Making Gunflints - Hybrid knapping system

[@scottshore1426]

Would love to learn more. I've reenacted for over 30 years I would just like to be able to sit down and make my own. Thank you for the video really appreciate it

[@anthonyberger225]

It's good that you talk while you are working give a guy more information and it's a good way to teach.

[@michaelfuller3477]

I have knapped points but had no idea how they made gun flints. Super happy to see this video. I am going to try it. Thanks

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Thanks. That's great. Give it a go. Best of luck to ya.

[@MrPanchoak]

I'm far more interested in gunflint than in points. Just love flintlocks.

[@shotcaughtcrop]

Missed a 6 point bull elk last season with my flintlock because of the crappy flint I had, thank you for sharing your source and making a video!!

[@neanderthalnonsense]

@@shotcaughtcrop no problem. Hopefully this helps.

[@johnhagerman320]

I have watched this video a couple of times now and I really hope you keep making videos

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Will do. Lately, it's been really cold. Which is a bit rough on the hands for knapping. Soon, I'll be putting more videos up. Someone requested a video with a bit more information and history on gunflints. Still trying to track down information on Gunspalls. Which are a bit different.

[@goingrey9529]

Used to sit with friends while they made arrow heads and spear points . small hand knives. They'd sell them saying you see I'm an Indian right ? Lol loved it.. Rez fun with looky lu's . Its a dying art, glad your doing it and teaching. thanks.. Oh tile snips for squaring or sharpening.. beginners may find it helps.

[@attianmarce5278]

Oh Im so jealous of the knapping hammer

[@johnmccoll1046]

Good video. Maybe in your next post you can show us your tools and reference book in detail please. Keep making videos on this subject and hope you get a flintlock soon. Cheers

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Can do!!!

[@daveyjoweaver6282]

Indeed, another video would be great! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania

[@PossumSausage]

Comment to your comment about us guys knapping flints while they are in the lock. First off, yes most flintlock shooters don't know much about knapping. But there is a reason to leave the flint in the lock. The methods used by shooters to sharpen a flint are either direct percussion or indirect percussion (usually with a brass punch) and for percussion work the flint itself is too light weight to conveniently percussion knapp. By keeping it locked in the jaws, you essentially add the weight of the rifle to the mass of the flint and it knapps easier. The same couldn't be said about pressure flaking a flint to sharpen it, but I can sharpen a flint in my rifle with a few taps of the spine of my knife with no ill effect to the gun itself. Not to be compared to the work you do, but fast and efficient and no harm to the rifle

[@neanderthalnonsense]

@@PossumSausage that makes sense. I still have lots to learn yet. Thanks buddy.

[@amoschase7207]

Very informative. I too am into primitive archery and point knapping but have recently gotten into Muzzleloading and flintlocks. I have buckets of flakes and now I think I may never buy another rifle flint. Thank you.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Glad I could help. Best of luck to you

[@geargnasher9822]

Cool, now there are something like six videos on this platform describing how to make a gunflint, excellent and thank you for your contribution. I made a couple of videos myself (very poor quality) because there is so little video information out there. I have found the Novaculite to be by far the best material there is, but still prefer to use blades and flakes for preforms and NOT do any pressure flaking whatsoever. When you pressure flake the scraping edge of the "flint", it will take on thick spots at every ridge as it wears and stall out, requiring frequent touch-ups in use. If the striking edge is the correct taper (top and bottom surfaces forming about a 15 degree angle) and perfectly smooth across (as made from a good straight blade or straight section of a flake edge), the flint will wear and "self knap" evenly and remain sharp until it is too blunt and short to work anymore. I get well over 100 good strikes from white Novaculite flints with maybe one or two touch-ups whereas some of the raw cherts dull out at around 20-30 and need to be knapped in the jaws frequently. Once you start making your own you tend to not worry much about coddling the things and when they start getting blunt or stall out, just pitch it and put in a fresh one. At $3 each plus shipping, we tend to baby and maintain flints a lot more than if we have an unlimited supply. Another good gunflint material is high-quality Georgetown flint nodules. When quartered properly they make superb blade cores and yield a lot of very good, sparky flints per nodule, but that stuff is very expensive and not always of the best quality depending on the supplier. I'm cheap so I use whatever chert I can scrounge from the Texas river gravels and friends ranches.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Dang, that's a lot of typing. Thanks for taking the time to share. Novaculite is good stuff but expensive, and it's a bit harder for me to get. Agreed on Georgetown being expensive. Buying whole rock in general is really expensive. I haven't had any complaints on the bifacial knapped flints (yet). But I will keep your comment in mind. What I'll start doing is edge shearing as the final step to remove the irregularities. That may help "smooth" things out.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Also, thanks for the compliment. Just as an FYI, I have made several gunflint videos since this one.

[@geargnasher9822]

@@neanderthalnonsense I'll look them up, thanks. Flintlock shooters come in all varieties and they all have different quality locks and different expectations. Most people who use a knapping hammer are amateurs. Experienced shooters will typically only press off the dull spots with the back edge of a knife or other tool and not beat their sear nose to death with a hammer. If the flint is installed bevel up (the usual), the wear chips come off the bottom of the edge so downward pressure with a tool will snap off the hard spots from the underside of the flint and keep a decent angle. The top side of the flint should be flat and smooth so it rakes the frizzen evenly, even if the bottom of the edge has small defects from the wear flakes departing the edge. Reenactors may not care much of the fine points of quality gunflints (consistency, longevity, angle, and shape), but hunters and competitors do.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

@@geargnasher9822 thanks for the information. I'll keep that in mind.

[@kirkboswell2575]

Doesn't matter to me - points or flints - it's the process that fascinates me. Started out with percussion. It has a number of advantages, so it's understandable why percussion arms took over. However, I now understand the Mountain Men's universal preference for flintlocks. They were far from any supply lines, but they could always find flint to keep their firearms going (just like our recent supply line interruption).

[@neanderthalnonsense]

I agree. I am unfamiliar with the history of the West. But it makes sense. From what I've read, east of the Mississippi, there were no gunflint workshops at all. The flints were imported from various countries. England and France, to name a few. I'd have to dig into it a bit more for the others. Now we just need some folks to get good at making black powder for the Flintlocks.

[@tstanley60021]

Fantastic video!

[@texascelt8363]

How do you get the large flint rock to break into the blades

[@kluper1157]

Nice work! love to Learn How!

[@OutlawAlaska]

huh, pretty neat. I never thought much about the flint part and how they might be made.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Thanks for watching. I felt the same way when I first started learning how to make points.

[@galewollenberg786]

I have used a carpenter's pincers to do the same thing (sizing).

[@kingdarkem]

I love making gunflints. There are however many different styles. However outside of english, nordic, dutch, french, german and Spanish gunflints there is not much information. Made a few flintlocks for reenactors...however I only knew about English gun flints at the time. So there's a few french reenactors sporting period correct yet improper gun flints for their french rifles.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Aha. I have a video that goes a bit morenin depth for the Modified French version of knapping. Check it out. I even through in a bit of history.

[@kingdarkem]

@@neanderthalnonsense yeah im perusing now. However I got a collector whos looking for an ottoman miquelet and a Japanese flintlock that they were able to send photos of from a museum. However they dont have the flints. Thats why I'm tossing it out there. There's different styles beyond the commonly available information. There are however lesser known gun flints and most likely tools and techniques lost to time to go with those lesser known styles of gun flints.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

@@kingdarkem I agree. Lots of missing technology.

[@kluper1157]

cool make more vids please!! and Thank you!

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Will do!!

[@skipsmoyer4574]

My last task to be self sufficient is flints, make own bullets, have made black powder so flints are last

[@tstanley60021]

Great video! I'd be interested to purchase some 5/8x5/8 if you have some

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Can do. Shoot me an email and I can see what I got. [e-mail]

[@donaldfrederick6814]

Your flinta must be very thin. Most of the english gun flints i get are too thick, i have to grind them on a diamond stone to make them thin enough to wrap in leather and fit in the jaws. Also, knapping on the gun is a lot more gentle than you're thinking. I used to use a steel nail set, i would hold it by the pointy end and gently tap right on the edge. All i was looking to do was flake off 1/64 or less from the edge . Thick flints make this more difficult also.

[@neanderthalnonsense]

The trouble I have is making the gunflints too thin, lol. So lately, I've been trying to get them around 3/16+ thickness. Thanks for the info on shaping the flints in the lock. If you are in need of flints shoot me a email and we can work something out. If you'd like. [e-mail]

[@charliemcelwain8874]

How much are your gunflint for a small Siler 5/8 3/4 5/8 1/2

[@neanderthalnonsense]

Good morning, Charlie. I'm happy to help. Please send me an email, and we can sort it out. My email is [e-mail]. Thank you.

[@blackpowder-bulgaria]

Nice!

[@kluper1157]

not many vids on how to make them!

[@larrycaro1333]

Cool

[@kluper1157]

like to try some!

[@Diogenes425]

Novaculite?

[@neanderthalnonsense]

@@Diogenes425 Yep. Sparks well.

[@daveyjoweaver6282]

Just in case you don’t know check out the YT channel Skillcult by Steven Edholm. I’ve barked tanned 20-25 deer hides and Steven has a super great series of videos on bark tanning. I learned huge amounts from Steven. I’ve also experimented with different barks here in south east Pennsylvania. Thanks Much for your tips and I also enjoy the nice sound your hammer makes on you anvil and stump. Good Shootin! DaveyJO in Pennsylvania. P. S. As I watching I hear you’ve already discovered Steven’s magic! Cool!