Flintlock Touch Hole Pick
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Black Hand
Cannon
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Made one from a piece of wire (rebar tie wire from Ace Hardware).
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I make mine out of whichever wire is handy, usually sanding them to the perfect diameter for a particular rifle. Then I keep the pick with the rifle. Lose them now and then, at which time a toothpick has worked well. But I also learned the hard way to be careful not to break it off in the vent!
Dried chicken leg bone sliver or antler sliver works well.
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tenngun said:
Interesting thought. Thanks! Over the years I've worked on a lot of archeological sites up here. It's downright amazing the uses they found for bird bones. Pretty darned smart those old guys who conquered this land long before we arrived.
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Normally I have liked Iron Wire for a touch hole pick, as it is rather soft and won't harm the barrel.
However, there was one time the sharpened Spring Steel Wire pick for my Brown Bess came in VERY handy.
A good friend in the unit came to me minutes before a reenactment was about to begin and asked if I had my Worm on me as he had a patch stuck in his barrel that would interfere with blank firing. Sure enough, one of the few times I did not have a worm with me (and never again after this experience) was when he needed it. He knew enough to keep the points on his Worm SHARP to grab a patch in the bore, but his Worm was around .69 caliber and wouldn't catch the patch in his .75 caliber Brown Bess. Oh the embarrassment! Two Retired Senior Staff NCO Marines who were really persnickety about care or our Muskets and neither of us had a Worm that would work. :shocked2: :redface:
I had him put the Worm on his rammer and tried holding the Musket so he could "worry/work" the Worm around better in the bore, but we still couldn't get the Worm to stick on the patch. Then it dawned on me to use my Vent Pick through the touch hole to spear the patch and hold it from turning, so his Worm would catch on it inside the bore. Took only two tries and we got the patch out by the "spear and catch" technique.
Though that was the only time that happened to me in over 35 years of using flintlocks at the time, I filed this experience away in case it ever happened to me or others again.
Gus
However, there was one time the sharpened Spring Steel Wire pick for my Brown Bess came in VERY handy.
A good friend in the unit came to me minutes before a reenactment was about to begin and asked if I had my Worm on me as he had a patch stuck in his barrel that would interfere with blank firing. Sure enough, one of the few times I did not have a worm with me (and never again after this experience) was when he needed it. He knew enough to keep the points on his Worm SHARP to grab a patch in the bore, but his Worm was around .69 caliber and wouldn't catch the patch in his .75 caliber Brown Bess. Oh the embarrassment! Two Retired Senior Staff NCO Marines who were really persnickety about care or our Muskets and neither of us had a Worm that would work. :shocked2: :redface:
I had him put the Worm on his rammer and tried holding the Musket so he could "worry/work" the Worm around better in the bore, but we still couldn't get the Worm to stick on the patch. Then it dawned on me to use my Vent Pick through the touch hole to spear the patch and hold it from turning, so his Worm would catch on it inside the bore. Took only two tries and we got the patch out by the "spear and catch" technique.
Though that was the only time that happened to me in over 35 years of using flintlocks at the time, I filed this experience away in case it ever happened to me or others again.
Gus
Cutting torch tip cleaners I usually choose the correct size wire cut it out and glue it into a small wooden or antler tip handle.
It mounts pinned through the strap of my bag .
As BB says I loose a few , but it doesn’t take long to make another.
In the field we have several locust trees and about the only thing those thorns are good for is pinning the butt plug on a powder horn and an emergency vent pick.
Maybe a tooth pick in a pinch.. just don’t poke your gums with it ! :blah:
It mounts pinned through the strap of my bag .
As BB says I loose a few , but it doesn’t take long to make another.
In the field we have several locust trees and about the only thing those thorns are good for is pinning the butt plug on a powder horn and an emergency vent pick.
Maybe a tooth pick in a pinch.. just don’t poke your gums with it ! :blah:
Not often I have needed to use one. But, I do have a couple made from music wire. Another made from the appendage bone of a male raccoon. A sharpened twig will work.
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Rigid wire used for oxygen acetylene welding. Comes in various diameters. Cut off a chunk and heat/bend end to make a dime sized circle finger grip. Check your hardware store or get it at welding supply. I drill a small holster hole in my patch box. The hole keeps the pick from falling out when you are in the box for something else. The pick is always available as quick as I can pop the lid.
Flintlocklar :wink:
Flintlocklar :wink:
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The quill from a small bird feather must have been very popular in the period, as documentation shows up for it at least somewhat often.
Of course with my luck, when I WANT to find some small feathers in the woods, I can't remember it or don't find any. I'm sure I have walked past feathers that would be good to use when I wasn't thinking about it.
Gus
Of course with my luck, when I WANT to find some small feathers in the woods, I can't remember it or don't find any. I'm sure I have walked past feathers that would be good to use when I wasn't thinking about it.
Gus
Speaking of copper wire, a 12 guage wire is .081" in diameter.
A 14 guage wire is .064" in diameter.
A 16 guage wire is .051" in diameter.
Copper has an advantage over steel because of its softness.
There is almost no way it can enlarge a vent hole by wearing or scraping the steel in the hole.
Copper was a commonly available material in the Colonial times so it is HC and PC.
A 14 guage wire is .064" in diameter.
A 16 guage wire is .051" in diameter.
Copper has an advantage over steel because of its softness.
There is almost no way it can enlarge a vent hole by wearing or scraping the steel in the hole.
Copper was a commonly available material in the Colonial times so it is HC and PC.
Something softer than your barrel steel.
I like thin coathanger wire pounded to shape and then heated red hot and allowed to cool slowly (do NOT quench). When hot you can flatten one end and twist it or make a loop to hang it, etc.
I like thin coathanger wire pounded to shape and then heated red hot and allowed to cool slowly (do NOT quench). When hot you can flatten one end and twist it or make a loop to hang it, etc.
I don't think a steel touch hole pick will affect your touch hole unless you compulsively use it time after time in an unusual manner. I say this as a relative newcomer to touch holes and flints, but the minimum amount of contact surely won't enlarge a touch hole...will it?
Black Hand
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Many/some of the fancy picks sold are hardened (4-sided with fancy twists and curly-cues), and excessive use will enlarge the touch-hole. This is why mild steel wire is preferred.Gene L said:
I use my touch hole pick after the gun is loaded and before I put priming in the pan. The pick is the pushed through the touch hole and I should feel the powder in the chamber crunch. That way I know that I have a clear path to the powder for heat from the pan to get to the powder chamber.
If I have a failure to fire, I use the touch hole pick to get a few grains of powder from the pan into the touch hole. That is usually enough the get the gun to fire. Expect a slight delay as powder in the touch hole can act as a fuse.
Sometimes if I am wiping between shots, I run the touch hole pick before loading to push any build up of fouling away from the touch hole.
There is never any one time procedure to say do this. The purpose of using a touch hole pick is to verify a clear flash channel. I do rely on smoke or the sound of air rushing through the touch hole to indicate a clear path for heat from the pan to the powder charge.
If I have a failure to fire, I use the touch hole pick to get a few grains of powder from the pan into the touch hole. That is usually enough the get the gun to fire. Expect a slight delay as powder in the touch hole can act as a fuse.
Sometimes if I am wiping between shots, I run the touch hole pick before loading to push any build up of fouling away from the touch hole.
There is never any one time procedure to say do this. The purpose of using a touch hole pick is to verify a clear flash channel. I do rely on smoke or the sound of air rushing through the touch hole to indicate a clear path for heat from the pan to the powder charge.
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flehto said:
Back when I was swabbing between all shots using a standard jag, I had to use a pick all the time because the swabbing pushed lots of fouling down into the breech, and it built up with each new swab.
Since I turned down the jag, no more fouling buildup in the breech, and truly no need to pick. It helped too, to find the right lube that kept the fouling soft and solved the need to swab so often. Biggest reason now is in wet or humid weather when pan fouling turns to soup. Got some little "micro" q-tips at a hobby shop, and frankly I use them when the soup appears.
