gleason.chapman

Easy, just buy a new flint rather than messing around. 4 for $11 and you get 50 shots.


Chap Gleason

RobertSubnet

John:

Flint knapping is definately an art form. Be prepared for lots of shattered flints when you first start-at least I sure broke a lot of them.

The easiest way to successfully knap a flintlock flint is to do it with the flint in the cock. The flint has to have no shock absorption and simply leaving it in the cock is the best way to achieve this. (I suppose if you have a workshop with a bench vise that would also work.)

Set your cock to half cock and flip the frizzen forward to give yourself some room to work with. Obviously your piece should be unloaded. I like to do this with the rifle resting on my lap but any rest will do.

Some places such as October Countrysell a flintlock "kit." This is a set that includes a frizzen pan brush, a vent pick, a cock screw driver and a flint knapping "hammer." Use the hammer or if you do not have one of those a small metal rod such as a roofing nail.

Start slowly. The hammer will be angled, align the angle with the angle of your flint. If using a nail press it parallel to the angle of the flint.

Here is where you will develope your own technique. I like to put my hammer against the flint and then use a finger to repeatedly tap the hammer. This will chip off pieces of the flint. Some guys like to press their knapping tool against the flint to flake off a piece at a time.

Whatever method you use, go slow and don't get discouraged if you break a few flints-it will definately happen as you learn how much pressure to use and when.

Best of luck. Hope this was of some help.

~Robert

Semisane

Been playing around with my mew Great Plains flinter myself - not shootint it yet, just flashing the pan. It came with a saw cut flint that seems to work pretty well. Can a saw cut flint be knapped or sharpened? Doesn't seem like it could be knapped.

frontier gander

Knapping is where you take a piece of bone or in my case, a small brass knapping hammer and when your flints either dull/roundoff or just arnt sparking well, you take the little pointy end and lightly tap it against the face of the flint to remove material and get a sharp edge again.

I have a huge box full of flints that i would love to use for flints but i dont have anything to shape them with and my grinding wheel wont even leave a mark.

I buy a lot of my stuff from www.logcabinshop.com

cayugad

I find that brass hammer just about useless. I use the nail as described. I first grind the point of the nail off flat. Thencut a L half way through the nail. Lay the bottom under the flint and the small lip on the edge. Then I LIGHTLY tap it with my wooden short starter. Sometimes you will not even see the small chunk break off. But it takes very little to put the edge back on it...

Semisane

Hey Cayugad, I'm trying to visualize the process you're talking about. Is it #1 below, or #2, or something entirely different?

RobertSubnet

Frontier Gander:

Yep, that is exactly the "kit" I was talking about. Interesting hammer placement you use-I will have to try that sometime.

The flint you have there, it looks like an agate. Can those be knapped the same as the Black English?

Thanks,
~Robert

cayugad

http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vol4no4/articles/mbo44-3.html


Semisane.. this might be something that will help you..

Johnmorris

Well It came today My Lyman deerstalker 54 cal 1x48 24 inch barrel flint lock Now I need to put all this information to work. It is a beautiful gun. It came with a flint attached ant it sparks real well. So here I go embarking on the trip with a good flintlock. I have tried years ago with inferior rifles and no help so now there is hope with all this advise.

Johnmorris

A big thanks to Cayugad for all his help It is great to have knowledgeable people to fall back on I am not slighting all the rest of you in anyway I appreciated all the advise.