I have been using this tip shape for the last 10 months.
It is great for getting around and under things you are soldering.
As the tip is bent, you can easily move the contact point on the target to achieve more/less heat transfer.
The version I have is series 936 but it works well on my Hakko F888D iron.
I Run the tip at ~410C.
Highly recommend using this.
(probably invented by someone who dropped the iron on the floor.)
Strangely enough, I bent the end on my fine Weller tip accidentally, and found it is far easier to use. It's a little off-topic, but do you guys find Hakko to be a good brand for general use? I'm just a hobbyist, all through-hole, but do a fair bit of soldering when I do runs of kits we make. I'm tired of how quickly my Weller 40W plug-in eats tips, and want something I can temperature control and not have to scour the Earth to find tips for.
Yes, the bent tip works much better. Any tip can be bent after it is hot. Put tip in a steel vise, hit it with propane torch and use pair of needle nose to shape it. File down the sides, shape it whatever way.
Most of the time, my tips seem to break into their own shape that I get used to using.
BTW
Using distilled water on the solder iron sponge keeps the salts in the water from building up on/in the soldering iron stand.
Keep a wash bottle handy on your work desk:
outsider:
Wish someone would make an "anti-shake" iron, like those gyro stabilized binoculars. >:(
I am suffering too, soldering and keeping still. Its impossible for me to do surface mount prototyping.
Last night I had an idea to make a pair of robotic hands, that I would use operating a pair of jog dials, with a footswitch to dip-down the soldering iron. The time it would take me to make that would distract from the rest of my projects.
I'm always looking for better tools, jigs to help.
Prop-Forge:
I think you just solved a problem I didn't really know I had. I always wondered why I'd clean my tip and immediately have junk on it again.
I gave the brass mesh sponge in a tin a try after the damp sponge method. Brass mesh sponge is indescribably better.
I am NOT considering SMD. All of those tools will not help me hold, place those tiny components. I already have a tough enough time reading labels on DIP sized chips.