WOW is all I can say

[PaulN/KS]

Pappy,
I have an assortment of flints here and could send you some.
What size flint does the lock take ?

[Pappy]

Not sure the size Paul but will measure it today, like i said very new at this and not real sure about anything, just trying to learn and figure things out, I appreciate the help and advice. I did make some of the tools I need for it yesterday and making a couple new powder horn for it also. Like Mike said flint locks and self bows seem to go together, lots to learn and lots of projects that go along with them, I really love that part. 
 Pappy

[PaulN/KS]

Sounds like you are having fun with it Pappy.
Measure the length as well as the width of the flint and let me know. I have an assortment of them here.
PM me if that's easier.

[Buckskinner]

That is an excellent flintlock that you have acquired, a quality flintlock is a joy to shoot and surprises many cap gun shooters as to how fast the lock time is.

And the builder certainly knows what he is doing, I've been following Eric's post for years on the muzzleloading forum and learned much from him, now I'm doing the same over here!!!

[Pappy]

Paul the size of the flint is 3/4 long /5/8 wide and 1/4 thick where it clamps in, WillH looked at it yesterday and said he thought he could make some also, I only have the one right now and it seems to be working fine but was told they don't last that long.  Just let me know if you think you have some that will work and we can work something out, and thanks. 
 Pappy

[Eric Krewson]

Flints can last very long 30 to 50 shots, the late Ketland lock on the rifle is easy on flints, some locks are flint bashers but not that one. Another thing to keep note of is the flint will shoot loose in the jaws when you least expect it, they all do. I have lost several deer because my flint was loose when I took the shot and I hadn't checked it, a loose flint won't spark.

Retouching the striking edge is a necessary skill and should be done every 15 shots or so or when you get a miss-fire and the pan doesn't ignite. You just want to remove some micro-flakes from the striking edge and make it sharp again.

I use a variety of knapping tools to resharpen a flint while it is still in the jaws, little knapping hammers to gently tap the leading edge, a blunt nail if the flint is really worn down and a small copper pressure flaker(my favorite) that I keep in my possible bag.



Of course there is the debater of whether to mount the flint bevel up or down, the Ketland lock likes them bevel up.

The first thing to do before you go hunting is to sharpen your flint and tighten the jaws as tight as you can, the more sparks you get to hit the prime the faster your gun is going off.

[Eric Krewson]

And then there is cleaning your gun after use; water is all you need, DON'T use hot water as it will cause flash rusting that takes awhile to get out of the barrel, soap is unnecessary as well.

Matt probably has a handle on cleaning, everyone does it differently, some don't use water at all.

I pull the lock, put a green twin in the touch hole to seal it, toothpicks sometime leak so I use the twig.



Just in case I get any leakage I put a folded paper towel up against the plug and hold it in place with a spring clip.



Another tip; when you run patches down the bore be sure to have a paper towel draped over the touch hole and held in place with a spring clip. You are going to get a spray of black crud out of your touch hole that seems to travel for miles, I forgot the blast shield a couple of times and the wall behind my workbench is permanently stained with black crud.

Pour the barrel full of water, let it sit for a few minutes and dump it out, fill the barrel about halfway full, put my flinger over the muzzle and slosh the water around and dump it out. Then I start running dry patches down the barrel, lots of them. Baby blanket flannel at Joann's and a fabric cutter wheel will let you turn out hundreds of cleaning patches in no time.

After I dry the barrel as best I can I give it a squirt of WD-40 to absorb the moisture and run 3 or 4 dry patches down the barrel to spread the WD and then remove it. My last patch is soaked with 30W motor oil, I have used a lot of rust preventives but this one or RIG gun grease seems to work the best.

It is a good idea to come back a week later and run a slightly oiled patch down the bore to check for any rust, in very damp weather you may find some but it is unlikely if you cleaned your rifle properly.

You also need to clean your lock while you have it out, I just wipe off all the black with a wet paper towel, dry it and put a light oil on the internals and outside surfaces that might rust.

[Buckskinner]

I am one that doesn't use water on my flintlocks.  They've used water since the beginning of them and nothing wrong with it, but they also didn't have the solvents and protectants they do now.  I shoot quite a bit and don't like to remove my lock that often and the times I've used water no matter what I do some gets between barrel and stock. 

I use a quality solvent then follow with Barricade for protection and once or twice a year I pull lock and barrel for full cleaning.  Whatever your method, make sure you check a week or so after cleaning as Eric stated.  Had a friend who borrowed his gun to a buddy, who said he cleaned it after returning it. He didn't check it for a month and it had severely rusted, barrel was hairy with rust.

[PaulN/KS]

Paul the size of the flint is 3/4 long /5/8 wide and 1/4 thick where it clamps in, WillH looked at it yesterday and said he thought he could make some also, I only have the one right now and it seems to be working fine but was told they don't last that long.  Just let me know if you think you have some that will work and we can work something out, and thanks. 
 Pappy

I have some. Sent ya a PM.
Paul

[Eric Krewson]

I had used Barricade for years to protect my M/L barrels, my gun safe is out in a utility room attached to the garage, this is an unheated area. We had a month of rain with very high humidity, I checked on the barrel on one of my guns and found rust, I checked all the rest and found the same thing, no pitting or damage but it was still pretty ugly. I spent the entire day cleaning guns, I used scotch bright followed JB Bore Paste and Bore shine to straighten them out.

This is when I ditched the Barricade for 30W oil and Rig gun grease. Had my guns been kept in a climate controlled house I wouldn't have had a problem. I had one dehumidifier rod in my gun safe, now I have two with second one being twice the size as my initial one.

I have a Teslong bore scope that sees so much detail that it drive you nuts thinking you didn't clean well enough.

This picture is after my serious gun cleaning session.

 

[Buckskinner]

I might have to give that a try, mine stay in low humidity when not in use but there always is a better way.  I used to use Ezzox, but it is hard to find and seems I can taste it for hours after using it, which I assume is probably not good for your system...

[JW_Halverson]

Strikes me that you and that gun just go together naturally like biscuits and gravy.