Blasting your flint!!

[Roger Fisher]

We have all noticed that nice flat top English flint in our lock slowly get rounded off from the vent side outwards.  We could get  more bang for our buck (or two) if that debris coming out of the vent would not directly hit and ruin that corner of that nice flint! Knapping works but she soon gets so blunt that knapping is a problem! now some of us like to insure getting ignition rather than a flash in the pan so we open the vent to 5/64 or close to it.  Then when we start losing 2 f out of the vent we wonder if it is again time to replace the liner!!!   Is using that skinny number 51 drill bit to 'open' the vent a tad more the happy medium?  Less wear on our 2 dollar flints but maybe a flash in the pan at the wrong instant!!

Be interested in the responses.!

[billd]

Use Rich's flints, there only $1.00. Twice as many shots for $2.00.

Bill

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

That's interesting Roger.  I've been shooting flinters for a lot of years now - probably not as many as you - but I've never noticed any adverse wear to the inside edge of the flint as a result of the vent gases.  I shall watch for it now that you have mentioned it.

[Roger Fisher]

That's interesting Roger.  I've been shooting flinters for a lot of years now - probably not as many as you - but I've never noticed any adverse wear to the inside edge of the flint as a result of the vent gases.  I shall watch for it now that you have mentioned it.

That you have not noticed this is a surprise and not much surprises me anymore.  My thought is that my durs egg is a beastie and has the flint centered in the pan (which is what we want) and therefore the flint gets the full 'benefit' of the vent blast.  Some other lock configuration may have that narrow jet of debris to one side or the other of said flint and the flint escapes the damage.  BTW the damage to the flints is smooth as a babies butt and rounded.  More shots causes the damage to move gradually towards the far side of each flint, so we end up shootin the ol gal with half or less of a flint edge.... knapping helps; but the damaged edge gets just toooo thick to knapp. Another thought is that I had a fairly large vent (on the 'gun') and was losing 2 f yes and shooting somewhat low (on this smoothie) 5/64th fell in.  I changed from this 1/4x28 ampco to a 5/16 x 32 white lightning last night opened her to a # 51 champhered her a frog hair.We'll see how that works and if I get more service out of that corner of the flint.

The wide open ampco gave me sure ignition and very very seldom a flash in the pan, we'll see about this one!

[Randy Hedden]

That you have not noticed this is a surprise and not much surprises me anymore.  My thought is that my durs egg is a beastie and has the flint centered in the pan (which is what we want) and therefore the flint gets the full 'benefit' of the vent blast. 

Roger,

Your post caught my attention. The part where your flint is centered in the pan, (WHICH IS WHAT WE WANT).......

It is not so important where the flint ends up pointing, but rather where the sparks hits the priming in the pan. When I work over a lock, having the flint pointing to the center of the pan is not necessarily what I want.  I tend to tweak my locks so that the flint is pointing toward the front of the pan, sometimes the very front of the pan so that the flint appears to be pointing off the front of the pan. On most locks this position of the flint tends to produce a shower of sparks to the center of the pan and obviously would cure your problem of rounding the flint from the vent exhaust. I am not sure this would work on every lock that is available, but It has worked for me on the locks I have done. Some locks come made this way and no tweaking is needed.

However, I can imagine a lock maker going to the trouble of designing a lock so that the flint ends up pointing toward the front of the pan and then the purchaser of the lock bending the cock so that the flint points toward the middle of the pan when at rest.

Randy Hedden

www.harddogrifles.com

[roundball]

I only average 60-80 shots on a 3/4" black english flint then clean & toss it into a jar, so that may account for the reason I've never had the circumstances you mentioned...vent is .070"...an eyelash under 5/64's.

[Daryl]

We have all noticed that nice flat top English flint in our lock slowly get rounded off from the vent side outwards.  We could get  more bang for our buck (or two) if that debris coming out of the vent would not directly hit and ruin that corner of that nice flint! Knapping works but she soon gets so blunt that knapping is a problem! now some of us like to insure getting ignition rather than a flash in the pan so we open the vent to 5/64 or close to it.  Then when we start losing 2 f out of the vent we wonder if it is again time to replace the liner!!!   Is using that skinny number 51 drill bit to 'open' the vent a tad more the happy medium?  Less wear on our 2 dollar flints but maybe a flash in the pan at the wrong instant!!

Be interested in the responses.!

I get the same thing, Roger. At first, I blamed my lock - but I think now your description of why, is correct.  Indeed, the rounding and erroding effect on that corner is quite blunt and smooth.  Many locks hold the flint well out of the blast area, but both my Flint pistol and rifle drop the leading edge right into the pan -  with a new flint.  A narrow, sharp front edge gets quickly 'burnt/blasted/erroded away.  Yes - it is probably the blast coming out of the vent that's doing the damage.  My Squirrel rifle, with the .40 barrel, causes less damage to that left edge due I expect, to the old Siler not dropping the flint so far into the pan, but yes - that left corner is rounder and blunter than the right edge - for sure.