Have been considering getting into casting. A friend gave me 4 blocks of lead. From what I understand, this is soft/pure lead. I can easily mark all with my fingernail. Would it be a good guess that this is pure lead?

Yes, you are correct.
Linotype at 22 Brinnel makes your nail slide

If you do seriously do start casting then I recommend a Saeco hardness tester.

Buying a copy of the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook would be money well spent... although they "trumpet" the use of their Lyman #2 alloy, which uses 5% tin (way too much), the book would give you several different recipes to start with. In my estimation, if you can find wheel weights they are about as good as it gets. Mixing something like linotype and pure lead works well for handguns. Pure lead is best left to muzzleloaders...

You are starting down a very rewarding path. Ask away; we are here to help!

There is a great deal of very usefull information here http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

Welcome to the madness. From plinking to serious hunting,(1400 - 2400+ fps) I seldom shoot anything other than cast now, except for my little 20 cal varmint rifle.

Lost Oki--I second the getting a Lyman Manual. When I was considering starting reloading I bought a Lyman Manual which also got me interested in casting. When I read the formula for Lyman alloy, I thought how could that be? You are using mostly wheelweights that are an unknown and adding very small precision amounts of a known and coming up with a precision blend. How do I know the wheelweights didn't already have these things? So I started using wheelweights and to me that's as good as it gets. When I started casting .22 cal I was told repeatedly you have to add tin to get good fill out. I bought some tin and couldn't tell any difference. I have never had a hardness tester. To me some try to make bullet casting rocket science--and it's not.

Thanks for the replies and direction. Looks like my next steps are to find a Lyman Cast bullet handbook at the gun show this weekend and find me a .54 round ball mold. I have previously purchased some cast bullets for my 35 Whelen from a guy in Alaska. A lot of support from him and he was right on the money. Book should get me started.

Lost Oki--Lyman has both a regular manual and a Cast Bullet manual. Both manuals have information about casting and cast bullet reloading data. Their regular manual has jacketed loading data as well. If you also shoot jacketed, I'd get their regular manual--not the Cast Bullet. That is not to say that anything wrong with the Cast Bulet manual--it is more expanded in the cast data area.

Thanks carpetman1, I will check out both books and then back to this forum for some followup questions.

If you drop the lead ingots on cement you will hear a ring with hard lead. Butter soft lead will thunk. After you have heard it for a while there will be degrees of ring.
I own a Cabine tree tester. In my opinion it is the best tester bar none. Ron