Gunspauls

[tg]

Does anyone tinker with gunspauls in their firelocks as well as the flints made by the French method? four 7/8 fuller flints on the left, four gunspauls about the same size on the right, the some of the spauls need a bit of trimming.

 

[Trapper]

Up here in NY, all we have is Onondaga chert. I've been making gravel for about 3 years now. These spalls sometimes last over a 100 shots but the next might only be 3-4 shots, Ya never know. But, I will tell you that the chert lasts longer than the english flints in my lock.One thing I like about a spall is that it's sharp all around or at least 3 sides, just rotate when dull. I make spalls and gravel just to relieve stress.
Trapper

 

[mckutzy]

what is a gun-(spaul, spall)? is that like a large flint?

 

[tg]

A spaul is just a piece of flint struck off a larger piece usually kind of shaped like the ones in the pic they can be most any size, the other method is to knock off as long narrow flake and break it into pieces about as wide as long, this was the method that the French developed and kept from the English for probably a century it results in the type of flints you get from Fuller or our own Rich Pierce, as mentioned the spauls are kind of neat because you can often rotate them and get more than one useable edge, and they can be made from chunks of material that will not lend itself to the other method.

 

[Sherlock]

Good for you tg. Wonky

 

[mckutzy]

interesting.. :hatsoff:

 

[paulvallandigham]

TG: The word is spelled " SPALLS", not spauls. Spalls are as you described, piecies of flint that are knocked off a larger " Pre-form", or rock using a hammer stone, or hammer made of antler, or something other than a modern steel hammerhead. The stone or antler is just soft enough to allow a directed blow to break off a controlled size piece, with practice. If you try to use a steel hammerhead, you simply shatter the pre-form or rock in many directions.

I have a spalling hammer made of a piece of elk antler that a friend brought back to me from Colorado. It does take lots of practice to get a spall knocked off in a usuable size, But once you get a spall of the proper size, you can use smaller tools to shape it into whatever tool you are making.

 

[tg]

Pardon my spalling...I use Elk antler or a brass drift to knock of the spalls and pressure flake to trim, they are fun to do and work well but there is not a lot of suitable material around here so I rely on the English flints and Riches top notch product for the most part.Colonial Frontier Guns has some good illustrations that would serve to get one started on either method if they had the raw material, I caried over my Obsidian point making to making usefull gun flints/spalls when ever I could find sone sparky stone.