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Originally Posted by Treeslicer
Not wanting to start any controversy, but quartz (flint is a microcrystalline form of quartz) is harder than steel. Siliceous stones are commonly used to sharpen swords. Flintlocks work by using the sharp edge of the flint to slice away extremely tiny slivers of the steel frizzen, and set them on fire by impact/friction heating, making sparks of burning iron. This is why frizzens wear out through use. I've owned enough flintlocks to know that any "clatch" leaves scratches and other marks. A "habitant" like myself will get right nasty if a visiting "whuffo" attempts to dry fire one of our pieces at a rendezous or other re-enactment.
Wasn't saying anything bad about the firearm, just saying it looks unused. A right pretty piece.
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I stand corrected. Just goes to show that we are all still learning. I had always understood that steel/iron was harder than flint, and it was the flint which sparked rather than the steel/iron.
