Lead instead of Leather in Hammer Jaws

[dave_person]

Hi,
For those who chronically have flints loosen whether with lead or leather, none of the modern locks have teeth cut in the jaws as was done on the originals. Cut teeth and that problem goes away.

dave

 

[red grizzly]

Very good stuff thank you all.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

Wow! Wish someone had told me this earlier. My flint in leather has shot over 50 shots now and hasn’t loosened up. I must be doing something wrong.

I think that those who have problems keeping the flint tight are using leather that is way too thick.

 

[westrayer]

The advantage of lead is that you don't need to remove the flint if you drop the lock into hot soapy water when cleaning. I too find that hey come lose quicker than leather.

 

[Ruffedgrouse]

I bought and tried lead flint strips on my flints and very quickly lead-oxide developed on the lead. Not good and highly toxic...

 

[M. De Land]

Have seen lead instead of leather in the hammer jaws holding flint. What is the purpose of this?

Probably ran out of leather which has a much better overall gripping ability as leather will spring back from pressure but lead just conforms to it ever squashing out and getting thinner from repeated impacting .

 

[bpd303]

I've used damp rawhide to hold flints and it worked just as well as leather if not better.

 

[david_1]

X2 in 50 shots (or more) and my leather never loosens.

 

[SDSmlf]

Hi,
For those who chronically have flints loosen whether with lead or leather, none of the modern locks have teeth cut in the jaws as was done on the originals. Cut teeth and that problem goes away.

dave

Guess I’ve gotten lucky, as I have purchased a number of locks (both Davis and L&R) with either teeth or grooves to help hold the flint. Must have hit the right manufacturing days, though I must admit that I tend to refine the teeth or grooves for a better grip. And if no teeth or grooves are present on a lock, I add them.

For reference, here is a photograph of a L&R lock that has been cleaned up a bit, but basically as purchased.

Below is a Davis lock, basically as purchased. Only the top jaw has what I would call teeth, while the cock gripping surface is smooth. I’ll add grooves similar to those seen in the above photograph before case hardening.

 

[French Colonial]

I have also put "teeth" in upper and lower jaws on locks that did not want to grip the leather.

Not that hard to do, use a piece of hardened metal that has a square profile and grind it at a taper so one of the corners is a point (being careful not to overheat) and there you go.