Flint Knapping

Can someone, sloooooooowly, and in simple words, tell me how EXACTLY one goes about knapping a flint while in the jaws? Keep in mind I catch on pretty slow and I can't remember things very well, in fact...........what was I talking about anawho?
Oh, napping. Good idea zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz :snore:

 

[weasel]

Maxi its so easy after ya lurn it its almost embearassing Step one unloaded rifle is prefered 2 primin pan empty 3 hammer at full cock to give ya the most access 4 using the back of yer knife blade a knapping hammer or small knapping tool tap the sharp edge of the flint startin at one edge and movin to the other light fast taps work best small flake will chip off giving you a new edge don't worry about keeping a consistent edge small irregularities will flake off the first time ya shoot WARNING make sure ya dump and brush yer pan afore ya fire agin them leetle flakes are nasty ya kin make a knapping tule outa any hefty size nail just by filin or grindin a square shoulder on the shank about .050" depth will wurk but a knife works best fur me and I always got one with me ::
weasel

 

:snore:zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, Huh! Oh, I was napping, or was we talkin' 'bout knappin'? Anyway thanks fer tha tips. ::

 

[TwoShadows]

Weasel has kept it simple and to the point. Hard to improve on it. There are tools and methods out there that beat around the bush, but arrive at the same conclusion.

 

[musketman]

I have a small brass hammer that I made just for knapping...
I prefer a non-sparking metal knapper... (not that I knapp flints with the pan primed, 'cus I don't) I just rather use brass...

 

[steved]

Hey Maxiball,

Key points already outlined above. For more info, log onto www.muzzleblasts.com , click on "Back Issues" icon, then move to Vol 4, No.1. There is an article titled "Flints, Frizzens & Touch Hole Liners". It covers knapping pretty good.

 

[Stumpkiller]

There is a method of getting a quick edge. Tip the frizzen forward, lower the cock with your thumb and tip the frizen slowly back until the bottom edge rests on only the very tip of the flint, then squeeze the frizzen down hard. It will flake the edges that stick out the furthest, and give the finished edge a perfect alignment with the frizzen. The trick is to get just 1/32" or less of flint under the edge of the frizzen. I've seen guys smack the frizzen hard when doing this, but I think that is counterproductive and MUCH harder on the lock.

I use this system often. Obviously THE GUN MUST BE UNLOADED and it is probably bad for the frizzen pivot point (but that's built to absorb a sharp blow from the cock. Works soooo nice and it is the fastest way to get off a shot if your flint fractures without igniting the pan (but then, the gun would still be loaded - so do as I say, not as I do /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif)

 

[Rocky Johnson]

JerseyFlinter -Thanks for the tip on back issues of Muzzle Blasts, I need all the help I can get.My frist flint lasted about a dozzen shots ,I thought it would last forever. :: Wrong . Rocky /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[musketman]

My frist flint lasted about a dozzen shots, I thought it would last forever. Wrong.

Flints, like anything else, has flaws in them...

Some last 50-90 shots, some last under 20...

I get best results with real flint, my musket hates agate and chert stones...

If you can find a way of telling just by looking at the flint, you will be named the flintlock king... :haha:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Flints, like anything else, have flaws in them...

That's for sure. Flint is a sedimentary rock and has a grain, just like wood. I've had some that I think were made out of shale. Absoultely crumbly. If you find a good supplier then throw them lots of business and send a bottle of Jack Daniels to them at Christmas. I have a supply of German Agate 'flints' that look unnatural, but are long-lived and spark acceptably well. True to their German heritage they are dependable and reliable, but slightly cold. A good flint crackles like nothing else and gets them frizzen molecules hot and dancin'. But like any bright star they burn out more rapidly.

 

[roundball]

And I've occasionally found a few "pie-bald" flints in a bulk bag of english flints, where a flint is part black and part light brown or white...had one fracture along that seam, so I set any like that aside for range plinking, never for hunting