Who buys carbide inserts?

We do. Ironcrest buys carbide inserts.

If you searched "who buys carbide inserts," here is your answer: I do. I am Sonny, I run Ironcrest Industrial Surplus, and I buy used tungsten carbide inserts from machine shops, manufacturers, and anyone with a bucket of them. My standing offer is $18 to $20 per pound for clean used inserts — inserts, end mills, and drills in solid carbide. That is a real, published number, not a "call for pricing" dodge. Based in Chicago, buying nationwide: send photos, get today's offer, and I will arrange pickup or paid shipping.

Clean, brazed, or sludge — know your grade.

Not all carbide pays the same, and an honest buyer tells you that up front. Clean means solid carbide: inserts, end mills, drills, and blanks with no steel attached — that is the top tier at $18–$20 per pound. Brazed means a carbide tip joined to a steel body, like lathe tool bits and saw tips — the steel has to come off or be accounted for, so brazed tooling gets its own quote, lower than clean. Sludge, swarf, and grinding dust are the fines from grinding carbide — still valuable tungsten, but they need lab analysis, so they are custom-quoted by assay. Mixed bucket? Send a photo and I will tell you exactly how I would sort and grade it before you ship anything.

Four steps, no runaround.

1. Send photos. Text or email clear pictures of what you have, with an honest description and an estimated weight. 2. Get today's offer. I quote against the current tungsten market — clean inserts at $18–$20 per pound, everything else graded fairly. 3. Pickup or shipping. Chicago-area sellers get same-day pickup; everyone else ships it in — I cover freight on qualifying lots. 4. Get paid fast. Material is weighed on a digital scale, verified, and you are paid promptly — cash on the spot for local pickup. No consignment limbo, no ninety-day terms.

Questions, answered.