What's up with Flints?...

[Omahkapi'si]

I get 40+ shots out of some and 10 or less shots out of others before they look like a boxing glove. Amber or black ones, doesn't seem to matter. Doesn't help that I suck at putting an edge on them. Maybe I don't set them consistent either.

Oh well, shoot & be happy.

 

[smokepolehall]

Where are you getting yours ? My last came from TOW n looked n functioned like a hump-backed whale. Mine avg. 2-6 shots if i am lucky.

 

[NorthFork]

Uhmmmmm...... it's a natural material. Sometimes the flint just won't die, sometimes the flint shatters on the first shot. Most will last (with knapping) 20-70 shots. But it's a gamble.

 

[oldwood]

Flint is an imperfect piece of stone. If properly mounted in a good lock , the amount of strikes could be 20+ to 30 , and even more if the flint is properly resharpened. By the same token , I've had a new flint break off , after a few strikes. In a half century of flintlock use , perhaps only twice have I seen a new flint break.

 

[TDM]

I get 40+ shots out of some and 10 or less shots out of others before they look like a boxing glove. Amber or black ones, doesn't seem to matter. Doesn't help that I suck at putting an edge on them. Maybe I don't set them consistent either.

Oh well, shoot & be happy.

The quality of flints (knapped quality) has definitely deteriorated over the last couple of years. Horrible humpbacks and inaccurate sizing. I’ve tried several suppliers and I end up back with TOW. Now I’ve received poor flints from them too, but I talked to them about it and I’ve been a regular customer for quite a while, that being said I was pleased with my last order and I plan to order more soon. I even offered to pay extra for good ones but didn’t have too. Seems that they’ll take the time to hand select for a regular customer, we’ll see how the next order goes. But to answer your comment on number of shots, 40 or less is pretty much what I get too.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Some from TOW, some from Stonewall. Not sure which ones are which anymore, but seems to be a crapshoot I guess. I don't have huge issues with them, I guess some are just better than others and that's how it is. Inconsistent manufacturing in the Paleozoic era....

 

[TDM]

More likely inconsistent knapping techniques.

 

[Chingachgook777]

Yeah TOW is what I use as well. Seems to be one of the few places to easily acquire them.

 

[NorthFork]

I've given up on several suppliers as @TDM suggests due to the same issue he states. I now use french amber flints from Heritage Products. Better quality and if you order a dozen of the same size you actually get 13. I never could, unlike TDM, get decent flints in the last couple of years from TOTW. but the fact remains, it's a natural material manipulated by man. It will never be perfect!

 

[Chingachgook777]

Good advice. I will have to try them out. I also suggest studying the re-knapping process. You can often recycle an old flint if it goes well and double the life-span.

C>

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I need to study up on knapping. I have a bunch of blunt ones that I'm sure could be made ok again.

 

[BackDraft]

The quality of flints (knapped quality) has definitely deteriorated over the last couple of years.

It’s Climate Change!!! The new rocks aren’t forming properly!

 

[user 54092]

Probably a tad off the mark of the topic, but what do you do with the flints that have shrank past usage?

 

[TDM]

Probably a tad off the mark of the topic, but what do you do with the flints that have shrank past usage?

I save all mine. They can be knapped to fit smaller locks. I have several lock sizes so that works for me, but mostly they just sit and wait.

 

[IanH]

I got tired of overly thick, ill-shaped commercial flints and learned how to knap my own from rocks. To any serious flintlock shooter it is a worthwhile endeavor to learn the craft.

 

[Edm]

I honestly never thought about it. While I own 2 flintlocks that I made, I am still really uneducated in shooting them. I built my 50 probably in 2004. I bought some flints and put one in. Shot it a bit. Took it out with the Boy Scouts to let them shoot and probably shot it 30 times. Same flint. Never knaped cause I’ve never tried. While the lock probably doesn’t shower sparks like it did the first time, it still fired every time. When do you change or knap flints? When it doesn’t fire or when it doesn’t spark to your liking?

 

[kyron4]

90% of mine have came from TOW, both black and amber. Like most have said, I get 20 or so on average, with the shortest lasting being 5 shots and the longest being 40, though ignitions was somewhat slower on the last 5 or so shots.

As far as "humpback" flints, I grind the hump off with a diamond wheel in a 4 1/2" angle grinder. Only takes a few swipes to get an even flat on the flint. I do it outside and wear a mask, you DON'T want that stuff in your lungs.

Here's something to think about , a tin of 100 caps cost $6 per 100 shots. A flint runs about $2.50 and say you average 35 shots (some more, some less); that's 105 shots for $7.50

My approach is just to add six or twelve flints whenever I make an order with a supplier, and build up a large "stockpile" of flints. What they may lack in quality , I'll make up in quantity. As the Uncle Joe use to say " Quantity has a quality all its own"

 

[Chingachgook777]

Depending on what part of the world you live in you can also find your own. But that might be a little too involved for some. Mid to West Coast America you can find some rather nice obsidian flint nodules (black flint). East Coasters are rather out of luck. I read a story from a guy from the west coast who hunted flint nodules in creek beds. One day he found an odd greenish type of stone. Made part of it up into flints and said they sparked nicely so he made the rest of the larger stone up into flints. He showed one off to a geologist friend of his and he freaked...said he had made gun flints from Jade!

C>

 

[SOLANCO]

I save all mine. They can be knapped to fit smaller locks. I have several lock sizes so that works for me, but mostly they just sit and wait.

Rock is good at that.

 

[SDSmlf]

Where are you getting yours ? My last came from TOW n looked n functioned like a hump-backed whale. Mine avg. 2-6 shots if i am lucky.

This a hobby that requires extra effort if you want participate, everything isn’t perfect. You may want to consider removing that hump from your flints. Plenty of easy ways to do it. Not sure why you are badmouthing TOW, they are just a supplier selling what is available. Rather impolite to criticize, isn’t it?