Another easy fix for high, ridge top flints

[roundball]

FYI, in the past there have been discussions about making high topped black english flints easier to use, including cutting off the ridge tops, or gluing small pieces of wood on the back slopes, etc.

I tried gluing small pieces of leather to the back slopes (instead of wood) and they worked good, but then I got the idea of just gluing the entire flint leather to the flint instead...it's simple, cheap, fast, and works perfectly.

I cut a dozen flint leathers out of some scrap leather I had, lined up a dozen flints, put a dab of epoxy on their back slopes, and pressed the flint leathers onto the epoxy.

When dry, just folded the other end of the flint leather underneath the flint to mount it in the hammer jaws, and even when the jaws are tightened down on the back slope, because the leather is glued to the flint, the flint can't squeeze forward and it works just like it was a good flat top flint...use it up like normal then toss the whole thing.

 

[TexasMLer]

Roundball,
Thanks for the tip. Although, I don't have a flintlock...yet. I'm starting to get the itch to buy one, though. I haven't shared this fact with my wife yet either. She ought to be really happy about my wanting another gun. :bull: :no:

I have just started to research flintlocks and am trying to learn as much as possible. So, my question is: When you say, "use it up like normal then toss the whole thing", what exactly do you mean? In other words, when is a flint used up - when it can no longer be held by the jaws? How long would it take to use up a flint? And, finally, do you have to use a special kind of flint? I ask the last question because I know where I can get a lot of the regular greyish flint - from my brother's garden! :haha:
Thanks!

 

Say there R.B., you iz pretty smart! I have a few dozen of those knobby topped things and they are a real bear to get into the jaws.
Thanks for the tip.

 

[Rocky Johnson]

TexasMLer I am new to the flintlocks also, have read that the good flints come from the chalks clift of Dover Enland.But why not experment with the flint from the garden.? I got some flints from TOTW for my fowler that work just great. I have a 54 cal.Flintlock Lyman GPR ordered and I don't know what size flint to get for that yet. Reading your post my guest is that there will be a flintlock in your near future. Rocky /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[2172]

A good idea from RB that I'm going to try. As to when a flint is used up, I ran through 3 or 4 in the past 2 weeks, and this is what qualified them as "used up"...1 crumbled the first time it hit the frizzen...probably some kind of internal flaw. A second one had a huge chip break off and leave half of the striking surface...that broke on about the 10th shot, and I got another 5 before the remaining piece broke off, probably because the reduced area was getting all of the "hit". The third and fourth ones were just knapped out, the cutting edges were back to being so thick I couldn't get a sharp edge anymore...those two were the first and last to start the series, and I got probably 70 shots out of the first one, and a lot, don't know how many as I'm still using it, out of the 4th[url] one....in[/url] other words, they're used up when you can't get a sharp edge to strike the frizzen...mostly mine last a long while and get knapped out, once in a while I get one or two that just plain fail...Hank

 

Flint from the garden, eh?- Sounds very good indeed.
: Check out Track's book list. There's at east one in there on knapping flints for the gun's cock. That would be an excellent way to learn the trade of (fint knapping) & perhaps a way to earn some extra "Mad Money" for furture rifles and muskets. Good flints sell for just around or over $1.00 and can be made in less than 2 in. when you are proficient.
Daryl

 

[roundball]

Measure the width of your frizzen to determine the size flint you need to buy.

I've tried Arkansas Agate and TC's regular and premium sawed flints...the Arkansas agates I received from Dixie were soft and crumbly junk...TC's premium sawed flints worked surprisingly well but are very expensive, and of course, none of the sawed flints "look" like a real rock flint should.

I settled on 3/4" Black English Flints in my TC Flintlocks as they repeatedly give the highest relibility, produce the most sparks, knapp easily in seconds, and give an average of 40-60 shots each, usually without having to knapp them, just turn them over in the jaws every 20-30 shots...AND, they're the real deal.

Sometimes the humpback flints won't align properly if they're flipped over so I take 15 seconds every 10-15 shots and tap the edge of the flint a half dozen time's with the edge of the short starter, screwdriver, etc, to keep it sharp to prevent any ignition failures. (Bulk bags at October Country seem to have the lowest price of about 69-75 cents each).

Usually the high ridge / hump backed flints have a steep slope so you can't knapp them back as far as you can a thin flat top flint, because you start to encounter the thicker and thicker part of the slope as you shorten the flint. And this is when you'll come to learn that one is worn out...it'll have been knapped back so far that you can't adjust it forward in the jaws far enough to maintain the correct angle-of-attack to the frizzen face, etc.

So with the hump back flints, I'll start a range session and shoot my usual 40 shots and if I haven't had to knapp it, I'll save it it and squeeze out some more shots the next Saturday...got as many as 87 out of one flint last month before it started failing. But if I've had to knapp it some, and it's getting back into the slope so the edge is getting thicker, I just toss it in the trash after the range session is over, and start the next trip with a fresh one.

 

[LRB]

One other way to go is a "mizzy wheel". This is a diamond impregnated small wheel for dremels or even a drill. You can cut a ridge from a flint pretty quick and the wheels are very inexpensive. I get mine from a jewelry supply. Protect your lungs when using!

 

[LRB]

P.S. You can also sharpen a flint with these.

 

[TexasMLer]

Thanks, guys, for all of the good information on flints! The more I learn about flintlocks, the less "fear" I have of them.
I currently have a percussion GPR in .50 caliber and I like the GPR so much that I just might have to get one in flint. Thanks again!