I have been TIG welding stainless steel for 20 years and this is the highest quality tungsten. They work better at low amperage DC starts than 1.5% lanthanum. The arc is clean and much brighter than cerium, and the tungsten remains very consistent and strong. Also very good and easy to sharpen. As far as I know, this is the highest quality tungsten. Pretty much I'll go to Wolfram.