Magnesium

[Lucky R A]

        Has anyone ever tried facing a frizzen with a piece of magnesium?  It is the active sparking rod in fire starting kits.  I have tried sparking it with flint and it throws white hot sparks...asking for a friend...
Ron

[bob in the woods]

 Facing the frizzen with these super sparking materials seems to come up periodically. At one point, if I recall correctly, it actually turned out that one material used was radioactive !  Of course, it threw sparks like crazy .  Ultimately, I ask myself, why ?   My locks spark extremely well as is 

[tooguns]

Might work great, if it didn't catch fire.

[Lucky R A]

      Bob, I am familiar with the depleated uranium frizzens.  I have removed and replaced a number of them over the years.  Unfortinately we occasionaly run into a frizzen that defies all logic.  I am struggeling with one on a lock built from a TRS parts set.  I have it to the point where it is sparking kinda ok, but could be much better, so I was just thinking outside the box. Obviously if it ain't broke don't fix it. 
Ron

[J. Talbert]

I may be wrong but I believe it’s a trick that was tried years ago at Friendship, and subsequently banned as far as competition there.  So I was told by an older shooter back then who is now deceased.
I saw one lock back then that had magnesium crudely riveted to the face of the frizzen and it did indeed throw lots of sparks.  So much so that it seemed unnatural.

Jeff

[Justin Urbantas]

I believe that ferrocerrium that is used in fire rods, and that the magnesium is the fuel.

[Hungry Horse]

 I have one of those spent uranium faced frizzens that somebody gave me years ago in my junk box.
 When those were the subject of some fierce debate in California I got into a competition with a guy that used them on his tradegun. We shot 24 targets, and I beat him. Not only for accuracy, but for reliability as well.
 Half-soling a frizzen is more technical than it is often portrayed. It can effect spring balance, lock geometry, and in small locks the availability of flints.
 If you are contemplating a frizzen half-sole especially on an old lock that may or may not have parts available, consider having it done by a pro.

 Hungry Horse

[rich pierce]

Such ferro-rod and magnesium  materials are quickly consumed. I’d guess 1000 shots max. Of course one could just convert to caplock.

[Lucky R A]

   Hey Rich,  When you are almost 80, a thousand shots seems like a lifetime......Ron

[Bob Roller]

I saw these tricked up frizzens in the 1960's and some called them "Wildcatting a flintlock".I have seen original locks on sporting rifles that made white hot sparks that sizzled in the pan when tested and have wondered about the material they were made from and has there been any analysis of one of these old ones.I have had frizzens that defied any hardening by any methods common to small shops and using hard to get compounds like Kasenit is a waste of it and time.The best results I had was by having frizzens cast from 52-100 and have them to go thru a carbon restoration process and they worked well.This was for a German gun maker that paid the bill from the foundry which was in Tennessee.
Bob Roller

[frogwalking]

How about making a "flint" of somwthing sparky.  When i was a kid, I had one of those 14 gauge flint fowlers reportedly to have a dangerous breachplug.  Mine did not burst.  I made a "flint" of steel that had holes for two industrial torch starting flints.  It worked, but was a pain.  I have since learned to sharpen flints.

[Lucky R A]

        I got a sheet of Magnisium.40 thick and glued a piece to the frizzen, and nothing, no sparks.  Justin Urbantas was right in his response, the Ferro rod is the sparking part of  the fire starters.  The magnesium is the fuel.  When I ignited a piece, it burned with a white hot intensity.  I can purchase ferro rods in various configurations, and I may look into that end of the equation---more fun than chemestry class.
Ron

[JohnnyFM]

All I can add is there are two general types of ferro rods I have come across. Hard and soft. I have no idea what the difference in composition is. I prefer soft for fire making myself for ease of spark using the spine of a knife. They have a much shorter life span than the hard.  But then again, even a hard ferro may be moot when struck by a spring loaded sharp rock.

It would be a cool experiment.

[Hungry Horse]

 I’ve found most of the modern fire lighting stuff puts out a shower of bright white sparks that don’t light off priming powder nearly as fast as those fat orange sparks a flint throws off.

 Hungry Horse

[alacran]

The quest for the better mouse trap never ends, yet we feed the cats.

[Marcruger]

Once you set magnesium on fire, it burns white hot and won't go out.  Back around 1980 I saw a first generation Camaro break its rear axle, and somehow the magnesium wheel caught fire.  Burned the whole car to the ground and looked like Willie Pete going off.  Not sure I'd want it making sparks around me.