Round-Faced English Lock (RFEL) — Care and Use

Jim’s notes on caring for the lock. Read these before you take the lock apart or put any finish on it.

• Do not brown or age the lock without taking it apart first. If you are not comfortable taking the lock apart, leave it as supplied. Finishing chemicals can cause rust and keep the lock from working properly.

• Never trip the lock without a flint in the cock and the frizzen closed. Doing so will likely bend the top jaw screw and possibly the cock.

• Remove the flint when you work the lock by hand, since it can be quite sharp. Always put the flint back before tripping or firing the lock.

• Use a mainspring vise if you remove the mainspring. With the lock at rest, compress the spring just enough to remove it. Position the vise so one leg presses near the “hook” of the spring. This matches the load the spring sees in the lock. Back off the vise if the lock will be left apart.

• Use a punch to remove the tumbler from the cock. Prying it off will cause damage.

• Store the lock at rest only. Do not store it at half cock or full cock.

• Do not try to trip the lock at half cock. This can damage the sear and tumbler.

• Clean and lightly lubricate the lock after each use. Remove any rust or corrosion that forms.

• Oil: the tumbler axle where it passes through the lock plate, the small tumbler axle where it passes through the bridle, the tip of the sear, and the frizzen pivot.

• Grease: the area of the tumbler where the mainspring makes contact, and the toe of the frizzen where it contacts the frizzen spring.

• Kibler’s sells Lubricating Lock Oil and Molybdenum Disulfide Lock Grease on our website.

• Videos on lock care and use are on the Kibler’s Longrifles YouTube channel.