Guys, electronics technology and densities have changed quite a bit
over the past 40 or so years.

My first two soldering tools back in the 1950s were a 100-Watt American
Beauty soldering iron, and a Weller Soldering Gun. By around 1965, both
were too large and bulky to do precision work on the by then modern
electronic, so I purchased a 37-Watt pencil iron (an Ungar Woodburner
we called it at that time) which served my needs up to roughly 1989,
when I added a miniature, variable temperature soldering iron to my
collection which remains in use today.

That original Weller Soldering Gun fell into disuse at least 25 years
ago, except for emergency use in panic situation to light cigarettes,
although I do take note of the fact that it was very useful for making
quick-fix field repairs on the older, low-density, vacuum tube
electronics, tinning the ends of power cords, etc.

I continue to use the 100-Watt American Beauty through this day, but
only for relatively heavy job like soldering the braid on RG-8U cables
to the connectors. Works fine on that application, particularly since
its temperature tends to remain rather constant so it doesn't either
oxidize most solders or destroy the item that the cable is being
attached to.

Arguably, most of the soldering I do today is performed by my
temperature controlled iron, generally at temperature settings of 625
or 720 degrees depending on the particular solder that I am using. Once
or twice a year do I resort resort to the American Beauty. (It was a
gift from my dad back in 1955 and remains in occasional use through
this day.)

Even years back, I simply can't remember any soldering iron tip that
was pure copper (except for some of those antique iron that you heated
on your gas stove). Soldering iron tips are usually plated with an iron
coating, and for very good reason. The iron coating slow the pitting
and eventual disolution of the tip in molten solder, which in turn
extends the life of the tip.

Kindest regards, Harry C.

p.s., I now recall that the earliest Weller Soldering Gun tips were
bare copper, which required you to replace them at the rate of about 1
tip per week in regular daily use. Those sold today are iron coated.
Still, today I know of no one using Weller Soldering Guns for
electronics, however, for the arts and crafts they can be very useful.