Making your own flintlock flint

[Stormrider51]

I can find books and videos galore about knapping various arrow or spear points from flint but nothing about turning out a flint for a flintlock.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?  We have plenty of flint (chert) in my part of Texas.  It seems only natural to make my own flints.

John

[cb]

The Circle of Mechanical Arts 1813 has some info - starts on page 398
http://books.google.com/books?id=6_oGAA ... nt&f=false

Making Your Own Gun flints...
http://www.onagocag.com/gunflnt.html

[Captchee]

I can find books and videos galore about knapping various arrow or spear points from flint but nothing about turning out a flint for a flintlock.  Can anyone point me in the right direction?  We have plenty of flint (chert) in my part of Texas.  It seems only natural to make my own flints.

John

 look for
Memoirs of the Geological survey, England and Wales
The manufacture of Gunflints  By Sydney B.J Skertchly ,F.G.S
London 1879

 very good book IMO  . full of tool drawings, discriptions of the processes as well as 10 or 12 pages of diffrent  type and grades of gunflints.
 i seem to recall its also part of the historic arms series  so ToW probably has it

[Stormrider51]

Thanks Guys!  That should get me started.  The range where I shoot is covered with flint shards.  I'll pick up some this weekend and start experimenting.
John

[cb]

The book that Capt Chee noted is available free at the link below and is also downloadable.....
http://openlibrary.org/books/OL22888555 ... age_of_palæolithic_man_and_the_connexion_between_neolithic_art_and_the_gun-flint_trade.

[rickevans]

Thanks for that link CB.

[Rasch Chronicles]

Thanks for sharing the links fellows, much appreciated!

Best regards,
Albert “Yes, I am still in Afghanistan!” Rasch
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles™
Extreme Wild Boar Hunting, Chronicles’ Style!!!

[FlintSteel]

Thanks Guys!  That should get me started.  The range where I shoot is covered with flint shards.  I'll pick up some this weekend and start experimenting.
John

It's been a couple of months since you posted this. I was wondering if you were at all successful making any gunflints.

If yes would you post some photos for us to see

[Stormrider51]

Not successful as yet.  I've managed to reduce some flint into smaller chips.  The biggest problem is that I need a larger nodule than is usually found around this area.

Storm

[FlintSteel]

I have one piece of chert that I picked up at my daughter's house several years ago. The person they bought the house from was a rock collector and had a couple. I took the largest it's about as big around as a cantelope and about 4" thick. I wanted to see how you did before I attacked mine.

[Indiana]

You'll probably have better luck if you heat treat that flint before you try knapping it.

[Captchee]

Also remember that   the English flints  and French flints we see today were done with purposeful tools  and look completely different the spal “spelling sorry “ flints .
Also remember that these folks were working with very large  mined  chunks of flints . Not  nodules

[Stormrider51]

Yeah, and the chert we have around here isn't the same quality either.  The fist-sized chunk I have is shot through with impurities.

Storm

[greyhunter]

Hey Storm, the Backwoodsman mag had an article about knapping and the author describes how to knap beer bottles ( the bottoms) into arrow heads. Good for practice and functional too.

[Rasch Chronicles]

Champagne bottles bottoms are good too I have heard said.

BTW, I remember Dixie Gun Works (30 years ago) used to sell raw English flint nodules. I've looked but I haven't found any on the net. Has anyone else seen any?

Best regards,
Albert “The Afghan” Rasch
Traditional Methods of Waterproofing Fabric
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