flintlocks

Locks in which the steel and pan cover are made in one piece and the sear operates vertically to engage in two notches in a tumbler attached to the inner end of the cock spindle, to place the mechanism in either half-cock or full cock. When the trigger is pressed, the flint strikes the steel and simultaneously the pan is uncovered, exposing the priming powder therein to a shower of sparks that ignite the charge.