Flint maintenance

[Professor flintlock]

I hate waste in principal. I go for 60 shots. Sometimes get more. Have pulled 100 on occasion. And then there's always a flint falls apart in just a few. I have over 200 fresh flints squirrelled away in reserve in case the supply dries up, but eek out every possible shot for each one I buy currently. Then the replaced flints go in a jar for future revisiting if I ever come up short. There are maybe four quart jars of spent flints in my basement.

I have several Mizzy wheels and will work humpies or rebevel an edge in extreme cases. My rifle takes a slightly smaller flint than my fowling piece.

Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without.

Not to sound outlandish,But I have a flint that I got 323 shots so far ,gonna try for more. I've used all four sides. I knapped ever so lightly. Slot can be said for a properly tuned lock and a properly surfaced and hardened frizzen. I wouldn't take that flint to a match. It's about a quarter inch long. Wonder if this might be a Ripley's believe it or not material?

 

[Grenadier1758]

did any one ever hear of using the frizzen to knap the flint? I read about it being done in MUZZLS BLASTS MAGAZINE. seems that you put the hammer off of half **** and let it go foreword slowly until it makes contact ever so slightly with the frizzen and apply a rearward pressure and it will break off very tiny chips and self refresh the flint. any one else ever heard of doing it this way? seems that you would always have a flint napper with you at all times.

What I have done is similar. With the hammer down, I close the frizzen on the top edge of the flint. I press the frizzen hard as I pull the hammer to half ****. I usuall get a few flakes off the edge of the flint and the sharp edge is parallel to the frizzen. Seems to work best with the big lock on the Bess.

 

[SDSmlf]

thank you very much for the reply, toot.

did any one ever hear of using the frizzen to knap the flint? I read about it being done in MUZZLS BLASTS MAGAZINE. seems that you put the hammer off of half **** and let it go foreword slowly until it makes contact ever so slightly with the frizzen and apply a rearward pressure and it will break off very tiny chips and self refresh the flint. any one else ever heard of doing it this way? seems that you would always have a flint napper with you at all times.

There is another variation of using the frizzen to refresh a flint, although I’m not a big fan of the method as it, at least in my opinion, puts unnecessary strain on lock components. Basically you set the frizzen open bit, so that the flint will strike the frizzen near its base. You **** the piece and pull the trigger. Letting the flint hit the frizzen essentially square instead of swiping down it, and it will definitely cause the edge of the flint to calve flakes. But it has to be stressing some of the lock components, again, in my opinion.

 

[SDSmlf]

Here is a post by Paul Vallandigham describing the knapping process I mentioned in my previous post.

About sharpening your flint( Knapping). With the gun empty, and the flint mounted properly in the jaws of your ****, cradle the gun in your left arm. Use the outside of your Left Thumb to lift the frizzen up off the pan, while you manually lower the **** until the flint's edge is touching the Heel of the flint. ( Heel-- If you view the L-shaped Frizzen like a human foot, the heel is at the bottom of the face, where the vertical and horizontal parts meet.)

Hold the **** open at that height, making sure that your thumb is far enough back from the face of the flint that you won't cut the thumb with the flint. Then, **** the hammer back to full ****, and trip the trigger. This will cause a small thin flake or " spawl" to be broken off the edge of the flint ACROSS the entire width of the flint. In the process, it will " square " the edge of the flint to the face of the frizzen, and sharpen the edge, because that spawl will come off the bottom side of the edge.

Make sure the **** screw remains tight, and you are ready to shoot. You don't need a separate " Flint Knapping hammer", to keep your gunflints sharp in your gun. Knapping hammers are best reserved for working with larger chunks of flints, to produce Gunflints, arrow points, spear points, knives, etc.

 

[Brokennock]

did any one ever hear of using the frizzen to knap the flint? I read about it being done in MUZZLS BLASTS MAGAZINE. seems that you put the hammer off of half **** and let it go foreword slowly until it makes contact ever so slightly with the frizzen and apply a rearward pressure and it will break off very tiny chips and self refresh the flint. any one else ever heard of doing it this way? seems that you would always have a flint napper with you at all times.

I've done it this way. Not the best method, but it works in a pinch.

 

[FlinterNick]

I bought a Knapping book, got a few copper nails and now my flints last twice as long, gettting them to flake with pressure points isn’t as hard as it sounds.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I bought a Knapping book, got a few copper nails and now my flints last twice as long, gettting them to flake with pressure points isn’t as hard as it sounds.

ATTABOY!

 

[Bob McBride]

did any one ever hear of using the frizzen to knap the flint? I read about it being done in MUZZLS BLASTS MAGAZINE. seems that you put the hammer off of half **** and let it go foreword slowly until it makes contact ever so slightly with the frizzen and apply a rearward pressure and it will break off very tiny chips and self refresh the flint. any one else ever heard of doing it this way? seems that you would always have a flint napper with you at all times.

Toot, that's a 'when you absolutely positively must knap your flint without reaching in your bag' sort of technique. It might get you one more shot if there's an NDN on your tail and you missfired on the run...

It'll knap off just enough of some part or the other of the edge to 'maybe' get you a spark'.

 

[toot]

can both a brass rod and a copper rod both be used to knap a flint? is one better than the other?

 

[FlinterNick]

can both a brass rod and a copper rod both be used to knap a flint? is one better than the other?

Both can be used, but copper works better, its softer and provides more pressuring leverage. I use a rounded copper dowel that I got on amazon. Thick heavy leather can also be used for palming the flint.

 

[toot]

FlinterNick. could you post a link to the copper dowell? I want to get one. does any work, grinding or anything have to be done when I get it? I have never used one? thank's.

 

[FlinterNick]

FlinterNick. could you post a link to the copper dowell? I want to get one. does any work, grinding or anything have to be done when I get it? I have never used one? thank's.

3mm Copper Round Rod, Favordrory 20PCS Copper Round Rods Lathe Bar Stock, 3mm in Diameter 100mm in Length https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7248FL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_E9lwFb7VEMMY1

 

[toot]

thank you so much sir for getting back to me on my question. I am off too get one.

 

[toot]

it is allways easy when one knows what to do and where to go. just ask and the great bunch of guys on this site will offer up the help that you need.

 

[Griz44Mag]

can both a brass rod and a copper rod both be used to knap a flint? is one better than the other?

I use a brass one with a small brass hammer at the range, works just fine!

 

[toot]

Griz44Mag, did you grind / file / thin the rod down on only one side or both sides? and if so how far back? the rod looks like it is about 1/2 inch in diameter and made of brass?

 

[Griz44Mag]

Griz44Mag, did you grind / file / thin the rod down on only one side or both sides? and if so how far back? the rod looks like it is about 1/2 inch in diameter and made of brass?

I filed a shallow notch into one side of the flat to use as a flaker-chipper on the edge of the flint.
I have seen the same thing done with a 16p framing nail. A shallow notch is all you need to get the flint edge to flake off.

 

[toot]

Griz44Mag, I got it. thank you for replying to my query, it is so easy when one explains it. toot.

 

[Mulebrain]

I dress the edge of the flint with a small brass napping hammer. It's really simple and keeps me running

 

[Professor flintlock]

Not worth the trouble IMO. Flint gets dull turn it over. Gets dull again, remove, toss it, install a new one.

To me attempting to refresh a flint is like trying to reuse dirty patches. A waste of time.

I have a flint that I have gotten 323 shots with it Dark English flint. I knap very lightly with a brass hammer you can hardly see the chips . I turned it over multiple times and I used all four sides of the flint. Wish you could get that many out of all flints. Normal English flint from the Log Cabin in Lodi Ohio. Might try to get a few more flashes out of it. Getting pretty small. Probably should enter it in the flintlock hall of fame. The lock is a superbly tuned V.C. Davis from the late 70' s I presume. If your going to flip the flints only twice ,will you save them and send them to me? I'll pay the freight.