Labonte: Actually, you are correct ONLY to the extent that the Angle of Impact of the flint to the Frizzen has to be correct to prevent rebounding with a Lead Wrapped Flint. Larry Pletcher had or has a high speed, or time-lapse photo of a leather wrapped flint clearing rebounding from the frizzen. We could not find a Lead wrapped flint doing the same thing with his pictures. Its next to impossible to PROVE a negative, if that is what you are demanding, however.
The Absence of Chatter marks on the face of the frizzen IS clear proof that a flint is NOT rebounding off the frizzen after the first impact. With the angle of Impact correct on a lock, I have been able to use some leather wraps( Thin, raw hide, or worn thin shoe or purse, or wallet leather) to wrap flints that then do not rebound. Thicker, tanned leather which is softer does allow rebounding, and that is what was seen in the picture that Larry Took at Friendship a couple of years ago, now.
Because absence of chatter marks is PROOF, the best way to test the leather vs lead flint wrap issue with any gun is to polish the face of the frizzen smooth, and then fire it 20 + times using first your leather wrap. Then repolish the frizzen and try it with a lead wrap. Assuming that the Angle of Impact is correct( 60 degrees), A light, thin piece of lead wrap should produce NO chatter marks- only nice long scrapes on the face of the frizzen. The thick, soft leathers should be expected to rebound a bit, and leave chatter marks ( parallel grooves from the POINT OF IMPACT, and under that line, giving a washboard image to your frizzen over time.)
The reason for specifying or even using lead wraps is to save expensive flints. A flint that rebounds takes with it bits of steel torn from the frizzen. Those bits clog the edge, and lead to misfires if they are not removed. With a flint set at the correct Angle of Impact, it will scrape steel off the frizzen in a single stroke, with out the rebounding. The flint then can break off a very small edge in that process( self-knapping), leaving you a clean, new, sharp edge for the next shot. About every 20-25 shots, the wearing of the edge of the flint works so far back that you need to move the flint forward in the jaws, putting a wedge behind it to keep it in the new position. That is when you re-set the edge, by lifting the frizzen up enough to allow that new edge to strike the heel of the frizzen, when the hammer is release from full cock, to knock off a thin spawl from the underside of the flint.
A tuned Flintlock makes use of the natural fracture capacity of the flint itself, to keep a sharp edge, and a smooth, functioning frizzen face. That is how you get sparks reliably, shot after shot.
Getting the fastest ignition then only requires that you get that frizzen open and out of the way so that the sparks cut from the frizzen are thrown down into the flash pan. You want to clean and oil that pivot pin/screw as carefully, and meticulously as Roundball does his every time he finishes shooting his guns, and you want to correct the cam/frizzen spring upper arm contact point so that the frizzen doesn't require pressure of the flint to push down the spring to let the frizzen open.
To reduce the rattle and tickle to the sight picture when shooting a flintlock, you need to reduce the tension on that Mainspring to between 10-15 lbs. Most are 30 or more lbs. Some people are convinced that you need that kind of spring pressure to insure the flint cuts steel. That has not been my experience with a variety of flintlocks. Only on badly tuned locks do I find that heavy mainsprings produce sparks-even from soft frizzens-- but then, the flint life is grossly reduced- often to less than a dozen shots before the flint has to be replaced. With a tuned lock, and lightened mainspring, 80-120 shots per flint should be possible.
I have, since authoring that article, found that several companies have turned out frizzens that are not hardened enough. They produce only red sparks( which are actually pretty cold) no matter which wrap is used. I was Not aware that commercially made frizzens were being made this way, and sold on guns to the public this way. One company has apparently changed that with its new, improved flintlock action, I am happy to see. It seems that most of the US casters are now using 1075 steel for frizzens, and thru-hardening them, rather than case-hardening them. Some of the imported stuff is still case-hardened, leaving a thin layer of hard steel that is cut through after shooting a couple of hundred shots. :surrender: :thumbsup:
