Blackpowdersmoke

Dave,

You got EXTREMELY LUCKY with one particular flint!!! I take it that agate flints are all you use in your flinters nowadays then.


gtonini,

If you want to try them by all means do but if you surveyed the members of this forum that shoot flintlocks I think the number you would find that use "manufactured" or agate flints would be few. And no, Lyman doesn't make agate flints, much the same as they don't make their own rifles. They purchase their flints wholesale from a vendor overseas that grinds them on diamond wheels and then sells them to retailers and suppliers.

You stated in an earlier thread that you built this gun from a kit years ago and it was only fired a few times. You thought your flints may have gone bad...no, flints don't deteriorate over time, they get worn away over time and need to be replaced but that's about it. You also stated that you thought you had a T/C with a bad lock. If that was the case then three of my five T/C flinters have the "bad locks" so to speak and they all still spark just fine and have all taken at least several deer without a hitch. The only thing T/C did with their earlier frizzens that created a problem down the road was case harden them instead of through harden. The case harden depth was only about .025 or so deep and after many shots were fired (I'm talking way more than the average hunter/shooter) the case hard wore through and the flint would not spark well or at all on the soft inner metal. Of all the folks that I know that shoot flintlocks and the greater majority own T/C, I saw that happen once. The man replaced it with a new style frizzen from RMC. I hope you didn't throw your original frizzen away, I'm sure it will work just fine so keep it for a spare.
Flintlocks can be cantankerous and that's a fact. For the most part all of us who shoot flintlocks have learned to deal with their quirks. Without actually seeing your setup or having it in our hands, all any of us can do are make suggestions that might help.
Are the flints you're using the right size for your lock? If they're too small or not long enough, they may be pushing back in the jaws and not giving you enough "stroke" after they contact the frizzen. Try setting the frizzen in the leather in your jaws all the way back as far as you can and just lightly snug it down. Ease the hammer forward slowly until the flint contacts the frizzen and see where it makes contact. You should be at least 2/3 -3/4 up the frizzen. If necessary, cut another piece of leather to place on the bottom jaw as a shim (I use 1/16 or so thick) and try again. once you feel you're getting sufficient stroke, square the flint edge up with the frizzen face and snug it down good.
You may have to take some 120 paper and rough up the face of the new frizzen (by hand NO TOOLS) but only if it still has that black residue left over from heat treating.
If you do have an agate flint, put it in the jaws and square it up and then use it as a "break in flint". Cock and dry fire the lock a dozen or so times to help rough up the frizzen face a bit. No, it won't hurt your lock at all, that's what they're designed to do. Then replace it with a good English flint of the right size, make sure the flint edge is relatively sharp and that it's squared up and snugged down good, wipe the frizzen face and flint edge off with alcohol to remove any oils from your fingers and try it. You may also experiment with the flint in "bevel up" or "bevel down" position, whichever works best for you.

Here's a link to the Tom Fuller English flints sold by Track of the Wolf. I use the 6S size but size 6 would work fine also...

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/141/1

BPS