What kind of rocks do you use in your flinters?

[sfruhwirth]

Hey all.. Was just thinking about trying some of those amber french flints. And was wondering what ya'all thought about them?

Normally I stick with the english flints and have pretty decent luck with them. Just picked up a dozen from the "Track of the wolf". But have heard some good things about the amber flints which are a little more spendy.

I also have a buddy who shoots some made by Terry Strange out of Kentucky. His seem to work as well and are the most reasonable i've seen, may try them soon too. His go for $8 per doz., but as I've heard most american made flints are really just chirt.?. (from what I know that is).

:hmm:

 

actually, all flint is "just chert" mineralogically speaking. There are different grades of flint/chert and the better English black flints are very good. IMHO the French "amber" flints are not worth the extra $$$ (I have seen them priced from 2 to 4 times that of English flints), being basically the same thing, but in yellowish colors. If you are reenacting French in the F&I War or something like that and really want to be PC, maybe use the yellow flint, but if you are just a shooter/hunter, I'd stick with the English flints. :results:

 

[roundball]

Hey all.. Was just thinking about trying some of those amber french flints. And was wondering what ya'all thought about them?

Normally I stick with the english flints and have pretty decent luck with them. Just picked up a dozen from the "Track of the wolf". But have heard some good things about the amber flints which are a little more spendy.

I also have a buddy who shoots some made by Terry Strange out of Kentucky. His seem to work as well and are the most reasonable i've seen, may try them soon too. His go for $8 per doz., but as I've heard most american made flints are really just chirt.?. (from what I know that is).

:hmm:

FWIW...I average 40-60 shots per 3/4" black english flints in my TC Flintlocks.

I recently tried a dozen 3/4" French amber flints and was disappointed in them...they were noticeably shorter than my 3/4" BEFs and seemed softer, wore down faster than a hard sharp BEF...overall they did not do as well...plus, they were significantly more expensive.

So I'll be using my last one tomorrow morning and don't see any compelling reason to buy any more...maybe different sizes are better but the 3/4" French amber were not as good as 3/4" Black English Flints for me.

 

[Stumpkiller]

The American flints are most often novaculite (same thing natural sharpening stones are formed from). Chirt is a variety. It's all just variations in Silicon Dioxide. Flint just seems to cut a smaller "hoppier" and "poppier" spark.

The amber flints are nice, very authentic for any period where we were at war with England, and maybe a hair better sparling than the black English flints. I like 'em, but can't justify the added cost.

I use Tom Fuller's black E. flints that I buy in bags of 100.

 

[sfruhwirth]

Yep.. Mine are Tom Fuller flints as well...
He seems to make consistantly well shaped rocks for the money.

 

[Slowpoke]

Stump,
How much are Tom's flints by the 100? Do you remember if they vary in cost by size?

SP

 

[redwing]

Roundball hit it just right. I had a number of the french flints that were too short. With the added cost and loss in short flints, it was not a good deal. The Fuller flints last longer fewer culls.

Redwing :redthumb:

 

[rich pierce]

I make my own from local chert. It's just lying around on the ground and I can make 20 in an evening of knapping which is fun. If they last 20 shots each I'm happy.

 

[davy]

I make my own from local chert. It's just lying around on the ground and I can make 20 in an evening of knapping which is fun. If they last 20 shots each I'm happy.

Hey Rich

From a knowledge standpoint .. may I ask how you learned to make your flints ... any books to read, articles etc... that may be of help?
::
How about somes phtos of some you have made?

Thanx

Davy

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

I tried the French amber flints, and wasn't impressed. They didn't seem to spark as well as the English flints, and for the cost difference I just couldn't see fooling with them. Stick with the English flints, and you'll be a happy camper. :results:

 

[Runner]

I would be even more interested in where you are finding rock clean enough to knap! What I am finding is too included and does not break in a conchodial blade like what is needed for knapping. I cut them with diamond saws and sharpen them on diamond laps. I recently started knapping and none of the stone around here has been appropriate so far.

 

[rich pierce]

Runner, I get my flint/chert at the quarries the Native Americans used on the ridges south of the Meramec. There is a trail called the Chubb Trail that includes "Sunset Hills"- accessible from Lewis Road off 44 west of 141. There are lots of culls of coarse rock but also good cores that have been worked by the Indians still on the ground. Erosion has left good new rock on the surface and it's just a matter of picking through it. It's not the same quality as English of French flint- not as waxy/glossy, but it sparks great and is strong, does not shatter. One in 20 or 50 pieces is good enough to work. Pieces range from dinner roll to small bread loaf size.

I can get lots of 3" blades knocked off these cores and then work them down to musket to pistol lock sized flints. I have a hard time getting more than 3 flints off a blade. I'm just not that good at breaking the blades down. When a chunk of the flint is too small, irregular or hard to work, I knock off spalls and make flints one at a time instead of from blades.

There are basic techniques shown in websites and books. I'd like to take flintknapping lessons but can make flints well enough and made a few arrowheads too. I do it all with direct percussion and flaking. If you've seen flints made, most folks use indirect percussion and a punch to make the blades. I don't have that down.

If anybody wants to trade goods for these homemade flints I'll take some pictures and send you a dozen or so in exchange for your items of interest to the muzzleloader types. If you like them and they work, send me something in exchange. Looking for gun parts and sheet brass but will consider other items. These are not the equivalent of the best English flints in form, but they spark well and to me, represent what a longhunter might have learned to make when out there for months at a time.

 

[Runner]

I have some sheet brass, but it is way too thick for most purposes people would use sheet for. It is about .250. When they put in the new highway bridges at 270 and 55, they removed huge chunks of stone that would be perfect for knapping heads. I did not know it at the time. I was collecting Union Road Agates then. The material out here in Jefferson county is very tough and sparks pretty well. It just doesn't knap.

 

[lacerote]

I used to buy French Amber flints that looked more like real amber ,more opaqe and orange. These sparked like mad . The newer ones I have tried seem paler by comparison and in my opinion are also not as good as a good dark English flint . Hey what ever happened to the Green river forge , Forge Fire double edged flints ? not sure what they were made of allmosat looked ceramic but I would get easily over 1oo shots per side and nothing Iever saw sparked like that , great in a hunting gun.

 

[MikeChapin]

I generally use black english they work great. I do like the french amber and give them a small edge over the english for sparking. They both seem to last about as long. Most of the time they are two or three times what the english flints cost and simply not worth the price difference.

I did pick up some french amber from Horst & McCann recently. They were priced about the same as english black so I jumped on them. They have worked out great.

 

[MikeChapin]

I did a quick lookup of Terry Strange. At those prices I may have to start buying from him.

 

[smokeblower]

flintrock, I also make my own. Our local Buffalo River and Dover cherts here in West Tennessee have beat any English/French flint I have used. The Buffalo River can be heat treated to bring out the blood red color, but they do not last as long as the raw material. Plus, they are free, just a little knapping work.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I use mostly english flint. But I have picked up some of our native Flint Ridge flint for gun flints and it works very well. The other is some Texas amber nodules I picked up in Texas last year, and that flint works very well also.
When I was a kid, along the railroad tracks was always loaded with filler rock of limestone and black flint. I would bet in a pinch I could walk railroad tracks and come up with a few usable pieces of flint to make gunflints from. I have heard that both Agate and petrified wood from out west makes excellent sparking flints. I'd like to give them a try to see how well they do.
Ohio Rusty

 

[sfruhwirth]

Hey let me know if you track down Terry Strange... the numbers and address I have seem to be outdated..

Thanks..

 

[silverfox]

Yesterday was match day and I started with the French amber flints I got from Roundball. Now they didn't fit his TC so now it looks like my gain. 40 shots and can't tell if the edge has changed much, still sparking like mad. My English flints would only go about 15 then need knapping. Course with all flints the next one might break or only last 6 or 7 shots. Time will tell. I think the Fullers are as good as you can get at this time. When you fine one that sparks in your lock stick with it. All that fun and the set trigger goe's fun auto, glad I had a good screwdriver. Now get new sites and see just how good that flint really is.
Fox :thumbsup: