flint lock breaking flints

Big_red_truck

Big_red_truck

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hey guys i have a cheap kentucky traditions rifle and i only seem to get 3-4 shots out of a flint. the lock doesnt seem to be well tuned at all. after the first shot it chips pieces of the flint off. any ideas or suggestions. i love my flint lock but it gets frustrating sometimes. i know experimenting and tinkering is part of the game but .... any suggestions would be great. thanks
 
Spring balance can be a cause.
A frizzen that is on the soft side can result in broken flints.
 
My vote would be for a flint that strikes to square on to the frizzen. Your choices are to knap the flint shorter and / or put the flint bevel up so that it strikes lower on the frizzen in a more scraping manner. If the frizzen is too soft if probably will not spark and in the case of a CVA needs to be recase hardened then draw to about a bronze colour

cheers mooncoon
 
I had one and it had both the issues stated above, I replaced the frizzen with one that had the right shape had it case hardened and flipped my flints so they swept downward in a shaving motion... End of issue.
 
I had trouble when I used a lead wrap on the flint. Leather fixed that one. I also get better spark and life with my flint almost touching the frizzens at half ####.
 
my flint is as far back to the #### as it goes.im using size 5/8 flints , anything bigger i thing would hit the barrel. im using leather wrap. how would i case harden my frizzen myself? can i get universal frizzens , better quality ones? i have it set so the taper is facing downwards.
 
Hmm I suppose not everyone's a gunsmith, if you know any old time gun makers go ask them questions and show them what it's doing. It's how I learned hands on and in my face, old les hiltz an old time gunsmith I grew up near taught me with a file a hammer a forge and time, you can make anything from wood and steel to him steel was clay to fold and mould and form into anything you can dream of. He was good friends with Hershel House and Frank House, famous old time smiths from down in ol Kentucky . My advice ask around find a smith and let him teach you what to do. It's the only way to learn and if your going to shoot flintlock then you'll need to show the issue to an experienced shooter or muzzleloading gunsmith.
 
Big_red_truck said:
my flint is as far back to the #### as it goes.im using size 5/8 flints , anything bigger i thing would hit the barrel. im using leather wrap. how would i case harden my frizzen myself? can i get universal frizzens , better quality ones? i have it set so the taper is facing downwards.
Click to expand...

If you put the bevel up, the flint will strike lower on the frizzen. If the flint is still too long, you can drive flakes from the cutting edge using a 3/16" piece of brass rod about 3 - 4" long and struck with a small mallet or similar. Angle the brass rod about 45 degrees to drive the flakes back and under

Case hardening is done by heating the frizzen red hot with a source of carbon in contact with it. Most people today use Kasenite as the source of carbon and keep the frizzen red hot for 3 minutes by the clock. Carbon penetrates the steel , I am told, about .001" per minute. Traditionally things like leather dust were used in a sealed container but I think that would be difficult to control. At the end of the process you drop the part into water to harden the surface and then I clean the surface to white(ish) and reheat to a brown colour because I think a frizzen can be too hard. Be sure to heat the bend between the pan cover and the striking surface to dark blue in case the frizzen is hard all the way through. Also heat the area around the pivot hole to dark blue to prevent in from cracking or breaking.

cheers mooncoon
 
ill try turning the flint and see how it goes from there , id love to get 20 shots + from a flint but .... i know its not going to happen with my cheap traditions kentucky. i think the spring is too hard. theres no gunsmiths in my are , nearest smith is about 1000km away.
 
As mooncoon says draw back on the temper by reheating to a brown colour otherwise you'll get a surprise your hammer will shear off your frizzin.
 
From what I've read it seems the Spanish made flint locks (traditions) have strong springs in them. I've read post saying that tuning the lock is required. I'm wondering if this would help? They say 10-15 lbs should be plenty to scrape a spark , I'm somewheres around 30lbs
 
Traditions. My brother has been shooting a Traditions .50cal Hawkens Flintlock for six years now. He has found that the biggest problem is the quality of flints available. Some of the cut flints lasted only a handfull of fires. The better quality flints last over 50 shots. Although the rifle may not be of the best quality, it is still a nice piece. Sure, it is not a Pedersoli, but it still functions fine.

Kevin
 
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