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The frizzen is an "L" shaped piece of steel hinged at the rear used in flintlock
Flintlock

Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced about 1630, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock and wheellock mechanisms....
 firearms. It is positioned over the flash pan so to enclose a small priming charge of black powder next to the flash hole that is drilled through the barrel into where the main charge is loaded. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer or cock -- which includes a shaped piece of flint
Flint

Flint is a hard, sedimentary rock cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as Nodule s and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones....
 held into a set of jaws by a scrap of leather or thin piece of lead -- snaps forward causing the flint to scrape down the face of the frizzen, throwing it back to expose the black powder in the pan
Flash pan

The flash pan or priming pan is a small receptacle for priming powder, found next to the touch hole on muzzleloading guns. Flash pans are found on gonnes, matchlocks, wheellocks, snaplocks, snaphances, and flintlocks....
.






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The frizzen is an "L" shaped piece of steel hinged at the rear used in flintlock
Flintlock

Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced about 1630, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock and wheellock mechanisms....
 firearms. It is positioned over the flash pan so to enclose a small priming charge of black powder next to the flash hole that is drilled through the barrel into where the main charge is loaded. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer or cock -- which includes a shaped piece of flint
Flint

Flint is a hard, sedimentary rock cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as Nodule s and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones....
 held into a set of jaws by a scrap of leather or thin piece of lead -- snaps forward causing the flint to scrape down the face of the frizzen, throwing it back to expose the black powder in the pan
Flash pan

The flash pan or priming pan is a small receptacle for priming powder, found next to the touch hole on muzzleloading guns. Flash pans are found on gonnes, matchlocks, wheellocks, snaplocks, snaphances, and flintlocks....
. The flint scraping the steel causes a shower of sparks to be thrown into the pan
Flash pan

The flash pan or priming pan is a small receptacle for priming powder, found next to the touch hole on muzzleloading guns. Flash pans are found on gonnes, matchlocks, wheellocks, snaplocks, snaphances, and flintlocks....
, igniting the black powder and sending flames through the touch hole
Touch hole

A touch hole is a small hole, through which the propellant charge of a cannon or muzzleloading gun is ignited. In small arms, the flash from a charge of priming...
, which in turn ignites the main charge of black powder in the breech of the barrel, shooting the projectile out the barrel.

The development of the frizzen which combines both the "battery" or striking surface and separate pan cover on the less advanced "snaphaunce" lock is often credited to French gun maker Marin le Bourgeoys around 1610. He may have been influenced by the Spanish "miquelet" lock that utilized a similarly shaped frizzen at least two decades earlier.