@3dprinty is it some sort of coffee grinder for bears to operate with their feet?

@rasterweb that's horrible! It makes my stomach churn, why isn't there a better way.

@yezzer forgot to mention my favorite channel for soldering iron reviews.
https://youtube.com/@sdgelectronics?feature=shared
They reviewed a lot of the cheap ones. The KSGER PD210 looks really nice for the price.
They also show good soldering technique.

@yezzer when you're ready to solder, you'd wipe off the solder on the tip, apply fresh solder, solder the joint, wipe it again, then apply more solder to the tip and immediately do the next joint, or holster the iron.
A little hack is to get something heavy (I used a short M8 bolt with a nut on the end) and wrap a length of solder onto it with the end sticking out. Use that to reapply the solder to the iron tip, and even the solder joints.

@yezzer one homemade solution I liked was a copper plate that I melted a puddle of solder onto. I'd heat up the puddle of solder with the iron, while scraping the tip of the iron against it (and eventually against the copper, with the iron completely submerged into the solder). Just apply a little bit of flux to the solder first.
Pretty much any method to gently abrade the iron tip while it's hot will work. Afterwards, you immediately wipe it against the sponge and apply enough solder to coat it

@yezzer if the solder doesn't immediately melt and doesn't wet onto the iron tip, then you have a problem with either the tip needing to be cleaned, or your solder is no good.
Cleaning the tip can be tricky and sometimes dangerous. My favorite was the motorized cleaners that use brass brushes. Sure you can use a Dremel but it needs to be done while the iron is how, so you'd be flinging hot solder everywhere. Second favorite was a shortened brass brush meant for soldering but they don't last long

@yezzer 390-410C for lead free solder. I typically run at 390c.
That tip is good if you use it right. Angled tips might be a little more ergonomic. The idea is to have the flat side of the tip touching the component lead, and typically holding the tip of the iron flat against the PCB. This maximizes heat transfer to the PCB and the lead.
The solder should wet very well against your iron. Let the iron get to temp, wipe it against the sponge, and immediately apply solder directly to it. Continued.

@mos_8502 I like the Takstar because I took them all apart and reverse engineered their circuts, and closely examined the chassis , mic capsule, and connectors. For less than $40 they were much much better than other mics I took apart that were $120 each.