Quality of flints from Dixie Gun Works

[erhunter]

I just purchased a dozen 3/4 inch English flints and about 9 of them have a peak on the top of the flints instead of a flat. Anyone else had the same results from them?

 

[Rifleman1776]

"humpies" are very common and undesirable. Some vendors will requests for only flat flints when you order. I don't know about Dixie.

 

[stewart.leach]

I have ordered flints in various sizes from a number of suppliers. Flints are sorted into three groups: hunting/competition, training, and fix 'em if I can. Hunting/competition flints are flat, square, and have no inclusions. Training rocks will be rougher, blunter and a bit uneven side to side. Fix 'em uppers are out of square, quite thick, uneven side to side, and pointy on top.

Peaks on the top can be filed away with a coarse diamond file, though this takes a good bit of time and the diamond files wear down. At the same time, slopes from side to side can be evened out. The process can be mechanized by using a "mizzy wheel" in a Dremel of similar tool. Be aware that the resulting dust is not good for lungs, and can scratch eyeglass lenses. A tile saw can be used to dress flints. The water bath keeps dust down. Go easy, speed means you can bugger up a flint quickly! To safely hold flints and not cut or saw my fingers I glued leather pads inside the jaws of a pair of cheap slip-joint pliers.

 

[bluemule66]

you can ask them for flints that aren't humpy to. they will pick you out some good ones if you ask.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I've gotten flints like that from TOTW. I tell them in my order, only parallel flat flints. I send them back when they're not to my liking. .

 

[thompson50]

I ordered flints from there and they were so small I can’t even use them.

 

[Sidney Smith]

I ordered flints from there and they were so small I can’t even use them.

Send them back.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

Note to self, don't buy flints from...

 

[springfield art]

Note to self, don't buy flints from...

There's more than one advertiser in the ML magazines, specializing in Flints. I'd try others. I do like the idea of leather pads in the jaws of pliers; never would have thought of that.

 

[springfield art]

Wouldn't surprise me if the vendors that supply Dixie, pass along less than perfect stuff, knowing it's going to the "mass market" and thus they, the vendor, wouldn't have to deal with returns, etc. Go with the dealers you are buying directly with, that specialize in Flints.

 

[SOLANCO]

There's more than one advertiser in the ML magazines, specializing in Flints. I'd try others. I do like the idea of leather pads in the jaws of pliers; never would have thought of that.

I like it even better with vise grips.

 

[SPQR70AD]

There's more than one advertiser in the ML magazines, specializing in Flints. I'd try others. I do like the idea of leather pads in the jaws of pliers; never would have thought of that.

same as leather pads holding the flint to the hammer

 

[Doc]

I just purchased a dozen 3/4 inch English flints and about 9 of them have a peak on the top of the flints instead of a flat. Anyone else had the same results from them?

Don’t understand anyone who would purchase their flints sight unseen. At any Rhondy there will be traders that have flints you can look through. I’ll normally look through 75/100 to pick the ones that I purchase.
Doc,

 

[erhunter]

Thanks Doc! I usually buy flints from TOTW but they are sold out of most of the English flints. I'd say 90% of their flints are top quality as far as shape and performance.

 

[Steve Martin]

I also buy my flints from TOTW and most are good quality but I do get a couple of "humpies" in the mix from time-to-time.

 

[Osseon]

Don’t understand anyone who would purchase their flints sight unseen. At any Rhondy there will be traders that have flints you can look through. I’ll normally look through 75/100 to pick the ones that I purchase.
Doc,

Not everyone is within reasonable driving distance. I'm kind of in a Black powder desert, everything is online.

 

[oncewas]

Not everyone is within reasonable driving distance. I'm kind of in a Black powder desert, everything is online.

I quite agree with you, I'm in a very similar situation. It's either buy on line or just do without.

 

[Cvkotvkse]

I quite agree with you, I'm in a very similar situation. It's either buy on line or just do without.

Having done my FSU 1978 Archaeological Field School research on gun flint manufacture in St. Augustine, and therefore examining every gun or fire flint ever officially recovered there from Spanish or British period contexts, I can say that triangular and trapezoidal cross-sections, as well as dome-topped ones, were all utilized militarily. It suddenly struck me that THIS might be the REAL advantage of lead over leather in securing the flint in the jaws of the cock: it securely held all three types (and the Brandon knappers made only the dome-topped type until late in the eighteenth century, when some French knappers were captured and forced to teach the Brandon knappers their closely-guarded prismatic blade technique...) I wonder if experimenting with lead-lined jaws might be a quicker, more-effective fix than grinding a flat top on a material with a Mohs hardness of 8-8.5., or returning anything other than flat-topped flints to the vendor... I suspect Britain couldn't have armed sufficient troops to establish and (with some PROUD exceptions!) maintain its empire by being too picky re: such basic necessities as musket flints... The lead lining would have helped greatly with that, I would propose.

 

[springfield art]

Don’t understand anyone who would purchase their flints sight unseen. At any Rhondy there will be traders that have flints you can look through. I’ll normally look through 75/100 to pick the ones that I purchase.
Doc,

Yeah, but not everyone can actually buy them in person.

 

[springfield art]

Having done my FSU 1978 Archaeological Field School research on gun flint manufacture in St. Augustine, and therefore examining every gun or fire flint ever officially recovered there from Spanish or British period contexts, I can say that triangular and trapezoidal cross-sections, as well as dome-topped ones, were all utilized militarily. It suddenly struck me that THIS might be the REAL advantage of lead over leather in securing the flint in the jaws of the cock: it securely held all three types (and the Brandon knappers made only the dome-topped type until late in the eighteenth century, when some French knappers were captured and forced to teach the Brandon knappers their closely-guarded prismatic blade technique...) I wonder if experimenting with lead-lined jaws might be a quicker, more-effective fix than grinding a flat top on a material with a Mohs hardness of 8-8.5., or returning anything other than flat-topped flints to the vendor... I suspect Britain couldn't have armed sufficient troops to establish and (with some PROUD exceptions!) maintain its empire by being too picky re: such basic necessities as musket flints... The lead lining would have helped greatly with that, I would propose.

Nice to read an account from someone that was actually THERE, in a manner of speaking!