For Those Asking About Flintlocks Sparking

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Just ordered a extra frizzen for my little pistol lock. They have to be hardened. This was done by one of the best, Larry Zorn from Ohio. Here's a
dull piece of Missouri chert showing what a propertly hardened frizzen should do
frizzentestbig.gif
 
I had many problems with getting enough spark out of my, 50 cal renegade.
I have tried many different flints. bla bla bla.

I saw this post and I was ready to try kasenit. I made some phone calls to freinds. Was recomended to a local machine shop with a case hardening machine.

I said what the heck, I will try it.

I dropped off my old frissen and he said he could case harden it for free.
Now I just have to get back there and pick it up.

OK MY question is, Will it break upon impact with flint? due to case hardening? or am I ok?

Thanks.
 
If you do it properly the hardening is only to the outside layer. IIRC this is actually a very think layer. The inner steel is still flexible.
 
The frizzens I use on all my Flintlocks are hardned thru and thru. I use them
a lot and fire thousnands of shots each year. Case hardning is too thin for me.
 
Case hardening, or just plain surface hardening, will not render the part brittle if done properly. If your machine shop is experienced enough to have a machine, they know how to do it.

Having said that, in my opinion 90% of getting good sparks is fine tuning the lock timing and geometry, assuming you have good (not necessarily top) quality lock parts to begin with.
 
If anybody is interested, the lock on my pistol is from RE Davis. They have a
web site. The lock is a "Becky" model. I think it is the smallest flintlock you
can get. Track-of-the-wolf has them also. Pete Allen made it for a rifle for
his small daughter quite a few years ago.
 
KASENIT

* Mfr:KASENIT
* Price:$11.55
* Super Hard Surface On Low Carbon Steels

For case hardening plain or low carbon alloy steels. Carburizes surfaces quickly to uniform depth. Gives "Surface Hardening" while retaining the toughness of the core. Protects delicate, highly finished work, eliminating cleanup or remachining. (After quenching, surface is clean and extremely hard.) Reliable and inexpensive. Non-poisonous, non-explosive, non-flammable. Excellent for drills, firing pins, hammer davits, trigger pins, sears, punches, all low carbon, high wear surfaces. Sprinkle parts with powder or "dunk" for deeper case. Complete instructions.

SPECS: 1 pound (453.6g) can.

Kasenit at Brownell's
 
Mykeal,

Thanks, that is what I thought. I was hoping that would be the answer. And yes they seem to know what they are doing. I was sent there by the local garage, apparently they get all kinds of stuff case hardend there. I can't wait to try it out. They even took out the gouges in the frissen for me. Nice guys.
 
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