In article , "Leon" wrote:

Ahh.. So that raw Na is processed? IIRC in the more pure form it was more
like clay.

It's a very soft metal. As far as I can remember, most of the methods of
purifying it involve passing an electric current through one of its compounds
(for example, I believe that electrolysis of molten sodium hydroxide yields
the pure metal plus oxygen and hydrogen as gases).