Need advice on lead ID

[GRUMPA]

I got some lead from a neighbor in the form of some real old fishing sinkers. I have no clue as to the composition but with a fingernail test it seemed rather soft. I thought about it a minute and just said what the heck and smelted it anyway.

So here it is the next day and I test the hardness and I get 13BHN with it. Here I thought it was pure lead at first but now I'm wondering why if it felt like pure lead with my fingernail is it so hard. I smelted some sheet lead last month and that checked out at 6-8 BHN.

Anyone have any guesses here? The weights themselves were round and came in different sizes ranging from 1-2 lbs each with the typical steel eye protruding from the lead ball just like one of those real small sinkers one would find at a tackle shop.:coffee:

[Defcon-One]

In my experience Factory Made fishing weights are nearly pure lead. The ones that are home grown can be anything from pure lead, to WW, to Zinc. But you would know if you had some Zinc in the mix. It is not subtle.

I'm guessing maybe Clip-on WW! That is the easiest scrap lead for most of us to find and the hardness is pretty close to what you have!

[Lizard333]

Sounds like clip on WW's to me as well. Good find, nice to get some of OUR WW's away from the lead sinker guys.