Which tools in a machinist's toolbox are carbide?
Most of the carbide in a machinist's toolbox sits in the cutting tools. Cemented carbide, usually just called carbide, is hard tungsten carbide (WC) bound with a tougher metal such as cobalt; ITIA gives 90% WC and 10% cobalt as a typical straight grade.
| Tool | Where the carbide is | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Insert | The whole piece: a small replaceable tip with several cutting points, turned in its holder as each edge wears. | Small square or triangular tips; ITIA puts their tungsten typically above 80%. |
| End mill, drill, reamer | Solid tools ground from carbide rod. | The same shapes come in high-speed steel, so judge by weight. |
| Brazed tool | A carbide tip fixed to the shank by brazing or soldering. | A small tip on a steel shank; leave it on. |
| Saw blade | On the teeth of carbide-tipped blades. | Some bimetal blades have high-speed steel teeth instead. |
A university machining lecture names two ways of fixing carbide tips to a shank: brazing and mechanical clamping. ITIA calls an insert screwed onto a steel holder 100% hardmetal and easy to separate, while a brazed part needs its solder removed before processing.
Sources: ITIA, Cemented carbides (newsletter, June 2010); ITIA, Applications and markets; ITIA, Recycling of tungsten part 1 (May 2018); King Saud University, metal cutting lecture; King Saud University, cutting tool materials slides; NTP, hard metals background document (2010); ITIA, Tungsten in steel (December 2008).
How to tell carbide from steel without damaging it
Weigh it; never grind it. A University of Pennsylvania machining lecture says carbide is generally 1.5 to 2 times denser than steel, so a carbide end mill feels heavier than a steel one of the same size.
Two commercial carbide grades measured 15.17 and 14.91 g/cm3 (3.7% and 6.0% cobalt), and a part with about 19% cobalt was taken at 13.1. An MIT course table lists 1020 and 4340 steel at 7.8 g/cm3; NIST lists pure iron at 7.874.
Shape will not settle it. ITIA says about 95% of high-speed steel (HSS), a tool steel with 1.5 to 20% tungsten, goes into drills, taps, milling cutters, saw blades and similar tools.
A lighter tool is not proof of steel either: an NTP table lists some steel-cutting (P) grades as low as 8.5 g/cm3. ASTM, whose B311 method measures carbide density by water displacement, warns that density alone cannot evaluate a grade, so sort by weight and let the buyer confirm.
Skip the spark test on a grinding wheel: NTP names sharpening and grinding among the ways cobalt and tungsten carbide dust is made.
Sources: University of Pennsylvania, speeds and feeds lecture; OSTI 2376169 (2023); OSTI 1607097, ORNL (2019); MIT 3.11 metals table (1999); NIST X-ray attenuation table 1; ITIA, Tungsten in steel (December 2008); NTP, hard metals background document (2010); ASTM B311-22; NTP Report on Carcinogens profile.
Usable tools: keep them, pass them on or sell them as scrap
This is the family's call. A sharp end mill may mean more to a machinist who will run it, or to a school shop, than it does on a scale; whether it is worth more money is a judgment we cannot make for you.
A university machining lecture notes that cutting tools can be reconditioned by resharpening, and coated tools by recoating. Chipped, broken and worn-out pieces are scrap carbide, and you can sell those now while the family decides on the rest.
What the IRS says about selling inherited tools
The federal rules start with basis, the value a gain or loss is measured from. IRS Publication 551 says inherited property's basis is generally its fair market value on the date of death, or on the alternate valuation date if the estate's personal representative chooses it. The IRS FAQ says the date-of-death value applies whether or not Form 706 is filed, and sends heirs to the executor for it.
Publication 544 treats inherited property as held longer than one year, however long you actually held it. As the IRS FAQ puts it: "If you sell the property for more than your basis, you have a taxable gain."
Under Publication 544, property held for personal use, such as a home shop's tools, is generally a capital asset; a loss on it is not deductible except for a casualty or theft loss. Gross proceeds from inherited property generally count when deciding whether to file. A business's tools can differ: for a sole proprietor, Publication 334 lists income from scrap sales as business income on Schedule C line 6.
These are general federal rules (Publication 551, 12/2025; Publications 544 and 334, 2025; FAQ updated 16 Oct 2026), not tax advice. Ask a tax professional, and keep every receipt.
Sources: IRS Publication 551 (12/2025); IRS FAQ, gifts and inheritances; IRS Publication 544 (2025); IRS Publication 334 (2025).
Handling carbide tools and old coolant safely
Treat every cutting edge as sharp: carry tools by the shank, wear work gloves, and keep inserts in their cases or a closed box.
Dust is the hazard, not whole tools. NTP lists cobalt-tungsten carbide powders and hard metals as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen, and names sharpening and grinding among the sources of the dust. IARC says sharpening can put cobalt in the air at several hundred micrograms per cubic meter, while using the tools gives far lower exposure than making them.
ITIA sums up the finished tools this way: "The normal and intended use of these articles is expected to produce little or no exposure to the user." So do not grind, cut, crush or break anything before you sell it.
A shop may also hold drums of used metalworking fluid. OSHA says its contaminants encourage bacteria and fungi, and that disposal follows the maker's instructions and government rules. EPA says wastes with a significant liquid component do not meet the federal definition of scrap metal, so ask before you move wet grinding sludge.
To ship, USPS advises a sturdy box, bracing so heavy contents cannot shift, and reinforced tape on every edge.
Sources: NTP Report on Carcinogens profile; IARC Monographs volume 86 (2006); ITIA, Health and environment; OSHA, metalworking fluids health effects; OSHA, metalworking fluids manual; EPA, scrap metal exclusion response to comments; USPS, preparing packages.
Where to sell used machinist tools: a yard, a specialist or us
What is left can go to a scrap yard, a carbide specialist or trader, or us; grading varies, so ask first.
A USGS report describes processors around 2000 hand-sorting pieces by color, shape and weight before any test. An ITIA-hosted review warns that carbide left on mostly steel tools can be lost in steel scrap; it also says traders actively collect carbide cutting-tool scrap and that sorting by the end user raises recycling efficiency.
Carbide Buyers USA, a family owned and operated business, buys scrap carbide of any form and brand, plus exotic metals and alloys. Sellers in California, Arizona and Nevada can have us pick up in any city; from the other states, you ship and we pay the shipping.
We pay cash where state law allows: for scrap metal sales of $300 or more, Arizona dealers must mail a check or money order, with exceptions, and Nevada processors must pay $150 or more by check or electronic transfer. Where to sell carbide sets every option side by side.
Sources: USGS Open-File Report 2005-1028; Zeiler et al. 2021, tungsten recycling review (ITIA-hosted); Arizona Revised Statutes 44-1642; Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 647.
What to ask a buyer before you sell
Ask every buyer, us included, the same questions.
- Brazed tools and deductions: a deduction is weight or money taken off, for example for steel or solder. Do you take brazed tools with the steel on, and what will you deduct, in writing?
- Weighing: can I watch? NIST Handbook 44 requires a direct-sale scale to be positioned so you can read it and watch the weighing from a reasonable customer position.
- Paperwork: what ID do you need from an heir or executor? A 2022 Arizona Senate research brief says all 50 states have metal-theft laws; California's record includes a statement that the seller owns the material or the name of the person it came from, and Michigan has individual sellers sign a statement that they own the metal or are authorized to sell it.
- Payment and freight: how will I be paid, and who pays to ship? See getting paid.
The full checklist is in choosing a carbide buyer. Once the box is sorted, send photos and a rough weight through our quote form and set our offer beside the others listed in where to sell carbide.
Sources: NIST Handbook 44 (2026), general code; Arizona Senate research brief, scrap metal (Nov 10, 2022); California DOJ Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-12; Michigan Compiled Laws 445.425.
Questions people ask
Where can I sell used machinist tools near me?
For the carbide among them, we pick up in every city in California, Arizona and Nevada; from any other state you ship to us and we pay the shipping. A local scrap yard is another route, so compare the offers.
How do I sell my machinist tools if I can't tell which are carbide?
Photograph everything, sort by weight, leave brazed tips on their shanks, and let the buyer say what is carbide.
Can I grind a tool to see if it is carbide?
No. Sharpening and grinding hard-metal tools can make the cobalt and tungsten carbide dust health agencies warn about. Compare its weight with a steel tool of the same size instead.
Do I owe tax when I sell inherited tools?
It depends on your basis, generally the fair market value on the date of death (or the alternate valuation date, if the estate chooses it). A sale above basis is a taxable gain; a loss on personal-use property is generally not deductible. Ask a tax professional.
Keep reading
Where to sell carbide
Every option near you and by mail, and how we buy: ship from any state or pickup in CA, AZ and NV
Choosing a buyer
The questions to ask before you ship a pound, and the warning signs
Machine shops
Setting up a carbide bin, what to keep separate, and how shops sell it
Scrap yard or carbide buyer?
What a general scrap yard does with carbide, and when a specialist makes sense
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.