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WHAT IS TUNGSTEN?

Tungsten, also known as Wolfram, is metallic chemical element extracted from scheelite and wolframite. It is not found in a pure form in nature and mostly sourced from Russia, Austria, China and Portugal. By itself, Tungsten is a very hard, brittle, gray-white metal that is very resistant to corrosion. It has the highest tensile strength and melting point (6170 degrees Fahrenheit) of any other metal.

Typical tungsten weights are formed by using a process called sintering. The process involves placing powdered tungsten into a mold, applying pressure and then heating the powder to a very high temperature. The hole in weights is formed by placing a sacrificial tube inside the mold. The tube is destroyed when the
powder is heated, and small burrs are left in the hole. These small burrs must be treated in some manner in order to prevent line abrasion and breaks. The three most common treatment methods are threading a plastic tube into the weight, painting the inside of the hole and machining/polishing the top and bottom edges and inside the hole. To ensure our customers never have line abrasion due to burrs, we employ the plastic tube (inserted weights) and the machining and polishing methods (insert free weights). If you have additional interest in the sintering process, you can read Wikipedia's definition at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintering

Tungsten is 40% more dense than lead, making a harder, smaller profile, more compact weight. This helps to decrease snags & drag and allows the weight to transmit vibration more readily. When tungsten hits an object under water it transmits most of the vibration to the line which in turn travels to the angler, allowing the angler to better identify what the weight is hitting, while the softer lead absorbs and dampens some of the vibration. Another advantage is the fact that tungsten will not deform and eventually cut the line.

To cover the burrs inside the hole and prevent abrasion, we use two methods. For the inserted weights, a plastic tube is threaded through the hole and glued into place. The tube prevents the line from touching any part of the weight, preventing abrasion. For the insert free weights, the hole of the weight is machined, removing the burrs. The edges of the weight are polished and painted weights are then powder coated. The line only touches the smooth, machined surfaces. The fact that the line directly touches the tungsten on the
insert free weight allows slightly more vibration to be transmitted through the line. Even if you are on a budget, the inserted weights will still be a huge step up from lead weights.