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Originally Posted by Raf
All lock design is a compromise and early lock designers took the question of safety very seriously. The two part interlocked sear has a lot to recommend it as the thing wont lock off unless the primary sear is properly and fully engaged. The classic flintlock is the simplest, cheapest and one could argue worst solution.
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Thanks, Raf for your assessment. Your last sentence probably says it all as to why the classic "French" flintlock stayed around so long and moreover, became the standard system for military arms in virtually all Western countries. Not to mention the same sear system carried over into later percussion locks, and on the transitional breechloaders using side-hammer firing systems as well.
Speaking of simple, cheap, and (almost) idiot-proof, what is your opinion of the sear arrangement of the Spanish
patilla miquelet lock (upward-bearing mainspring, half- and full-cock sears engaging foot of cock) that was also widely produced in Portugal, Brescia, Naples, occasionally imitated in the German lands, and almost universal in the Ottoman Empire and Iran?