photo of the frizzen in case that helps.

Flint with the gun
View attachment 101209

View attachment 101210View attachment 101211

Frizzen
View attachment 101212

Another tip I picked up when I was buying flints is to tune them up to fit your lock better. One of the first things I would do is grind off the hump and flatten the flint out. This gives your cock a better grip on the flint to help with support as you extend it out from sharpening.
At the very least learn to pressure flake because it will not only extend the flint life it will give you a stronger edge which will spark better.

 

[Coinneach]

I've found over the years that good quality Locks are an essential element to Flint efficiency and reasonable longevity.

As for using leather as a wrap to hold a Flint in the Cock Jaw, there's some variables that will affect the security of a Flint, and thickness of the leather is a big one. Leather is by nature soft (another variable) and will "give" (another variable) to a degree on striking the Frizzen, meaning the Flint tends to work loose with a little use.

Some years ago I read a detailed description of the British Army's prescriptive dictates in relation to the maintenance and use of their Flintlock Brown Bess, Paget Carbines; Baker Rifles and various Pistols.

Without exception they ruled that whenever possible and practical, flat sheet Lead T shaped wraps; were to be used in preference to Leather. Since then I've made a point of using thin sheet lead ( Roofing supplies) cut to a T shape configuration; and have found that my Flints have lasted longer in addition to requiring far less re-adjustment / re-tightening when in use.

 

[Coinneach]

"Heritage Products is located in St. Louis, Missouri, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers" thats in America /USA.

 

[Coinneach]

Another one of them here....

 

[French Colonial]

Without exception they ruled that whenever possible and practical, flat sheet Lead T shaped wraps; were to be used in preference to Leather. Since then I've made a point of using thin sheet lead ( Roofing supplies) cut to a T shape configuration; and have found that my Flints have lasted longer in addition to requiring far less re-adjustment / re-tightening when in use.

This is opposite of what I have found works for me.
Lead wrapped flints came loose just as often, in fact when they come loose the flint usually fell out versus when the leather wrapped ones come loose its a gradual thing and you have time to tighten, (I wipe the frizzen and flint usually between shots to get the moisture and gunk off them so if it is loose I know) and IMHO lead was hard on frizzens, when they were tight they hit with no give and beat up the frizzen. The leather also gets pretty stiff after being compressed for a long period of time.

If I had a gun with a poorly hardened frizzen that would not spark I might try them again to see if that would work by hitting the frizzen hard, but I do not need it and would like my frizzens to last as long as possible.

To each his own, I don't wipe the barrel between shots and do use a spit patch. Others do it differently and that works for them.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

I mentioned it elsewhere , i tried machine tool inserts as an experiment and they work brilliant, I’ll try tool steel also, I don’t have a problem we have flint in chalk hills of uk and love mapping flints and arrow heads but not very good at if

 

[M. De Land]

This is opposite of what I have found works for me.
Lead wrapped flints came loose just as often, in fact when they come loose the flint usually fell out versus when the leather wrapped ones come loose its a gradual thing and you have time to tighten, (I wipe the frizzen and flint usually between shots to get the moisture and gunk off them so if it is loose I know) and IMHO lead was hard on frizzens, when they were tight they hit with no give and beat up the frizzen. The leather also gets pretty stiff after being compressed for a long period of time.

If I had a gun with a poorly hardened frizzen that would not spark I might try them again to see if that would work by hitting the frizzen hard, but I do not need it and would like my frizzens to last as long as possible.

To each his own, I don't wipe the barrel between shots and do use a spit patch. Others do it differently and that works for them.

I agree with your leather held flint as well. Leather has spring in it and remains pliable even when compressed were as lead has no memory or spring back to cushion the flint and allow it to flex at frizzen impact while still maintaining it's position in the cock, as leather does.
One of the main reasons lead works in a large cock like the Brown and Bess lock is the shear area of the cock jaws. I suspect the other reason the military preferred lead is because a ball can always be flattened out on a rock to make a flint blanket but leather may be harder to come by.

 

[Coinneach]

The Flint needs to be wrapped tight and pressed down on its surface all around the Flint itself, the "Tail" of the T shaped sheet is fitted so that it comes up behind the Flint, and over the top, that buffers the Flint up against the Cock jaw screw.
Having a cardboard template of the T shaped lead sheet (for each Flint size you use) is helpful in producing consistent results.

I wipe the barrel between every shot, but do it by running a lightly spit patch down over the patched Ball being rammed, (wiped after drawn on my trews and turned over for the next turn); it keeps wiping the fouling out especially in the smaller calibres like .36

 

[FishDFly]

"Heritage Products is located in St. Louis, Missouri, at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers" thats in America /USA.

Nice folks to do business with and great flints.

 

[45man]

Fresh flint from underground is hard to find here in the USA. Many sources are on park lands.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

These turning inserts are cheap and work so well if you cannot get any flints

 

[Grenadier1758]

Heritage products offers very good gun flints. The flints are a product of France.

Heritage Products - Living History Reproductions (heritage-products.com)

 

[hanshi]

My experiments using lead to hold the flint in the cock jaws went rather poorly. Lead tends to "squash" allowing the flint to loosen and eventually fall out. I prefer leather because if the flint falls out it's because the cock screw has loosened. The size of the flint isn't too important, within reason, just as long as it's not a musket flint you're trying in a rifle. Now if the flint is too small that's a problem. You can knapp a flint and make it smaller but you can't make one larger. The main thing is that the flint NOT hit the frizzen head on; that will break the flint and gouge the frizzen face. Installing a flint so it's around 1/16" from the frizzen face at half cock is just about perfect. But the flint has to be set so that it will SCRAPE down the face at around 60 (+ or -) degrees. Just make sure it doesn't hit the barrel when the trigger is pulled. When I have a particularly large flint wider than the frizzen face it gets seated so that it extends outside past the frizzen edge. And keep the flint sharp.

 

[Coinneach]

Nice folks to do business with and great flints.

Thank you sir, I found their website.