How do you know what size flint to use?

[rickevans]

Give us old dogs and the Noobs your method of determining how you pick the proper flint for your lock. Also, what the measurements mean. Is a 1/2" flint that wide, that long or that square...

[mario]

Look up the lock on the maker's website and see what size they recommend.

Mario

[pathfinder]

As long as the flint doesn't hit the frizzen when on half cock,it's good. The listed sizes USUALLY are the length. You can measure from the cock screw to the face of the frizzen and deduct @ 3/16ths to a 1/4" and that should be pretty close. Rich Peirce has a good reputation for giving exactlly what ya need,and they are pretty good,and you can't beat the price and service!!!!!!!!

[horserod]

I'll second what Pathfinder stated.  Rich is "the man" when it comes to flints     Horserod

[Sir Michael]

Here is the best method I've ever found.  The fitting process is on view 3, 4, & 5.  View 1 gives you the dimensions for each size.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/partDetail.aspx?catId=2&subId=188&styleId=914&partNum=FLINTS

Each flint maker will have his own length to width size.  Order one and measure it (remember that knapping is not an exact science so allow for tolerances.

[Captchee]

measure the width of your frizzen . this will be the proper width of the needed flint.
 Length of the flint depends on the lock and its geometry . This is why you see square and rectangle flints often listed .
IE with a long fall lock , you will never find a flint that will set  just of the frizzen face while at half cock
  with long fall locks the recangle flints normaly work better . while short fall locks  normaly  like the square flints . but as with all things  in muzzleloading , the are exceptions .

Depending on who you get your flints from , rectangle flints can be  rather long . But you can notch the back of the flint so as to set around the cock screw
Same goes for the so called square flints.  Normally they aren’t truly square

 When it comes to flat top flints like those Sir Michael shows in his link to ToW .
 Know that  these very in thickness  and may not fit your lock even though the width matches the frizzen and the length is right
 Right now I have a Early Davis lock that  will not accept about  ½ of the 1 inch  Fuller flints in my stock pile .
 Its not a real big issue  and its easily remedied  by shortening the length of the cock screw by a couple threads or using thicker padding to the jaws  .
 but if i used a peaked top flint .   its will set just fine  with no issues

 The  other thing to keep in mind is that all flints are not  good for all rifles . For that mater are all flints good .
  Concerning the first part of this statement .  Some  times a lock will simply eat up English flints .  But changing to a French amber  will  greatly reduce this problem . Same with quality of spark . Some times  a lock  just prefers ambers of English flint.
 My Hershel rifle is that way . For years I used English flints .  The lock would give me around 75 falls to a flint and it sparked well enough .  But after switching to ambers , I now get  near 100 + falls per amber and a more consistent spark .
 The opposite holds true for   my SXS .  The locks she holds , prefers English flints  in that they give better spark.

As to the second part of  the statement .
One  of the reasons I stopped ordering flints is that  I was finding “concerning those from ToW and Dixie  “ about 25% of those I would receive “buying in bulk “  would be IMO  poor quality . I will say this though . The last batch of 500 flints I got directly from fuller   only had maybe 2% that I regret paying for .
As such today , I prefer to pick my own flints. As such when im at an even and there is a trader selling flints , I pick through and chose my flints carefully, looking for consistent color , shape and thickness    .
 there is no use paying for a flint that  will break the first time you Knapp it  or shater after a few falls .

[rickevans]

Thanks gents...this is some of that valuable information that "everyone" knows...so no one will ask.

[gelsenbeck]

Great info gentlemen!  Thanks.

[trent/OH]

Thank you!  I recently bought a rifle, made in1968, by WR Wall. The lock I have learned, was made by Ted Cole. I'll measure her more closely tomorrow.

Does anyone remember Mr. Wall (of Detroit) or Ted Cole? I'd like to know more about these guys.