I've recently read about english black flints, french flints, etc. The Deerstalker I bought came with an opaque white flint. what's the difference? are some preferable to others? does maintenance on them differ? thanks for any input.

Most mass produced flintlocks come with a somewhat commercial looking flint usually referred to as an agate flint or "sawed" flint.

As a general rule they are inferior to Black English Flints, far more expensive than BEF's, and cannot be 'knapped' to get the full life out of them like you can with BEF's.

3/4" Black English Flints work best in my flintlocks, average 40-60 shots per flint, cost about .75cents each, and I order them in bulk bags of 50 - 100 from October Country.
Measure the width across the face of your frizzen and that's the "size" you'll need to ask for.

And a big plus is that Black English Flints are the real deal...it's what flintlocks used from the beginning...they look the best, work the best, and are least expensive.

Listen to roundball on this one... he knows what he is talking about. I have just got into the flintlock arena. I have having a great time and learning a lot.

Black English Flints do seem to work great without a doubt. I went through three of them before I sent the rifle in for some updating, and they worked really well.

I did have an agate which actually came with the rifle from T/C when it was returned to me after the update, and it did work fantastic. I got over 30 shots off the agate then turned it around and shot the other side off.

Right now I have an amber french flint in the rifle. This flint really throws a shower of sparks, but at $3.00 each it should not only spark well it should come with a signed guarantee....

I did as roundball suggested and ordered 50 flints from October Country and am having the time of my life shooting the rifle.... Good luck with your rifle.

How do you like the accuracy in that Deerstalker?

just got it sighted in this weekend.
traditional iron sights, out of the box, no adjustments, sub 1 inch groups at 50 yards, 3 inch groups at one hundred. the groups at one hundredwas about 1 inch low. this thing shoots better than my scoped inline (maybe it was a mistake going cva on the inline...)

what's the best way to knap the english flint?

Knapping the flint is something I have not mastered yet. I am still working on it myself. Although a different poster did send me some photos of the tools he made, which he uses to knapp flint.... I am not sure if that would be of any help for you. Roundball will know how.

I'm sure there are many ways to knapp an english flint, but I'll describe how I was taught.

As a right handed person, with a flint in the jaws, lay the rifle down across a padded table / bench and stand behind it with it pointed downrange / away from yourself;

Ensure the pan is empty, touchhole is plugged (or covered with a rag draped across it), and frizzen fully open / forward;

Bring the hammer back to full cock, then slide the forefinger of your left hand under the bottom jaw of the hammer to hold the hammer in place;

Then use a brass rod the size of a pencil, or the back of a hunting knife, and very gently just 'tap-tap-tap-tap' down on the leading edge of the flint at a 45 degree angle...left to right across the full width of the flint;

It only takes 4-5 very light taps so that tiny little flakes come off OF THE BOTTOM SIDE of the flint's edge...I think most of us when we start out think large visible chunks have to come off, but actually, all we need to do it barely freshen the leading edge...by flaking off a few tiny slivers, the leading edge gets thinner again, hence sharper.

Another thing that usually works with english flints IF THEY HAVE FLAT TOPs (not big thick high tops) is to simply loosen the jaw screw, and flip the flint upside down about every 10 shots...they will usually "self-knapp" so you can keep right on shooting...I usually average 40-60 shots per 3/4" black english flints that I've bought from October Country.

Remember, knapping a flint is just to eliminate the flat dents that buildup on the sharp leading edge after hitting the frizzen several times...just be gentle and don't expect to see large alterations to the flint when you knapp it, because all the results are actually taking place out of sight under the leading edge...just a few light tap-tap-taps and you'll be all set for another series of shots...only take 10-15 seconds.

I executed that on one of my agate flints. I used the round shank of a phillips screwdriver. I just tapped across the edge till i got a fresh cutting surface. It worked fantastic. The only problem was it only lasted a half dozen strikes and then petered out again. I would like to buy some english flints to try soon. I hope they are as good as some here say.

On the advise of Roundball I bought a large number of the Black English Flints and they work fantastic. About the only thing that worked better is an amber french flint that I bought. Of course the French flinter was three times the cost of the English Flint....

Yes, my experience with agate sawed flints has been mediocure...black english flints are the way to go...both in terms of performance & cost...and the added benefit is that "they're the real deal"...it's what they used way back when...you won't be disappointed...just be careful as the cutting edges are like razor blades and you can lay a finger open so fast you won't even notice it at first...until you get a little BP salty residue in the cut then you'll know it immediately!!

you guys are the best-thanks for all the advice. early seaon ML starts in PA a week saturday, and with all your help i think i'll be ready to go. gonna stick with the new flinter, and give my in-line to my brother.