I Pay $18–$20 a Pound for Clean Carbide Scrap.

Board figures: published national buyer boards and market trackers. Ironcrest prices: firm standing offer for clean sorted inserts, end mills, and drills, confirmed October 7, 2026. Custom-quote material is graded from your photos.

No bait-and-switch

The number I give you today is the number you get. That’s the opposite of bait-and-switch, and it’s why shops send me their second load.

You watch the digital scale

Local deals: the material is weighed in front of you on a digital scale, the grade is agreed before anything changes hands, and the payout is itemized by material form. No blended mystery numbers.

Paid in 24–48 hours, cash — not credits

Some buyers pay you in tool credits or on Net-30 terms. I pay cash within 24–48 hours — when the material changes hands locally, or within two days of your mail-in lot arriving and being graded.

Example math at my prices — your firm quote comes from your photos, not this page.

A 5-gallon bucket of clean inserts: $720 to $1,000

A full 5-gallon bucket of inserts usually weighs 40 to 50 pounds. At my $18–$20 a pound for clean sorted inserts, that’s $720 to $1,000 in one bucket. If you’ve been getting $8 a pound from the yard, you’ve been leaving $400 to $600 in that bucket every time.

25 pounds of brazed tooling

Brazed lathe tools and boring bars get a custom quote from photos — always above the board. If the pile has solid carbide mixed in, separating it out moves those pounds into the $18–$20 bracket. That’s the sorting premium, and it’s real money.

200 pounds of grinding sludge

Sludge is priced on contained tungsten. Two hundred pounds of sludge at 50% tungsten content is 100 pounds of contained tungsten — and I pay top money for tungsten content. Text photos of your drums for a custom quote. Wet sludge, oily sludge, or sludge full of floor sweepings gets discounted hard, because I’m buying tungsten, not coolant.

Tungsten is a strategic metal — cutting tools, armor, aerospace, electronics — and 2026 has been a seller’s market. Tungsten concentrate roughly tripled in price since January 2026. China restricted tungsten exports to a short list of authorized firms. And a U.S. rule now requires American tungsten scrap to be sold to domestic buyers only — so domestic refiners are bidding hard for every pound. I sell to domestic processors in that market, which is exactly why I can pay $18–$20 a pound while the yards are still quoting board prices from a softer era.

That’s also why this page carries a date — a price number without a date on it is a price number you can’t trust. I refresh this page as the market moves.

1. Text me photos

Send photos of your carbide to 312-880-8174 with a rough weight and your location. Clear photos and an honest description are the whole process — no forms, no accounts, no waiting.

2. Get a firm quote

I grade your material from the photos against the current tungsten market and give you a firm per-pound number. Clean inserts, end mills, and drills: $18–$20 a pound. You’ll know exactly what you’re getting before anything moves.

3. Ship it or I pick it up

Sellers outside my driving range mail their carbide in — I’ll send simple mail-in instructions. Across the Chicago area, I offer same-day pickup; drop-off at my Rolling Meadows location is always welcome too. Shops with recurring volume get scheduled pickups and a collection drum at the machine.

4. Get paid in 24–48 hours

Local pickup and drop-off deals: you watch the scale, we agree on the grade, and you’re paid when the material changes hands. Mail-in lots are graded and weighed when they arrive, then paid within 24–48 hours. Bring a valid photo ID — Illinois law requires it for every scrap purchase.

Not sure what you’ve got is actually carbide? Here’s how to tell real tungsten carbide from steel before you text.

Keep inserts and solid tooling away from brazed

One bucket of clean solid carbide at $18–$20 a pound and one bucket of brazed tooling at its own quote will beat a single mixed bucket every time. Sorting is the highest-paid ten minutes in this business.

Put saw blades in their own pile

Carbide-tipped blades are priced on the tips, and mixing them into solid carbide drags the whole lot down to blade pricing.

Drain your sludge and turnings

Coolant and cutting oil are weight you don’t get paid for. Let turnings drain, keep sludge as dry as you can, and keep rags and floor sweepings out of the drum.

Use a magnet

Tungsten carbide is only very weakly magnetic; tool steel grabs a magnet hard. A quick magnet pass pulls the steel out of your carbide pile and keeps your grade honest.

Don’t stress about perfection

I buy mixed piles all day long — you don’t need a laboratory sort. Just keep the obvious categories apart (solid, brazed, blades, sludge) and let me handle the grading from there.

What does Ironcrest pay for scrap carbide?

I pay a firm $18–$20 a pound for clean, sorted tungsten carbide inserts, end mills, and drills — a standing offer, not an introductory rate. Brazed tooling, grinding sludge, and tungsten heavy alloy are priced by custom quote from photos or assay, and I pay top money for all three. Text photos of your material to 312-880-8174 and I’ll confirm your number the same day.

Is the $18–$20 a pound offer real? Why so much higher than my yard?

Yes, it’s real. Scrap yards pay commodity board prices — roughly $8–$15 a pound — because they flip your material to a processor at commodity prices and pocket the spread. I sell to domestic processors at top dollar, so the spread comes to you instead of the yard. You watch the digital scale, the payout is itemized, and you’re paid in 24–48 hours.

How much is a 5-gallon bucket of carbide inserts worth?

A 5-gallon bucket of inserts usually weighs 40 to 50 pounds. At my $18–$20 a pound for clean sorted inserts, that’s roughly $720 to $1,000 — but the real number depends on grade and whether there’s steel or trash mixed in. Send me a photo and the weight and I’ll price it exactly.

Do you buy carbide grinding sludge?

Yes, and I pay top money for it. Sludge and swarf are priced on contained tungsten — how much actual tungsten is in the drum — so keep it as dry as you can and free of trash, rags, and steel chips. Wet or contaminated sludge gets discounted because I’m paying for tungsten, not coolant. Text photos for a custom quote.

My carbide has steel shanks — is it still worth anything?

Yes. That’s brazed tooling — a carbide tip joined to a steel body — and it’s priced lower because you’re selling steel weight along with the carbide. I quote brazed tooling individually from photos, always above the board. Saw blades with carbide tips work the same way: the blade is mostly steel, so they’re priced on the tips, not the blade.

Do I have to sort my carbide before I sell it?

No, but sorting pays. Unsorted lots get priced to the cheapest form in the mix. Keeping inserts and solid tooling separate from brazed tooling — and sludge in its own drum — gets you the most accurate quote and the most money.

Is there a minimum quantity?

No. I buy a single bucket from a home shop and drums on a schedule from production shops. If you’ve got carbide, it’s worth a text.

How fast do I get paid?

Local pickup and drop-off deals: you watch the scale, we agree on the grade, and you’re paid when the material changes hands. Mail-in lots are graded and weighed when they arrive, then paid within 24–48 hours. Bring a valid photo ID — Illinois law requires it for every scrap purchase.

Do you pick up outside Chicago?

Same-day pickup covers the Chicago area. For the right load I travel anywhere in the country, and sellers outside my driving range ship to me — I’ll send mail-in instructions when you text your photos.

Why are carbide prices so strong in 2026?

Tungsten concentrate roughly tripled in price since January 2026, China restricted tungsten exports to a short list of authorized firms, and a U.S. rule now requires American tungsten scrap to be sold to domestic buyers — so domestic refiners are bidding hard for every pound. That’s the market I sell into, and it’s why I can pay $18–$20 a pound for clean carbide.

Is silicon carbide worth anything as scrap?

No — and this trips people up. Silicon carbide (grinding wheels, abrasive discs) is a different material from tungsten carbide and has no scrap value as carbide. Same goes for chrome-carbide hardfacing on plow blades and milling teeth. If a magnet grabs it hard, it’s steel, not carbide.

I’m Sonny Johns, and I run Ironcrest Industrial Surplus out of Rolling Meadows, Illinois. I pay $18–$20 a pound for clean carbide inserts, end mills, and drills — more than the national average, because I sell to domestic processors instead of flipping your material at commodity prices. Every lot gets graded honestly, in front of you or from clear photos. No games, no blended mystery numbers.

Text a photo of your pile to 312-880-8174 and I’ll tell you what it’s worth today. Or start with selling your carbide if you want the full picture first.