Flint shape and orientation

[M. De Land]

Lots of do's and don't with flints. All flintlocks are not same so you need to treat each with respect to what makes a lock spark the best. Frizzens vary on hardness and or case hardness. A good frizzen has good sparks, a poor one don't,.... plain and simple. A sharp flint is always the best way to go. Sparks are metal shavings off the frizzen. Sharp will shave better than dull! Belvel up or down is a for me trial and see. Most for me, the bevel is up. In competion when I do not have time to change flint I will sometimes actually move the flint out of parallel with the frizzen. This makes the flint hit the frizzen with the corner which can help get you a few more shots. Always Always Always wipe the flint and frizzen after each shot with water or alcohol. Will it work without doing that? Yes, but not as dependable as when wiping.
Hope this helps
Larry

I knapp my own flints from flakes instead of core struck blades that leave a ridge on them. Flake knapped flints don't care which way they are orientated with the edge pressure flaked.
I will use blade struck flints which most production ones are but grind off the ridge and turn them into flake flints.
A good lock won't need wiped off each time but it certainly doesn't hurt anything as long as a fresh tissue or piece of cloth is used. Don't use your bare fingers though as even that small amount of body oil can reduce spark generation.
Angling flints to get the corner to dig in is poor economy to lock, frizzen and flint. The problem needs to be discovered and addressed and that's hard to diagnose without gun in hand.