english flint life...or lack of

[pmwest]

I have been using English flints that I got from Dixie in my T/C flintlock and have had much better than average flint life and excellent spark. With these flints, it seemed the thinner the flint, the better it performed and the longer it lasted. I have one that has been through several hundred shots and although looks a little rough, it still sparks great. I generally mount the flint bevel down. I recently bought some Tom Fullers from TOTW. Because of my previous experience with the flint from Dixie, I selected the thinnest edge flint from the package to use for a deer hunt. Each time the flint strikes the frizzen, spawls of flint break off the top, back to the jaw. On the third strike about an 1/8” x ¼” chip was removed. Tried same flints this past weekend, same result but the flint that I used looked like a brother to the first, like it was from the same flake. I don’t think this has anything to do with the lock, it is a newer version of the T/C lock that has been “tuned up”. Is there something “wrong” with the TOTW flints or is it just a different animal than I am use to?

I will try a few more from the package that have a steeper bevel to see how they last.

 

[redwing]

You have 200 shots on a flint?? That has to be a new world record. Tom Fuller Flints are the best, but you had better stick with what you are buying from DGW. :hmm:

 

[jtmattison]

I have the same experience with TF flints. They only lasted a few shots and they shattered badly. I went back to using stone cut flints and I can get 100 or more shots out of one of them. The cut flints don't exactly look PC but they work far better for me.

HD

 

[roundball]

3/4" Tom Fuller flints, bevel up, are outstanding in every new style TC Flint lock I own.
The "hump back" shaped ones average about 40-60 shots...and the good flat-tops average about 70-80, in both cases without doing much to them.

Once I have to start tinkering around / knapping them every few shots I replace them...I figure 75 shots out of a .75cent flint is as good a deal as it needs to be.
:thumbsup:

 

[pmwest]

It is actually more than 200, I'm either going to nominate it for entry into the Muzzleloading Hall of Fame or auction it on ebay. :winking:

 

[renovato]

I'm using Tom Fullers in my Austin & Halleck and they're performing fine. Being a new flint shooter, they're the only ones I've tried so far though. Maybe moving the flint slightly forward or rearward in the cock would help?

 

[Old Salt]

I've found one or two out of many Tom Fuller flints that shattered easily but that is not the norm. I attribute it to natural causes or Murphy.

Where does Dixie get thier English flints?

Old Salt

 

[rich pierce]

Flint varies a lot in toughness regardless of color and country of origin. I think it has a lot to do with heat treatment. That makes it easier to knap. But I figure, if it's easier to bust a blade out of the nodule, it's probably also easier to bust a piece off the edge of the gunflint, too.