Can I use a soldering iron to do cautery branding?
The problem with soldering irons, wood burners, and similar devices (including small handheld medical cautery tools generally used to control small bleeders) is that they don’t retain enough heat to be used with any degree of reliability. In order to use them effectively, one must brand with so many “re-heat” pauses that undue pain is given to the client. If a tool such as these is to be used, it should be as powerful as possible to make the branding experience (and product) a positive one. How long does a brand take to heal? A brand (actually all scarification) takes a long time to completely heal. Brands go through a few phases, which different greatly in length (and nature) from brand to brand. First a brand will go through a scabby phase where they look like an absolutely horrible wound. This phase generally takes from a few weeks to just over a month. Then the brand will look like a quite bright red raised scar which slowly becomes pinker, and then eventually slightly lighter than
