Has anyone used a ferrorod as a flint?

Hello all. I have a replica 1768 short land brown bess I use for deer and birds and everything in between recently ran out of viable flints. I tried quartz and some other rocks I found randomly some worked once but only once. I had an old wall clock made of agate so I smashed it with a hammer and have been using that lately I get maybe 3 shots before I have to rotate it. My dad theorized I could use a piece of a firesteel ferrorod thing as a flint I haven't tried it yet I wanted to ask first if anybody has done this and if so if it works and if not is it a good idea or a stupid idea? Thanks for your time.
PS i know my gun is rusty its on purpose I'm trying to build a patina it was shiny when I bought her I didn't like it so I'm trying to rust her up nice and good

As a flint, I don't know, but it works perfectly to replace pyrite (iron disulfide) on a wheellock gun. The frizzen could be (maybe) a little too smooth, but you can try.
Normally, ferro should works more than well on a striated Spanish battery and why not on a regular frizzen...

Erwan said:

As a flint, I don't know, but it works perfectly to replace pyrite (iron disulfide) on a wheellock gun. The frizzen could be (maybe) a little too smooth, but you can try.
Normally, ferro should works more than well on a striated Spanish battery and why not on a regular frizzen...

Click to expand...

Sweet! Thanks for your response makes sense I'm going to give it a shot I can't see why it wouldn't work. Luckily my frizzen is pitted to hell probably would work

There are flints out there to buy heritage- products.com is one place

That's were I buy mine very nice to deal with.

RANDY, do not know about the ferro rod thing but just search on the computer there are flints too be had, now clean the gun rust does not add patina useage does.

This will not work. Ferrocerium is a modern alloy that makes sparks when it is scraped with a sharp tool ( including flint ). However, striking a smooth frizzen with ferrocerium will likely produce nothing. There was once information on line regarding frizzens that had been soled with ferrocerium which produced abundant sparks but are clearly not authentic. Stick with real flint and a properly hardened frizzen.

A flintlock flint scrapes hot particles, sparks, off the steel towards the pan.
A ferro rod gets scraped toward the tinder. See the difference?
Even if you get sparks, they would be going the wrong way.

Clean your gun.

Muzzleloader Builders Supply appears to have 1" flints in stock, Stonewall Creek Outfitters may have 1" and 1-1/8" but best to call. Heritage Products appears to have 1", 1-1/8" and 1-1/4" black or amber. Track of The Wolf is showing balck English flints in stock, so they ARE available.

nice to know.

Also, from what I've read in the Muzzle Blast magazine, guns that have been soled on the frizzen with the material you are trying to use are not allowed on the range.

Are we permitted to talk of this modern stuff on this site? If not please delete my post.
I believe it works if you epoxy a piece of rod to the frizzen face and put a piece of hard steel in the jaws. They say you can cut the rod with a hacksaw. I have never done any of this and wouldn’t recommend it. Could cause damage etc. proceed at your own risk

I cut a piece of ferrorod with a hacksaw to make a piece to fit my wheellock. It made an impressive amount of sparks while cutting it.

I also might add there are better ways of adding a "Patina" than what
you appear to be doing. I rust browning solution would be a really good way. Try the Luarrel Mountain Valley Forge solution's. Do a type search for them. They make really good products.

When it comes to patina-ing guns I've had good luck putting on a heavy coat of browning solution, leaving it over night, then rubbing it with some 000 steel wool, and a quick hot water rinse to stop further corrosion. Repeat until you are happy with how it looks then oil it up good. Three of four times works best for me.

The material that was half faced on frizzens that is illegal at Friendship is Depleted Uranium. Radioactive Dust with every shot. I don't know about Ferrocerium. Flints are not impossible to get, they last from 5 to 100 shots. I buy a bag of 100 and forget about ignition problems for a decade or so.

Regarding Patina. You have enough rust now. Scrub the barrel with a green scrubby pad and oil it. Patina takes time. Anything you do chemically to make patina will look fake for a long time. Real patina, which is accomplished by use, rust, cleaning and oiling will produce a steel gray color that cannot be hurried. Give it two or three years of use and cleaning and it will give you the look you want.

skoda said:

I cut a piece of ferrorod with a hacksaw to make a piece to fit my wheellock. It made an impressive amount of sparks while cutting it.

Click to expand...

LOL. Yes, it sure does make sparks fly. If you have a bench grinder, purchase a cutting wheel used for tile. The same sparks will fly, but only lasts a couple seconds. I placed a flat cookie sheet with a little water in it under the wheel to catch the sparks.

Before you start this project, I would buy a replacement frizzen for your Musket. Once you have it in hand, then get yourself a 1/2" x 6" Ferro Rod. Put a heavy piece of leather around the rod and put it in a bench mounted vise with about an inch and half of the rod protruding up from the vise. Make a small mark as close to the center of the rod as you can across the diameter of it, and then move the hacksaw to the right a heavy 1/16" of an inch. Slowly start splitting the rod until you have made a cut just slightly longer than your frizzen is from top to bottom. Cutting SLOWLY helps to control the sparks. Repeat this process on the left side of the center mark. Once this ripping is done, crosscut to the length of your frizzen. If the frizzen on your musket is wider than the piece of Ferro Rod than just leave the piece of rod as is but if they are close to the same width you can shape the piece of Ferro Rod to match the shape of the frizzen, but it isn't a necessary step. Next take a small triangle file or the corner edge of a small flat file and make several scratches across the frizzen and then with a small piece of 80 grit sand paper sand it just a little bit up and down the frizzen, perpendicular to the file marks. Mix a small amount of JB Weld and smear a thin coat of it on the frizzen and glue the piece of Ferro Rod to the frizzen. You can clamp it in place with a small C clamp or probably even a couple of clothes pins. Let dry for about 24 hours. While it's drying, you can take a 1" inch wide piece of 1/8" or 1/4" thick flat bar steel and cut a piece of it to roughly the length of one of your flints. Perhaps just a little shorter. Grind a beveled edge on it at about a 45 to 50-degree angle and then heat it until it is glowing a nice bright orange with a 1 pound tank of Map gas connected to a small soldering torch and then drop it in some water. That'll make it more than hard enough to throw sparks off of the Ferro that you glued to the frizzen. Bear in mind that Ferro Rod is a lot softer than Flint and Steel, and this process is going to have to be redone a lot sooner than later. If historical accuracy is not one of your major concerns, then this will throw some great sparks.
The End : )

Hey friend, I think you’re traveling down two wrong paths.

Good flints are easy to obtain and rust is not your friend.

I recently received an order of a bunch of flints of various sizes (and some other stuff) from Track of the Wolf. Nice French and English flints. Not really all that expensive. I really can't see any advantage in trying to make do with something lesser that doesn't work nearly as well as the real thing.

Edit: I actually just ordered some more from TOW being reminded by this thread that I forgot to order any 7/8 flints in my last order.