Zonie, well not always is that true. You can't always look to the builder of guns to determine why he chooses a certain lock. The builder of my first custom, liked a particular lock, or at least that is what I assume. He may of chose it for me because of the style, maybe because of the price,easier for him to engrave or the company may have made a good lock and now they have changed their quality. Not always, but a builder may chose style over function. They may chose that so that the customer feels he is getting a more accurate representation, of what was asked to be built. All I know, is this builder didn't have to live with the lock that was in the gun. I did. As a matter of fact, I have even chose 2 pair of locks that is not the best functioning lock, but my favorite lock maker doesn't make matching left and right locks that would be fairly accurate for SxS flinters. In some of the cases with the SxS's, if I had to do it over,I would have chose my favorite lock maker. Many things I can change to some degree, like the shape and size of the lock plate or even the pan, to make it more accurate for the style of gun. If I would have chosen my favorite lock, I would have had much less frustration and the added expense sending the lock to a lock person who could make it more reliable. After many attempts, calls and shipping expenses, the maker of these locks would or could not make them function properly. I was told by them, that you really can't expect more than maybe 10-12 shots out of a flint before it needs knapped or changed. Can you imagine that problem when you are a frontiersman fighting for your life? Now your experiences may vary, as all my locks were new after 2000. So production quality may have been different before that or after 2005. I do have 8 flintlocks, so I do have some experience.
