Gun Flint (1 of 11)
Description
1/11 gun flints. A gun flint is a piece of flint that has been shaped into a wedge to fit into the jaws of a flintlock. They were wrapped in a piece of either lead or leather to hold them in place and differed in size depending on the weapon. When gun flints were introduced there was significant opposition due to the reports of flints getting wet and failing to fire. Over 2000 gun flints were recovered from the wreck of the Invincible, their appearance would suggest they were manufactured in Kent - probably William Levett of Northfleet, the principal supplier of gunflints to the Navy Board between 1742 and 1781. Five of these gun flints are in good shape with no evidence of striking or score marks - the strike edges are clean indicating that they are 'new.' Six of the flints have usage evidence - the strike blade is chipped and they are shorter than the others.
See full details
Object Detail
Width: 27mm