cow's knee?

[Lady of the Woods]

Ok, I guess now that I have a flinter I need a cows knee for her. . .  any suggestions on material, design, how to make it?? help!
Z

[Mitch]

best is to use the rear leg(or hock)....I've got one from a buffalo, and another from an elk....there are some patterns to make one, but I've always use the real thing...Mitch

[melsdad]

I read somewhere to use an old shamie you use for drying your truck. cut a piece about 8" square, and coat it real good with snow seal. It will be flexible but hold shape if molded around your lock.

[Steve S]

I read somewhere to use an old shamie you use for drying your truck. cut a piece about 8" square, and coat it real good with snow seal. It will be flexible but hold shape if molded around your lock.

That's what I did....sewed 2 thongs on for ties,coated it with dubbin...works fine...& no complicated cutting/sewing..
Steve

[melsdad]

I read somewhere to use an old shamie you use for drying your truck. cut a piece about 8" square, and coat it real good with snow seal. It will be flexible but hold shape if molded around your lock.

coated it with dubbin

What is dubbin? never heard of it, is it a more period correct sealant?

[Steve S]

Snap!...Never heard of snow seal...Don't know if Dubbin is just a British thing...It's for softening/waterproofing Leather & has been around since at least WWI....small tins in most shoe repairers over here.
Steve

[melsdad]

Now that I think of it BEAVERMAN recommended "White's Boot Dressing" to me to waterproff my shooting bag. I bet that would work just fine also.

http://www.whitesboots.com/store/boot_l ... s_oils.php

look toward the bottom of the page.

[R.M.]

British, don't know. We had Dubin in Canada, so maybe.

[Black Hand]

Ok, I guess now that I have a flinter I need a cows knee for her. . .  any suggestions on material, design, how to make it?? help!
Z

Place your gun on half-cock with the frizzen closed onto a piece of paper.  Draw lines along the stock fore and aft of the lock (~4-5 inches each way) and trace the outline of the lock/cock/frizzen area and along the bottom of the stock.  That is your pattern.  Enlarge it a bit around the frizzen/cock area and make it longer along the sides (to accomodate going around the gun).  Cut out your pattern and trace it onto 2 pieces of leather.  Cut the pieces out and a long thin strip for a welt (~1/4 inch wide and longer than the upper part of the pattern (The pattern will look like a long rectangle with a hump for the frizzen/cock area).  Sew the welt in between the 2 side pieces, turn right-side out, dampen the leather and fit it to the stock/lock area.  Allow to dry and trim off leather where it might need trimming.  Add ties (I use 2 at each end at each "corner") and grease it well.  I also added a 5th tie to the center of one bottom so that I could tie the cows knee to the trigger guard so it wouldn't be lost when I removed it.

I used a light weight, top- grain leather and made the cows knee so the smooth side would end up outside.  I greased it very well with deer tallow inside and out and used gentle heat so the leather absorbed as much as it could hold.

[Uncle Russ]

Z....IMO, and FWIW, I would make sure I was going to need, and use one before doing a lot of anything.
I have owned a couple over the years and they were just more hassle that anything much of real value, and that was when I lived in Shelton, WA the real "back door" to the Rain Forest.

Tucking the lock of my flinter under my arm proved much more practical that trying to cover, and uncover, the lock......besides, when it's pouring down rain you need to freshen the prime about every hour or so anyway...just dump it out, wipe / dry the pan, and re-charge.....IMHO, a "stall" for the frizzen has a lot more value than a Cows Knee.

Still yet, all this ramblin is just one man's thinking. If you feel you need a Cows Knee, then go for it. A lot of folks do have 'em and use 'em, so they can't be a real bad thing.

Uncle Russ...

[M1Tommy]

Z............ a "stall" for the frizzen has a lot more value than a Cows Knee.
...........

What's that?  umm, a 'stall', not a frizzen?

Sincerely,
Tommy

[Black Hand]

Z............ a "stall" for the frizzen has a lot more value than a Cows Knee.
...........

What's that?  umm, a 'stall', not a frizzen?

Sincerely,
Tommy

A little leather cover for the frizzen only.....

[M1Tommy]

Does it go between the pan and the frizzen?

Tommy

[Bigsmoke]

no, think of it as a glove that goes over the frizzen.
The purpose is to prevent the firearm from accidentally going off - hence where the phrase "going off half cocked" came from.

If the flint cannot come into contact with the frizzen, then it cannot make any sparks.

[M1Tommy]

OK, I had that in my mind's eye as what a cow's knee is, but the cow's knee is considerably more involved and covers most all the action extending some over the stock,  right ?

Tommy