Yeah, if you you want to clean off a wood or fiberglass item, and don't like the prospect
of leaving rust, it's useful to have the nonrusting metal.

So, the bronze alloy is a steel-wool substitute.

And, for RF blocking in electronics, it's a nice way to close gaps.
They still make lead wool, too (used to be for bell/spigot plumbing joints,
but nowadays we chink our concrete radiation shielding with the stuff).