Flint

Where can I purchase good flint for my Traditions Springfield Hawkin?

Where can I get information on Knapping so I can resharpen my flint?

Thanks

Lone Crow

 

[roundball]

FLINTS octobercountry.com
John & Linda...excellent quality Tom Fuller black english flints, lowest price anywhere, bulk bags of 50 or 100 are lower prices of course.

KNAPPING
Many articles to be found using an Internet
search engine, and there are a number of different ways to knapp a flint, but it's pretty straight forward and this is how I learned to do it with the flint in the rifle:

Assuming you're right handed, lay an unloaded
rifle across a bench with the muzzle away from you and stand behind the stock looking down on the hammer & flint;

Open the frizzen so it's out of the way and cock the hammer back to the safety or full cock notch, also holding it there with your left index finger across/under the front edge of the flint & jaw to support the hammer asm so it doesn't accidently trip off the notch and go forward;

Take a little knapping hammer, or the back edge of a hunting knife blade, or the shaft of a
medium size screwdriver, etc, and lightly tap the front edge of the flint at about a 45 degree downward angle.

Do this in a few places from one side to the other until a few tiny flakes have chipped & fallen off the under side of the sharp edge, which will leave the edge of the flint thinner and sharper again.

Half dozen to a dozen light taps usually does it...all you're trying to do is eliminate any dull flat spots that have occurred from the flint previously hitting the frizzen...do oe or two and you'll get the hang of it, only takes a minute.

 

Thanks Roundball, I'll give it a go.
Lone Crow

 

[2172]

I finally learned to knap flint when I read an article in (I think) Muzzleblasts...the writer said to take a good-sized nail and cut a step in it about a quarter inch from the end...put the step on the edge of the flint and tap...moving the nail/step along the edge until all of it has been knapped. It's worked for me for the past 4 or 5 years...Hank

 

[Birddog6]

When I knap my flint I make it look like the tooth of a saw. When the long points chip away they leave new points sticking out & they sorta knap themselves. Seems to make the flint last longer & always get a good spark this way. I thhink if you knap them even straight across they dull faster.

 

[LRB]

Roundball "nailed" it. THere's no need of carrying an extra tool just to knap a flint. I carry a little combination screwdriver hammer that does a great job for either use. It is L shaped, formed of 1/4" stock about 3 1/2" to 4" long. If you try to carry every little specialized gadget people come up with you will end up with a bag so full of tools you will have to dump it out to find what you need. Carry what you really need, but keep it simple and to a minimum. If you follow Roundballs instructions you should have no problem, it ain't rocket science, just rock science.

 

[kvistads]

I agree with roundball and Wick. The little Forged tool/screwdriver Wick is refering to does it for me. You can make your own and sharpen a semi-sharp edge on the tool. Strike the front of the flint lightly with the sharp edge of the tool - peck at it. After you have knapped the flint, it should pull slightly on the skin of your index finger while rubbing accross it. Not length wise or it may cut you! If it's not grabbing the skin then you haven't done it right or enough.