sproulman

i recieved my englishflints today.i ordered 3/4 inch.when i put them on my tc hawkins they stick out side about 1/8 of frizzen.i measured the tc frizzen and its below 3/4 wide. i know you dont want this sticking out on barrel side as you may nick it. do you let this hang out the other side? also, tops on half flints are pointed.no flat surface for jaws to hold onto. they dont sit in jaws very good.i have mizzy wheels. do you grind those flints down on those points on top so you have flat surface for jaws to hold onto . is this normal to get flints with no flat surface on top?

cayugad

I buy the same flints for my T/C Hawkins and although they stick out a little bit, they have never seemed to bother the flint and the way it functions. Are you using a good leather flint sleeve on the flint under the jaw? I use the leather instead of using lead like some others. I've never had the need to cut one off, and yes the mizzy wheel will cut that back pretty quick too.

Roundball I am sure can give you a better answer on this. He's the one I ask all my flintquestions too. He really knows his flints and locks...

sproulman

yes leather i use.half of flints i got had points on top and no flat area.they sit in hammer not to well.i was also going to grind the side of flint to make it smaller but did not knowif it was necessary. so, i will wait for roundball and others before i get dremel tool out.

cayugad

some of them hump backed flints do have to be ground down...I think they are not as careful as they used to be when knapping. My last batch had a lot of faulty flints that need to be touched up before I can use them.

sproulman

thats what i like about RMC when i go over to look around.they have flints in a big bucket and let you pick out what you want.this ordering thru mail they give you 6 good ones then 6 bad flints.i would never do that to anyone if i was in business. last order from dixie gun works on flints.

mauser06

i hand pick all my flints...i like a good flat...some seem to have a point like you mentioned...some seem to have a nice flat...i buy ones with a good flat and good solid color....my lock also needs them a few hairs shorter...so i take my lock with me when shopping for flints and put them all in before buying....i buy them from a small local BP shop...the lady is real nice and understanding.....she pulls out a giant try and goes through them with me......i ordered my first few online...they were way to large.....

lonewolf5347

I like to order my flints from track of th wolf I found 3/4x78 seem to work the best in my t/c flinters and when ordering from track you can state you want flat top flints only.I just placed an order with them and all the flints were excellent

roundball

By all means if you have a Mizzy wheel, you're home free...I just gently hold a hump back flint in the jaws of a vise (visegrips would alsowork, laying on a bench) and using the mizzy wheel, Igrind the top of the hump's peak down enough so it becomes flat for a good grip...Idon'tgrind the whole hump OFF...not necessary...I just grind downabout 1/4"until Igetabouta 1/4" wide flat streak where the sharp ridgewas, and that does it...takes 1-2 minutes per flint...I set up a fan to blow the flint dust away from mesoI don't inhale it.

sproulman

thanks for info. i just used the mizzy wheel in my dremel tool.it was a lot of fun and took about 2 minutes to flatten top. i too think i will buy the flints at RMC as i can drive there in 30 minutes.but its just easy with mizzy wheel. i did not like flints width i got.they were 3/4 inch wide and stick out beyond the t/c frizzen. when i ordered them front dixie ,they said 5/8 ones were for t/c frizzen but i heard the 3/4 are ones you want. they were real wide. i am going to mizzy those down to the tc frizzen or i may just let it stick out the side.so, if you order from DIXIE, get the 5/8 th ones which say for t/c frizzen not the 3/4 .they are WIDE,HA.

roundball

Flints are ordered based upon the width of the Frizzen, and TC Frizzens are 3/4" wide.

A long time agothe 5/8" BEF was recommended and nobody has bother to change that...but in reality,the correct size 3/4" BEF's are outstanding in TC locks.

The little 5/8" size are too narow resulting in less sparts;
And they areshorter, resultingin shortened Flint life.

My experience with 3/4" BEFs in TC Flint locks has been outstanding, and I'm very particular with the components I use inmy Flintlocks...will only use the best/fastest Flints and without question these have proven the best to me.

Always align the inside edge of the flint with the inside edge of the Frizzen so it doesn't strike the barrel...if a little bit sticks out on the outside edge, as someone already mentioned, it won't bother anything.

Check to be sure you have TC's redesigned improved lock assembly, andthe3/4" Flints do best starting them in the bevel up position...as they wear & shorten, you can flip them over bevel down and get more life out of them.

October Country always had the best prices when buying bulk bags of 50 or 100.
Always specify Tom Fuller BEFs that are 3/4" x 7/8" long...TOW carries some from somebody else and if you're not careful, you might end up with3/4" x 3/4" which are shorter to begin with, and you'll have shorter Flint life as a result.