Quote Originally Posted by outback View Post
I prefer bullet lead that I make myself, it shines up nice, and stays that way a lot longer than pure lead.
Good idea, it looks really nice! is that lead encased in brass, or is that an optical illusion? If it holds a shine well, that's a heck of a nice-looking wedge.

Now that I think back to jewelry-making, annealed silver was very soft (especially after soldering, etc). So upon reflection it's not that surprising that pure silver is as soft as lead in some cases.
Used to use a bead blaster to harden it up in order to work with after soldering. the difference between annealed pure silver and "hardened" silver in terms of harness is substantial