what do you wrap your flints with?

[Busyhands94]

leather or lead? when i first started shooting a flintlock i used leather. i noticed that my flints often shattered, cracked, split, fell out, and stuff like that. they generally didn't last long at all. but then i switched to lead! i took a wrinkly lead ball that wasn't perfect and then hammered it flat. cut it to size, wrapped it around my flint, and then popped it into the jaws of the cock. it lasted noticeably longer and didn't crack! i have had a few crack but not as many as i did with leather. so, i will stick with lead. it works best!

if you buy your flints you might like this trick, it will save you money on sparkin' stones. i personally knap all of my flint, i haven't bought a single one. but i still like it. it saves me time, energy, and lets me shoot more. and that is one of my many goals on life, to shoot more

 

[alsask]

You shouldn't be shattering flints with leather, I use lead because it won't dry out or pick up moisture.

 

[Jaymo]

Leather. But, I've been leaning toward converting to lead.

 

[[email protected]]

I use this smeared on thin pieces of leather for that controlled grip

 

[Busyhands94]

i never would have thought to do that! that's a pretty good idea!

 

[4v50 Gary]

Leather. New locks have casted cocks instead of the forged cocks of the olde days. I've been warned by Jim Chambers (Siler Locks) that lead is heavier and it can cause the cock to bend. While lead does hold better, I switched to leather after that.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I use lead in the muskets, as it holds those flints better, and sparks better, but my rifles all seem to like leather better. So it depends on the lock.

LD

 

[Loosenock]

Lead for me. Seems like I get a hotter and denser spark shower with lead

"loose

 

[Busyhands94]

i noticed mine sparks better with lead. it seems to hold it better and absorb shock.

 

[Hocka Louis]

Leather (thick, or two thin pieces) holds the flints better without using a crowbar on the screw for jaws that can't take it. Yeah, leather will dry out. REPLACE IT EVERY FEW YEARS!

Clue: cut a hole in the back of the leather where it bends so the flint is against the screw just like in a lead wrap.