Hi liftedplane,
for the weight I would also try the settings in the static mesh. Make sure you enable gravity and tick the weight checkbox. maybe you can change the weight stated there to a extremely high value to test of this does help. This is the only thing I know of. For me this worked pretty good all the time.
Regarding the sockets, try to follow this guide: Setting Up and Using Sockets With Static Meshes | Unreal Engine Documentation
Using sockets may be the best solution.
I am using the Proteus VR template (it’s in the forum here as well) for all my VR-Projects, and in the testlevel that comes with the template, you will find different objects that can be picked up by the player - and there’s also a sword, with working sockets! maybe you should check it out and you will see what you are doing worng.
Greetings!