flint knapping tool

[hentird]

Joe Wood of Amarillo,TX sells a neat little knapping tool.His company is "The Firelock Shop".e-mail address is "[email protected]"..He also sells coning tools but you hardly ever hear of his knapping tool.I bought two for me and two for my brother. It is a very simple to use tool.Great! person to deal with. His phone # is 806-352-3032...I am not related to him or affiliated with him just a very pleased customer.

 

[PAlongrifle]

Can you post a picture of it, or does the store have a web page?

 

[2172]

the bp magazines from time to time tell how to make a tool..it is pretty simple. Take a nail, I use a cut masonry nail, and about a half inch from the point, cut in a notch and remove about half of the material from there to the point. put the notch on the edge of the flint, and tap, gently....I've made and used a couple of these. When they're discussed here on the boards, generally some one (or more) chimes in to say they are un-needed. They are right, of course. After I'd used a tool for a while, I found I'd learned enough to just use the back edge of my patch knife to tap the flint edge....but I think the tool helped me get to that point. Until I started knapping, I was getting 15 shots for a flint, now, 40 or more..Hank

 

[vradin]

After I'd used a tool for a while, I found I'd learned enough to just use the back edge of my patch knife to tap the flint edge....but I think the tool helped me get to that point. Until I started knapping, I was getting 15 shots for a flint, now, 40 or more..Hank

Trying to learn as much as I can before venturing into the world of flint, here's a potentially I-D-TEN-T question about knapping, especially in regards to shots per filnt... how critical is the flint shape to getting good spark? I can understand having a sharp edge, but is there some other geometry coming into play by going from commercial flints (straight/square edge) to a hand-knapped flint where you can conform the edge to your frizzen and how the flint is held in the cock?

Hope I'm being clear, it just seems that knapping your own flint will allow the edge to conform better to the overall geometry of the lock than a one-size-fits-most solution.

Or am I being too darned analytical and over-thinking this?

thanks,
vic

 

[Stumpkiller]

The edge has to be as sharp as possible for slicing the frizzen, as blunt as possible for durability, and the lowest portion has to be as flat as possible to rest securely on the lower jaw (the top jaw can swivel a tad so as to grip it well). I'd say 17.5

 

[brushbuster]

The edge has to be as sharp as possible for slicing the frizzen, as blunt as possible for durability, and the lowest portion has to be as flat as possible to rest securely on the lower jaw (the top jaw can swivel a tad so as to grip it well). I'd say 17.5