Gluing leather to flint

[Master Blaster]

"If a flint hammer doesn't hold a flint tightly , cause is usually a poorly cut screwdriver slot. Too narrow , or too shallow or both. Use thin leather , tighten the screw very tight."


I have found pigskin to work well. It's thin and doesn't allow the flint to "squirm" in the jaws like the thick leather, which probably cushions the strike.

 

[smo]

A little glue on the upper eyelid will fix that flinch too.

“You’ve come far, pilgrim.”

 

[IanH]

Maybe my fire steel will spark better if I coat my hand in epoxy and stuff it in a leather glove.

 

[M. De Land]

Maybe my fire steel will spark better if I coat my hand in epoxy and stuff it in a leathe

Fred explained that our flints will actually shift in the leather when they strike the frizzen but we can't see it happen as the pliability of the leather returns it to where it was set up.
He also advocates agitating/roughing up or cutting ribs in both faces of the cock jaws to better grip flint leather or lead.
According to the article men were queried back when flint ignition was King about how to insure reliable sparking and the consensus by men who lived by there flint guns was that most spark generation failure was not the flint edge or frizzen but rather improperly securing the flint from flexing in the leather, cloth or lead sheeting.
I'm going to test his suggestions as both make sense to me.

Fred says he gets much more life out of his flints using the process. I've been reading his stuff for quite awhile now and have come to regard what he says as provably valid. I'm quite certain he knows more nuance about what makes flint guns work well than most of us ever will !

 

[IanH]

And I hear Jim Chambers wouldn't warranty a lock that had a lead sheet used to hold the flint....because it held too rigidly. There are more contradicting opinions, self-proclaimed experts, assumed experts, false conclusions, false assumptions, know-it-alls, and wives tales among muzzleloading enthusiasts than among the members of any hobby I have encountered yet.

The only way to find the truth is try stuff for yourself and see what happens.

 

[jonathan hawkin]

I use the same bit of leather for as long as possible, it sort of wears in / toughens after the first few flints, both of my flintlocks have leather that is at least two years old, and work better the longer they go one,

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

I picked up another helpful tip from Fred Stutzenberger in his articles in MB magazine. He epoxies his leather to his flints in his bench vice keeping the top and bottom parallel to each other until dry. He uses them until to short then heats the flint with his soldering iron until the epoxy lets go, turns the leather around and uses up the other side.
This makes the flint purchase in the cock jaws much more solid thus a more efficient spark producer.
I think the idea has merit and am going to give it a try.
Now if he would just make a pressure flake tool and learn how to use it instead of those notch tools he uses !

 

[ColonialRifleSmith]

And I hear Jim Chambers wouldn't warranty a lock that had a lead sheet used to hold the flint....because it held too rigidly. There are more contradicting opinions, self-proclaimed experts, assumed experts, false conclusions, false assumptions, know-it-alls, and wives tales among muzzleloading enthusiasts than among the members of any hobby I have encountered yet.

The only way to find the truth is try stuff for yourself and see what happens.

A statement as true as it gets. 50+ years of ML'ing, wrapping a piece of soft leather over the flint has never failed me. Can't fix what ain't broke. Semper Fi.

 

[45man]

From Fred’s article…

From Fred’s article…


View attachment 241601

View attachment 241602

True, all of my locks have spikes on the jaws. Many locks come smooth so I apply them with a graver.

 

[FishDFly]

Fred says he gets much more life out of his flints using the process. I've been reading his stuff for quite awhile now and have come to regard what he says as provably valid. I'm quite certain he knows more nuance about what makes flint guns work well than most of us ever will !

Amen, he must know something as he is a published author in MB..

 

[satwel]

As FishDFly mentioned in a previous post, the only time I glue leather to a flint is when I pack to go to a shooting match. Saves precious time if I have to change a flint in the middle of a relay.

 

[smo]

View attachment 241674

That’s how I was taught too knap the edge….
Only using the spine of the blade not the cutting edge..

 

[pmc]

I agree with all of you, however, through the years I have put aside a couple dozen "reject" flints that have a high spot on the top (not parallel with the bottom) that will not stay tight in the jaws. the glue thing could make these flints useful.

 

[IanH]

Or take off the hump. (Shrug).

 

[French Colonial]

View attachment 241674

This absolutely works, I quit using it and use a notched rod now however as I usually kept hitting the part that was still sharp and missing the part that had dulled.

Others with a better eye and coordination will find it works.

 

[waksupi]

I find thick smoked brain tan holds flints better than any commercial leather.

 

[M. De Land]

And I hear Jim Chambers wouldn't warranty a lock that had a lead sheet used to hold the flint....because it held too rigidly. There are more contradicting opinions, self-proclaimed experts, assumed experts, false conclusions, false assumptions, know-it-alls, and wives tales among muzzleloading enthusiasts than among the members of any hobby I have encountered yet.

The only way to find the truth is try stuff for yourself and see what happens.

Boy what a novel idea ! I already said I was going to try his suggestion in the opening post as I think it worthy of the effort!
You should try listening to some of these mechanical/experimentally minded older guys who have been around these guns for decades................. they know useful stuff !

 

[2 shots]

i foresee a hundred pages coming about how to get a stuck flint out of glued leather

 

[Archer 756]

Simple Burn leather off !!

 

[Undertow]

I actually find this topic to be helpful. I was thinking of ordering a arrowhead (cause I keep looking but can't find any in my creeks and fields) and attaching it to my possibles bag. Still on the fence about it but at least I know I can epoxy the arrowhead to leather.