I agree with Bronko. At half c0ck the flint should be a lot closer to the frizzen. Also, mounting it with the bevel down will cause it to hit higher on the frizzen and provide a longer striking stroke. A longer flint would be better, but you can also put a piece of wood (broken off twig) behind the flint to move it out farther. I've used both leather and lead and tend to favor lead. But leather works fine also. The only down side to lead is you have to re-tighten the c0ck screw after the first two or three shots, and then again two or three shots later until the lead really conforms to and grips the flint. But you may not be experiencing that with the flat/smooth Agates.