It occurs to me that I’ve mentioned it, but maybe not everyone knows what pick soldering is! First let me state that it is almost assuredly not a period practice. Even with a lamp and blow pipe, suck that the heat isn’t as intense as a charcoal forge (and the piece is more accessible) it would take two people and I think it would be extremely awkward if not impossible. In period, powdered solder was typically applied over a wet base. Or the copper salt solution method, which uses copper salts suspended in a liquid or else applied to a glue. It amounts to a thin solder paste, altogether. Something more easy to control than modern solder chips that want to fall away from the joint if you breathe too hard.
While it’s still my plan to experiment with period soldering techniques, if I’m not competing with a piece, I don’t mind making it with modern solder. And my new favorite method of doing that (at least for certain types of joins, like on my recent filigree piece and the Hercules knots…and parts of the crotalia earrings, come to think of it.
I’ll try to get a video of it the next time I do it and art that to this post. But essentially you start with your solder chip away from the piece. Melt it and pick it up with a titanium solder pick. The solder will stick to the pick. Then, with your non-dominant hand holding the torch, bring the piece up to soldering temp, or a little less. Holding the pick in your dominant hand, place the little solder ball exactly where you want it and watch it flow.
It takes a couple tries to master the timing of when to pick up the solder. If it’s still molten, it’ll just smear. If it’s too cool, you’ll just push it around. Basically, remove heat and immediately pick it up.
It’s not guaranteed success, but at least for me, it really increases the odds! I do think that a paste, even a homemade period one, would work just as well, if not better. Even then, Theophilus talks about having to refire pieces if all the joins didn’t take the first time. So it’s an old problem to have your solder not flow correctly on the first try.
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