Sell Tungsten Carbide Scrap for Cash
Tungsten carbide is one of the most valuable scrap metals in any shop — and most of it gets thrown away or blended into cheap mixed loads. I am Sonny Johns of Ironcrest Industrial Surplus. I buy tungsten carbide in every form, nationwide. Text a photo to 312-880-8174 and I will tell you what you have and today’s firm number.
UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
What I pay, in print.
I do not hide my number behind "call for pricing." The buyer boards pay $8–$15/lb for tungsten carbide. I pay $18–$20/lb — firm — for clean, sorted tungsten carbide inserts, end mills, and drills. Every lot gets graded from your photos, and the number you accept is the number you get paid. Text your pile to 312-880-8174.
What counts as tungsten carbide.
Tungsten carbide is a man-made material — tungsten powder fused with carbon under heat and pressure — that ends up harder than almost anything it cuts. In plain terms: it is the gray, heavy stuff on the business end of cutting tools. If your tooling feels surprisingly heavy for its size, roughly twice the weight of steel, there is a good chance it is carbide.
It shows up as indexable inserts (the little replaceable tips in lathe and mill holders), solid end mills, drills and reamers, brazed tips (a carbide tip joined to a steel shank — common on lathe bits and saw blades), grinding sludge from sharpening work, and tungsten heavy alloy parts like boring bars and counterweights. I buy all of it.
Selling tungsten carbide in four steps.
1. Gather and roughly sort
You do not need to be precise. Keep solid tooling (inserts, end mills, drills) in one container, brazed tooling in another, and sludge in its own drum. That rough sort alone gets you a better number, because mixed lots price to the cheapest form in the mix.
2. Text photos
Text photos to 312-880-8174: a picture of the pile, any grade markings or box labels, and a rough weight. Carbide is dense — a 5-gallon bucket of inserts runs 40 to 50 pounds — so do not guess light.
3. Get today’s firm number
I grade what I can see and give you today’s firm number for each form. That number holds. No re-grading at the dock, no surprise deductions.
4. Ship, drop off, or get picked up
Small lots mail in with a prepaid label. Chicago gets same-day pickup. Anywhere else in the country, we set up the option that fits the load — including my travel for serious tonnage.
What your tungsten carbide is worth depends on four things.
Form. Solid carbide (inserts, end mills, drills) grades highest. Brazed tooling runs lower because of its steel content. Sludge prices on contained tungsten, not drum weight.
Grade. An XRF analyzer reads the metal’s composition in seconds and tells us the grade. Higher tungsten content means a stronger number.
Sorting. A sorted drum prices each form at its own number. A mixed drum prices everything at the cheapest form’s number. Ten minutes of sorting pays for itself.
The market that day. Tungsten markets move — and the buyer boards move with them. My standing offer does not: $18–$20/lb firm for clean, sorted inserts, end mills, and drills. This week’s ranges by form are on Scrap Carbide Prices — and since August 2026, the federal export rule keeping U.S. tungsten scrap domestic has been supporting demand (more at Tungsten Export Rule and Carbide Prices).
The full process lives at Sell Carbide Scrap. Regional sellers: I run scheduled trips through Gary, Hammond, and Merrillville — see all service areas.
Sell tungsten carbide questions, answered.
What tungsten carbide items do you buy?
Inserts, end mills, drills, reamers, taps, brazed tips and lathe bits, saw tips, grinding sludge and swarf, tungsten heavy alloy parts, and mixed shop cleanouts. If it is carbide, I want to see it.
How much is tungsten carbide scrap worth?
My standing offer is $18–$20/lb — firm — for clean, sorted tungsten carbide inserts, end mills, and drills. The buyer boards pay $8–$15/lb. Other forms — brazed tooling, sludge, heavy alloy — get a custom number from photos. This week’s market ranges by form are on my scrap carbide prices page. Your firm number comes from a photo of your actual pile: text it to 312-880-8174.
Do I need to clean or sort my carbide first?
Clean helps, and rough sorting pays — keep solid tooling, brazed tooling, and sludge separate. But you do not need to be perfect. I sort and grade everything in front of you at pickup.
How do I ship tungsten carbide to you?
Small lots go in a flat-rate box with a prepaid label I provide — carbide is dense, so flat-rate shipping is your friend. Drums and heavy lots get freight coordinated or a pickup run.
How quickly do I get paid?
Pickup and drop-off deals pay when the material changes hands, with you watching the scale. Mail-in lots are graded and weighed on arrival, then paid out. Bring a valid photo ID — Illinois law requires it.
Can businesses sell on a recurring schedule?
Yes. Shops generating inserts and tooling daily can set up recurring pickup — one bucket or drums on a schedule. Text 312-880-8174 and we will set it up.
Turn that pile into cash.
Text a photo of your tungsten carbide to 312-880-8174. Clean, sorted inserts, end mills, and drills earn my standing $18–$20/lb — firm. I will tell you what you have, what grade it is, and today’s firm number — fast, free, no obligation.