Using a Diamond plate sharpening stone on flints?

[Don Steele]

Anyone have any experience using a diamond stone to restore the edge on flints..??
I recently acquired an inexpensive set of diamond files and have been experimenting with various grades to "touch up" a worn flint rather than hitting it with the knapping tools.
I'm perpetually curious. 

[Daryl Pelfrey]

I read the post where Don Steele talked about using diamond stones to touch up flints. I had that idea the other day then read Dons post. What do you think. Work or no?

[jerrywh]

 Yes it works well especially on a rotary wheel.

[kutter]

I posted in another thread about sharpening flints that I use worn EZ Lap diamond hones to sharpen flints

I use the small hones quite a bit in my other work and when they get worn out for that, they are still more than sharp
for sharpening a gun flint.
I usually use the Medium & Coarse hones.
I sharpen up the gun flint while they are still in the hammer jaws.
The flint files like hardwood with a clean new steel file would. Just dust falls from the edge.
Takes only a few swipes to bring a knife edge back to it.
Easy to carry along with you.

[ClaudeH]

Not that I have any idea what I'm doing, but I've tried the little Eze-Lap diamond files with my flint-eating Pedersoli pistol.  It seems to work quite well, but how do I know since I don't know what I'm doing with these guns in the first place!

However, I do want to suggest that you might want to cover your lock with a rag when you do it.  It seems likely that the process creates some very abrasive dust.

[Don Steele]

I've made that observation as well. Since receiving my set of diamond files I have used them on flints removed from the lock which were secured in a small handvise, as well as using them to touch up a flint while it's still in the lock. If the flint is still in the lock I use a small piece of cloth to cover everything below the rock itself.
Early results indicate that using a fairly coarse diamond file is a good way to re-shape a flint. For example...sometimes when knapping in the traditional manner I find a small area on the front edge of my flint is becoming thicker than the rest. That thick area resists improvement with traditional knapping but can be reduced to a more productive edge with filing. Files are also useful for flattening out the peak on a "humpy" flint so that it holds better in the cock.
It's still early in the learning curve. At this point I still get a sharper edge using traditional knapping. Use of the file seems to be more useful for reshaping, or correcting "issues" that develop on a flint rather than just replacing it.