Picking

[Old Scout]

Dog yeller
Indeed, the Knapping hammer works fine also. In simplfying my "Kit", the drill rod pc also serves as a handle for a couple other tools. In a pinch I've used my fire steel to pick the flint.

Adam
When you pick off a little spot that won't spall off as sparks, it leaves a slight notch in the flint edge. Not a problem as the rest of the edge is able to bear on the battery. A couple shots and the edge is back to where you picked it.
Most of my flinter shooting now a days is with pretty heavy locks, but the idea is the same. If you have a sharp flint, adjusted to strike about 1/3 down the battery, and a really hard battery face, then you are gonna get a shower of sparks. If the touch hole is correctly located, she'll fire fast and every time.

Cheers
Old Scout