Gun flint, what age ?

[robfinds]

Hello
Can anyone tell me the age of this gun flint.
Robert.

 

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[CRUSADER]

as before but I will tag to learn more

 

[CRUSADER]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock

As they started in the early 17th & lasted about 200 years, I'm going to guess the flint design didn't change much, but its my pure speculation.

 

[robfinds]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock

As they started in the early 17th & lasted about 200 years, I'm going to guess the flint design didn't change much, but its my pure speculation.

Cheers Cru

 

[shaun7]

Cool find!

 

[TheDane]

Nice piece of gun flint !

I´d say the first half of the 19th century.
It is so regular that it looks almost an "industrial" product, made by people who had trained for so long time that they could make them so regular.
That was mostly in the late 18th and the 19th century.

 

[CRUSADER]

Nice piece of gun flint !

I´d say the first half of the 19th century.
It is so regular that it looks almost an "industrial" product, made by people who had trained for so long time that they could make them so regular.
That was mostly in the late 18th and the 19th century.

interesting, so were they less regular & poorly executed in the 17th C? Becuase, my logic would be that during the Civil War period the need for these would have increased & so would have the skills of the makers

 

[robfinds]

Nice piece of gun flint !

I´d say the first half of the 19th century.
It is so regular that it looks almost an "industrial" product, made by people who had trained for so long time that they could make them so regular.
That was mostly in the late 18th and the 19th century.

Dane, it does look very well made

 

[Lucas]

Hello
Can anyone tell me the age of this gun flint.
Robert.

English black flint, 2nd half, 18th century to now. Based on condition, tho, it is modern. They are still made by hand in England, and used by black powder enthusiasts and historical reenactors. Surface find?

P.S. they are sized by eights of an inch, so a #7 would be 7/8" wide.

 

[robfinds]

Hello
Can anyone tell me the age of this gun flint.
Robert.

English black flint, 2nd half, 18th century to now. Based on condition, tho, it is modern. They are still made by hand in England, and used by black powder enthusiasts and historical reenactors. Surface find?

P.S. they are sized by eights of an inch, so a #7 would be 7/8" wide.

Don't think it's modern Lucas, no reenactments on that ploughed field You can sometimes find neolithic arrow heads in better condition from ploughed fields.

 

[littleneckhalfshell]

I would say it is a modern machine cut flint, the surfaces are too flat. If you look at the Dixie Gun works cataloge you can see modern 'hand knapped' flints and the 'industrial machine cut' flints. The flint in question looks much more like the 'machine cut' flint. Natural flint rarely will break in such flat planes and to have only the sides of the specimen showing a rough edge and the three visible top edges being so flat, I say it is modern. Age of a flint knapped for a flintlock can be kind of hard to date, especially since people are still making them the old way and out of the same raw material. I would say the best way to date would be by the depth and presence of other items, but not by the presence of the flint alone.

 

[timekiller]

I've found quite a few of these flints over time.Most were given to my dad as he is in to the rocks & indian items.Alot were found just that way also looking for arrowheads on the rivers here.But since I've got into detecting I still find them as I'm going along on the river banks.But can say that finding them now I can get a idea of there age by other things I find with them.So saying all that I would agree looks like late 18th to early 19th century to me.I'll add this pic. that shows some I've found it's a old pic. and have found quite a few more since.But will show how the ones coming from the oldest sites are cruder formed.Hope it helps some.
Take Care,
Pete

 

[RevJoel]

Craftsmen have been banging out gunflint in and around Brandon, UK for centuries now. This looks like the knapper lucked out and got a nice spall to start with and didn't have to chip this one out to a finished state. This flint could have fallen from a flint pouch and never been used.

I have used both hand knapped and machine sawn rock to fire my rifle. Usually the sawn rocks are made from agate and not flint. Flint is a little to quirky to saw, so agate is the stone of choice to make gunflints by sawing.

Pax Christi
rev. Joel+

 

[robfinds]

I would say it is a modern machine cut flint, the surfaces are too flat. If you look at the Dixie Gun works cataloge you can see modern 'hand knapped' flints and the 'industrial machine cut' flints. The flint in question looks much more like the 'machine cut' flint. Natural flint rarely will break in such flat planes and to have only the sides of the specimen showing a rough edge and the three visible top edges being so flat, I say it is modern. Age of a flint knapped for a flintlock can be kind of hard to date, especially since people are still making them the old way and out of the same raw material. I would say the best way to date would be by the depth and presence of other items, but not by the presence of the flint alone.

Well this was from the same field. I didn't know what it was until Bioproffessor found one in Holland very recently. Apparently it's a ram rod guide for a musket That in itself though does not prove anything. For me the flint is just a well made, unused 18th/19th Century item. I think the chance of someone in modern times, roaming about the farmers field with a musket are pretty remote (not completely out of the chance, but).
Robert.

 

[robfinds]

I've found quite a few of these flints over time.Most were given to my dad as he is in to the rocks & indian items.Alot were found just that way also looking for arrowheads on the rivers here.But since I've got into detecting I still find them as I'm going along on the river banks.But can say that finding them now I can get a idea of there age by other things I find with them.So saying all that I would agree looks like late 18th to early 19th century to me.I'll add this pic. that shows some I've found it's a old pic. and have found quite a few more since.But will show how the ones coming from the oldest sites are cruder formed.Hope it helps some.
Take Care,
Pete

Thanks for the picture timekiller

 

[CRUSADER]

I would say it is a modern machine cut flint, the surfaces are too flat. If you look at the Dixie Gun works cataloge you can see modern 'hand knapped' flints and the 'industrial machine cut' flints. The flint in question looks much more like the 'machine cut' flint. Natural flint rarely will break in such flat planes and to have only the sides of the specimen showing a rough edge and the three visible top edges being so flat, I say it is modern. Age of a flint knapped for a flintlock can be kind of hard to date, especially since people are still making them the old way and out of the same raw material. I would say the best way to date would be by the depth and presence of other items, but not by the presence of the flint alone.

Well this was from the same field. I didn't know what it was until Bioproffessor found one in Holland very recently. Apparently it's a ram rod guide for a musket That in itself though does not prove anything. For me the flint is just a well made, unused 18th/19th Century item. I think the chance of someone in modern times, roaming about the farmers field with a musket are pretty remote (not completely out of the chance, but).
Robert.

I agree, it would be pretty obivious if it were the type of farmland that had modern reanactors on...

 

[robfinds]

Craftsmen have been banging out gunflint in and around Brandon, UK for centuries now. This looks like the knapper lucked out and got a nice spall to start with and didn't have to chip this one out to a finished state. This flint could have fallen from a flint pouch and never been used.

I have used both hand knapped and machine sawn rock to fire my rifle. Usually the sawn rocks are made from agate and not flint. Flint is a little to quirky to saw, so agate is the stone of choice to make gunflints by sawing.

Pax Christi
rev. Joel+

Thanks rev. Joel , to me also it looks like a well made flint. These flint makers weren't doing it as an hobby

 

[Lucas]

Well this was from the same field. I didn't know what it was until Bioproffessor found one in Holland very recently. Apparently it's a ram rod guide for a musket That in itself though does not prove anything. For me the flint is just a well made, unused 18th/19th Century item. I think the chance of someone in modern times, roaming about the farmers field with a musket are pretty remote (not completely out of the chance, but).
Robert.

Those are from a fowling piece (shotgun), probably Birmingham manufactured. 18th c. The ribbed pipes were out of fashion before 1800, except on guns made for the Native American Fur Trade.

Your flint is flint, not agate, and hand made, like I said. Could have been dropped unused. The shape is 18th c. also. But I know there are people who still shoot crows in farm fields in the UK with flintlocks. The local farmer would know if they did.

Anyhow, the way flints were made in England changed in the 18th c., and yours is the "new" style, so 18th c. to modern for a date... based on the associated artifacts, it is quite possible it is a pristine 18th c. dropped gunflint.

 

[robfinds]

Well this was from the same field. I didn't know what it was until Bioproffessor found one in Holland very recently. Apparently it's a ram rod guide for a musket That in itself though does not prove anything. For me the flint is just a well made, unused 18th/19th Century item. I think the chance of someone in modern times, roaming about the farmers field with a musket are pretty remote (not completely out of the chance, but).
Robert.

Those are from a fowling piece (shotgun), probably Birmingham manufactured. 18th c. The ribbed pipes were out of fashion before 1800, except on guns made for the Native American Fur Trade.

Your flint is flint, not agate, and hand made, like I said. Could have been dropped unused. The shape is 18th c. also. But I know there are people who still shoot crows in farm fields in the UK with flintlocks. The local farmer would know if they did.

Anyhow, the way flints were made in England changed in the 18th c., and yours is the "new" style, so 18th c. to modern for a date... based on the associated artifacts, it is quite possible it is a pristine 18th c. dropped gunflint.

Nice one , you obviously know your stuff . Think the flint was just dropped into the sandy soil, before ever being used.

 

[Tony in SC]

Hello
Can anyone tell me the age of this gun flint.
Robert.

It was probably cut alot later, but the flint is about 1.2 billion years old. , Tony