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How offers workCarbide scrap offer calculator
This carbide scrap offer calculator shows what two or three quotes each leave you after deductions, fees and the shipping you pay. Get our offer to compare.
Put your offers side by side
Enter the weight once, then each buyer's price, any deduction they take, their fees and the shipping you would pay. The calculator shows what each offer leaves in your hand.
Payout = weight × price, less the deduction (as a percent of that), less fees, less the shipping you pay. Leave a field at 0 when it does not apply. We pay the shipping on carbide sent to us from any US state. Nothing you type here leaves this page.
How to read a carbide offer
A carbide offer is a price per pound or kilogram, the weight it applies to, and whatever the buyer takes off. The material is cemented carbide: tungsten carbide (WC) bonded with a metal binder such as cobalt, per ITIA. A 2023 study puts its most common form at around 85 to 95% WC and 5 to 15% cobalt.
Check the unit first: one kilogram is 2.20462 pounds, so divide a per-kilogram price by 2.20462 to get a per-pound price.
Then ask whose scale counts. Kennametal's online terms, as archived in February 2025, say its weight determination is final and payment follows the weight it confirms. Sandvik Coromant's US recycling page, as archived in January 2026, says it issues a purchase order with the confirmed weight after inspection.
Other makers may run buyback programs (a tool maker buying used carbide back); ask them or your distributor.
Sources: Pacini et al. 2023, grinding of WC-Co hard metals; ITIA, cemented carbides (June 2010 newsletter excerpt); Kennametal recycling terms (Internet Archive, Feb 2025); Sandvik Coromant US recycling page (Internet Archive, Jan 2026).
What a deduction is for
A deduction is anything a buyer takes off the gross (weight times price). Ask each buyer to list its deductions in writing. A deduction in pounds divided by the total weight, times 100, is the percent. The sources single out these materials:
- Steel. Kennametal's terms (February 2025 archive) require carbide free from contaminants, ceramics, cermets and steel. A 2021 ITIA-hosted review says carbide on a tool that is mostly steel can end up in steel scrap, where its tungsten and cobalt are lost.
- Braze. Brazing is one way carbide is joined to steel (a brazed tool); ITIA says the solder on brazed parts has to be removed before processing.
- Mixed material. Hard scrap means solid pieces. The same review says parts made of two or more grades complicate scrap identification.
- Sludge. Soft scrap means grinding sludge, sweepings, powders and turnings. A 2023 study calls grinding sludge a mixture of abrasives, lubricants and hard-metal chips, and says conventional grinding uses a water-oil coolant. Ask whether a sludge price is on the weight as delivered or dried.
Freight can come off too: Kennametal's terms (February 2025 archive) have the seller prepay freight and deduct any shipping Kennametal pays from the final payment.
Sources: Kennametal recycling terms (Internet Archive, Feb 2025); ITIA, recycling of tungsten (May 2018 newsletter excerpt); ITIA, recycling of tungsten (Aug 2019 newsletter excerpt); ITIA, cemented carbides (June 2010 newsletter excerpt); Zeiler et al. 2021, tungsten recycling (ITIA-hosted); Pacini et al. 2023, grinding of WC-Co hard metals.
What to put in each field, and what to ask each buyer
| Field | Enter | Ask the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Your best total | Whose scale sets the paid weight? |
| Price per unit | The quote, in your unit | For which form of scrap, and for how long? |
| Deduction % | What comes off, or 0 | What is deducted, in writing? |
| Fees, $ | Handling, sorting or crushing charges | Is any charge outside the price? |
| Shipping you pay, $ | Your freight cost, or 0 | Who pays freight, and does it come off? |
Scales. NIST says a commercial scale must be inspected and approved by an authorized state body, and Handbook 44 (2026 edition) says a direct-sale scale must sit where its reading can be seen and the weighing watched from a reasonable customer position. In California, look for the round approval seal showing the last inspection.
Price. Kennametal's terms, as archived in February 2025, honor a quote for 15 days and allow a price change for carbide received more than 30 days after the quotation date.
Fees. GTP's submission form (uploaded October 2025) charges a crushing fee on material over six inches or over 25 lbs.
Shipping. We pay the shipping on carbide sent to us from any US state, so our line stays at 0; in California, Arizona and Nevada we pick up.
Sources: NIST weighing and scales FAQ; NIST Handbook 44 (2026), general code; NIST Handbook 44, current edition; California Division of Measurement Standards, devices; Kennametal recycling terms (Internet Archive, Feb 2025); GTP scrap submission form.
A worked example: three offers for 100 lb
This example uses made-up round numbers for 100 lb; they show the arithmetic only, not market prices.
| Line | Offer A | Offer B | Offer C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price per lb | $20.00 | $22.00 | $21.00 |
| Gross (100 lb × price) | $2,000 | $2,200 | $2,100 |
| Deduction | 0% = $0 | 10% = $220 | 5% = $105 |
| Fees | $0 | $25 | $0 |
| Shipping you pay | $0 | $60 | $40 |
| Payout | $2,000 | $1,895 | $1,955 |
Offer B quotes the most per pound and leaves the least: $2,200 − $220 − $25 − $60 = $1,895. Offer A quotes the least and keeps its full $2,000.
Quoted at $46.30 per kilogram, Offer C is unchanged: 46.30 ÷ 2.20462 = about $21.00 per pound.
What the calculator cannot show
The calculator counts money, not when it arrives or how a buyer grades.
Payment timing. Kennametal's terms (February 2025 archive) set payment at net 30 days. Sandvik Coromant's US page (January 2026 archive) describes a check mailed against your invoice after a purchase order with the confirmed weight. Its US terms (May 2026 archive) differ: an online platform, Sandvik AB as buyer, invoicing only after Sandvik collects, and payment no later than 30 days after receiving an undisputed, properly issued invoice, or a credit against a future Sandvik invoice.
Check holds. Regulation CC usually frees local check funds on the second business day after the deposit day, but a bank can hold longer the part of one banking day's check deposits above $6,725 in total, or a check it has reasonable cause to believe is uncollectible.
State rules. For Arizona scrap metal sales of $300 or more, with some exceptions, payment is a mailed check or money order, never paid on site; Nevada requires a check or electronic transfer for a processor's scrap purchases of $150 or more. We pay cash where state law allows it.
Grading. The calculator assumes nothing is rejected. Kennametal's terms (February 2025 archive) let it reject material for any reason and pay nothing for it, so ask each buyer how it grades and what happens to rejects. See how buyers price carbide and choosing a carbide buyer.
For our column, tell us on the quote form what form your carbide is in and about how much there is, add photos, and compare the offers.
Sources: Kennametal recycling terms (Internet Archive, Feb 2025); Sandvik Coromant US recycling page (Internet Archive, Jan 2026); Sandvik Coromant US recycling terms (Internet Archive, May 2026); Regulation CC, 12 CFR 229.12 (eCFR); Regulation CC, 12 CFR 229.13 (eCFR); Arizona Revised Statutes 44-1642; Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 647.
Questions people ask
How do I compare carbide scrap offers quoted in different units?
Convert them to one unit first: divide a per-kilogram price by 2.20462 for the per-pound price.
Does the most per pound mean the largest scrap carbide payout?
Not always. A deduction, a fee or freight can outweigh a higher price, so compare payouts.
What do I enter for your offer?
Enter what we quote, with shipping at 0, since we pay the shipping from any US state.
Keep reading
How buyers price carbide
Tungsten content, the market, hard and soft scrap, and what a buyer deducts
Choosing a buyer
The questions to ask before you ship a pound, and the warning signs
Getting paid
Cash, checks and transfers, the ID rules for scrap sales, and the records to keep
Manufacturer buyback programs
What the tool makers' recycling programs take, who can use them and how they pay
Have carbide to sell?
Tell us what form it is in and about how much it weighs, and add a few photos. Ship it from any state and we pay the shipping, or we pick up anywhere in California, Arizona and Nevada.