Oops. A while back, I purchased one each of a niobium soldering pik,
titanium soldering pik, and tungsten soldering pik. I marked a code
on each one so I could test them without prejudice. Ha, ha; guess
what? I know which one I like best but I can’t find the code list.
Are there reliable characteristics that will help me differentiate
the three picks?
Thanks,
Jamie
p.s. I know that pik soldering is isn’t universally accepted among
all Orchid members. This thread isn’t intended to start that
discussion again.
Remove the handles and weigh them, the tungsten one will be
obviously heavy, the titanium one will feel rather oddly light (I
have a 3/16" Ti airframe bolt that feels like plastic til you drop
it), and the niobium one well it will be in between (no really!),
also the niobium one will be easy to bend, the tungsten one won’t
bend (it will break if you try) an the titanium one will be rather
springy, but will bend in the end…
There you go two ways to get to that particular Rome. I’m sure that
there are other roads to your destination still out there.
The Tungsten one will be noticeably heavier and unbendable, the
Niobium one will be medium weight and bend easily, the Titanium one
will be the lightest and relatively stiff
I use a titanium pik. It’s a bare wire that was a bicycle spoke in
its previous life. It’s a warm grey color, black at the business end
(unless I sand it, then it’s bright), very little mass. It’s flexible
but very resistant to deformation (bending, twisting, etc.)
Never having used tungsten or niobium, I don’t know if I’m
describing characteristics common to all three. Hope there’s
something in here that helps.