[Crex]

Hey Doug - little pointer on the babbet and other pewters. Get one of them old timer large plumber's soldering irons. You've seen them, big wooden handle, heavy 3/8" tip, cloth braided power cord, etc. Get one at a flea market or estate sale (not seen one in a catalog anytime recently). They have enough mass and get hot enough to melt the pewter away from the handle and blade without damaging anything. Have to be patient and careful but works very well and you get to keep/recycle the pewter and reduce the risk of doing damage to handle or blade.
If you peel your "mold" of right after the pewter sets you can see if it's flawed (have the iron already up to heat before you do the initial pour) and while it's still hot it will melt off quite easily. A regular sized soldering iron won't get it, not enough heat/mass ratio.
You can also use the iron to "pull up" the sunken or shrunk area against the blade due to temp differential right after the pour, with a little practice.
It can also be used to fill those (always happen when you least expect it) pin holes. Just a good grade of low-temp silver solder and the iron will plug a hole and make it invisible.