The frizzen, historically called the "hammer" or the steel,This may appear anomalous since, in later firearm designs (e.g.

percussion lock The percussion cap, percussion primer, or caplock, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. Its invention gave ...

s), the component operating in the same manner as the ''cock'' is called the hammer. is an L-shaped piece of steel hinged at the front used in

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

. The frizzen is held in one of two positions, opened or closed, by a

leaf spring A leaf spring is a simple form of spring (device), spring commonly used for suspension (vehicle), suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a ''laminated'' or ''carriage spring'', and sometimes referred to as a semi-elliptical spring, e ...

. When closed, it is positioned over the flash pan so as to enclose a small priming charge of

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

next to the flash hole that is drilled through the barrel into which the main charge has been loaded. When the trigger is pulled, the cock, which holds a shaped piece of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

clamped in a set of jaws with a scrap of leather or thin piece of lead, snaps forward causing the flint to scrape downward along the frizzen's face (historically called the 'battery'), throwing it forward into the open position and exposing the priming powder. The flint scraping along the steel causes a shower of sparks to be thrown into the pan, thereby igniting the priming powder therein and sending flames through the

touch hole A touch hole, also known as a cannon vent, is a small hole at the rear (breech) portion of the barrel of a muzzleloading gun or cannon. The hole provides external access of an ignition spark into the breech chamber of the barrel (where the com ...

, which in turn ignites the main charge of black powder in the breech of the barrel, driving the projectile out of the muzzle. The development of the frizzen which combines both the "battery" or striking surface and separate pan cover on the less advanced "

snaphaunce Swedish snaphance guns from the mid 17th century A snaphance or snaphaunce is a type of firearm lock in which a flint struck against a striker plate above a steel pan ignites the priming powder which fires the gun. It is the mechanical progressi ...

" lock is often credited to French gun maker Marin le Bourgeoys around 1610. He may have been influenced by the Spanish "

miquelet Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets and pistols. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in the Spanish ...

" lock that utilized a similarly shaped frizzen at least two decades earlier. It is important that the metal of the frizzen be brought to a sufficiently high carbon content by the process of

carburization Carburizing, or carburising, is a heat treatment process in which iron or steel absorbs carbon while the metal is heated in the presence of a carbon-bearing material, such as charcoal or carbon monoxide. The intent is to make the metal harder ...

, wherein carbonaceous materials such as horn, hooves, and leather scraps were wrapped around the frizzen in a clay or metallic

crucible A crucible is a container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. Although crucibles have historically tended to be made out of clay, they can be made from any material that withstands temperat ...

which was then placed into a forge or other furnace for several hours to raise the carbon content of the steel through the process of

diffusion Diffusion is the net movement of anything (for example, atoms, ions, molecules, energy) generally from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Diffusion is driven by a gradient in Gibbs free energy or chemical p ...

. This process increases the carbon content of the iron in a layer close to the surface of the frizzen so that it hardens the outside while the center remains relatively ductile so as to prevent through-cracking. Through the wear of continued use a frizzen will lose its ability to create enough sparks to reliably ignite the powder, thereby necessitating that it be re-hardened or replaced.

References

Firearm components {{Firearm-stub

See also

References