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Sell scrap carbide to a family business that buys every form of it
To sell scrap carbide to us, send the quote form with a few photos, then ship the lot from any state while we pay the shipping, or have us collect it in California, Arizona, Utah or Nevada. Carbide Buyers USA is family owned and operated.
Hard scrap, soft scrap and every shape between
We buy carbide in any form: worn, chipped, broken or coated. Carbide here means cemented carbide, hard grains of tungsten carbide held in a metal binder, usually cobalt, sometimes nickel or iron.
The trade splits it into hard scrap, solid pieces you can pick up one by one, and soft scrap, which the International Tungsten Industry Association (ITIA) lists as cutting or grinding sludge, sweepings, powders and turnings. We take both, and mixed lots.
| What you are holding | Typical pieces | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Inserts | Turning, milling, grooving and threading inserts, the replaceable cutting tips built for quick changes | Tungsten is typically above 80 percent of an insert (ITIA) |
| Solid round tools | End mills, drills, reamers, burs, rods and blanks | Ground from carbide rod, so a snapped drill is the same material as the bar |
| Brazed tools | Saw tips and tipped cutters, carbide joined to steel with a braze alloy | Leave the tips on the steel |
| Wear parts and dies | Dies, punches, plungers, seal rings, chuck jaws | From under a gram to some hundred kilograms (ITIA) |
| Mining and road bits | Road-milling chisels, rock bits, buttons | A worn road chisel in an ITIA example still had only 60 to 70 percent of its original bit weight left to recycle |
| Sludge, grindings, powder | Sludge, swarf (the chips and fines a machine throws off), sweepings | Keep it sealed, apart from the solids |
In its Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, the USGS estimates that 60 percent of the tungsten consumed in the US in 2025 went into cemented carbide parts. That tungsten is why dull tooling is worth selling, not binning. We also buy exotic metals and alloys, from titanium and nickel alloys to tantalum and high-speed steel: see metals we buy.
Sources: ITIA, cemented carbides (June 2010 newsletter excerpt); ITIA, Recycling of Tungsten part 1 (May 2018 excerpt); ITIA, Recycling of Tungsten part 2 (August 2019 excerpt); Tungsten recycling, open access paper hosted by ITIA; USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, tungsten; OSTI, cemented tungsten carbide binders (2023 manuscript); OSTI, cobalt binder (2018 LLNL manuscript).
Three answers we need before we can quote a lot
Send them on the quote form, by email to help@carbidebuyersusa.com, or by phone at (877) 899-5778.
- The form. The nearest row of the table above, or mixed. This one word tells us whether we are looking at solids, sludge or both.
- The rough weight. A bathroom scale is plenty. It tells us whether the lot fits one box, several, or a pallet or a visit.
- Photos. One wide shot and one close-up of a handful. Photos show coatings such as gold titanium nitride (ITIA says more than 80 percent of turning inserts are coated), steel still attached, oil, and how much non-carbide is in the bucket.
The same three things anchor the record of a sale. Arizona's law has the buyer record a photograph, description and weight of the scrap, and Utah's a complete description including weight. The laws govern the purchase, not the quote request.
We price each lot on its own from those three answers, so there is no price list here.
Sources: ITIA, cemented carbides (June 2010 newsletter excerpt); A.R.S. 44-1642; Utah Code 76-6-1403.
Leave it the way the machine left it
Do not grind, crush or cut carbide to fit a box. The National Toxicology Program says dusts containing cobalt and tungsten carbide can come from sharpening or grinding hard-metal products, while ITIA says normal use of finished articles is expected to produce little or no exposure. The dust is the thing to avoid making.
- Solids. Shake off chips and wipe off heavy oil. A mixed bucket is fine if you say it is mixed.
- Sludge and grindings. Pour off standing coolant, seal the rest in a leak-proof container, and tell us which coolant or oil was used. USPS makes the mailer responsible for identifying flashpoint, toxicity and other hazards before mailing, so we need that answer first.
- Exotic metals. Keep titanium, nickel alloys and the rest apart from the carbide, one labeled bag per metal.
Sources: NTP Report on Carcinogens, cobalt-tungsten carbide profile; ITIA, health and environment; USPS Publication 52, section 323.
Boxing something twice as heavy as iron
A National Toxicology Program table puts tungsten carbide at 15.6 grams per cubic centimeter and NIST lists iron at 7.874, so carbide is roughly twice as heavy as iron for its size. Grades with more cobalt run a little lighter, since cobalt is 8.92 in the same table.
- Under 70 pounds a box. USPS will not accept a heavier mailpiece, so split big lots.
- A box built for the load. USPS requires dense items such as tools and machine parts weighing 20 to 45 pounds to go in at least 200-pound test board, or an equal wood, metal or plastic container; ordinary corrugated boxes are best up to 10 pounds.
- Brace and tape. Stop the contents from shifting and reinforce every seam with 2-inch-wide packing tape, never string, twine, masking or cellophane tape.
- Bags inside a box, not a bucket. UPS's 2025 rate guide charges additional handling for buckets, pails and drums, for metal or wooden outer containers, and for domestic packages over 50 pounds.
- Big lots. FedEx Ground takes up to 150 pounds a package, and heavier shipments go as freight. Put the total weight on the quote request.
We pay the shipping, so these limits shape how you pack, not what you spend.
Sources: NTP Report on Carcinogens, cobalt-tungsten carbide profile; NIST X-ray mass attenuation coefficients, Table 1; USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201; USPS Domestic Mail Manual 601; USPS, preparing packages; UPS Rate and Service Guide, 2025 daily rates; FedEx Ground; FedEx Freight.
Cash, checks and what four state laws say about paying for scrap
We pay cash where state law allows it, and each pickup state's law asks something different. None of the four names carbide or tungsten in its metal definitions, and none says carbide is exempt. The table says which metals or amounts each rule reaches.
| State | On payment | What else the law asks of a sale |
|---|---|---|
| California | Its stricter rule (Bus. & Prof. Code 21608.5) covers only copper, copper alloys, stainless steel and aluminum: a check mailed to the seller's ID address, or payment collected on or after the third business day. Carbide is not on that list. | A written record of each purchase, with the seller's name and an ID such as a driver's license or state ID card. |
| Arizona | At $300 or more, with exceptions the statute lists, no payment on site: a check or money order is mailed to the address on the seller's ID. One cash transaction for scrap metal per seller per day. | Sales over $100 are held seven days after the report, except from industrial accounts, other dealers, aluminum cans and ferrous metal. |
| Nevada | At $150 or more, only check or electronic transfer. One cash sale under $150 per seller per day. | A copy of the seller's ID, a photo or video of the seller, and a right index fingerprint. |
| Utah | Utah law does not set a cash limit for scrap metal in Part 14, its metal dealer rules. | For regulated metal: a valid federal or state photo ID with its type and number recorded, the seller's signature on a certificate of the legal right to sell, a seller aged 18 or older, and purchases only between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. |
Utah's rules reach "any item composed primarily of nonferrous metal" plus a list of named items; the statute does not say where cemented carbide falls. Every state side by side is in the scrap metal laws guide.
Sources: California Attorney General, Information Bulletin 2025-DLE-12; AB 1508, Chapter 531, Statutes of 2012 (Bus. & Prof. Code 21608.5); A.R.S. 44-1641; A.R.S. 44-1642; A.R.S. 44-1644; Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 647; Utah Code 76-6-1402; Utah Code 76-6-1403; Utah Code 76-6-1405; Utah Code 76-6-1406; Utah Code Title 76, Chapter 6, Part 14.
Collected in four states, shipped from everywhere else
In California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada we come to you, in every city of all four states. From anywhere else in the country, the carbide comes to us in a box and we pay the shipping.
- Collection in the four states. Tell us where the material sits, a drawer, a bench bin or a row of drums, and we plan the collection around it. Each state is on pickup areas.
- Shipping from any other state. You pack it; we cover the carrier. Labels and boxes are on shipping your carbide.
Either way the first step is the same: send the quote form with the form, rough weight and photos, and we take it from there.
Common questions
Who buys carbide near me?
We do. In California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada we come to you, in any city; from every other state you ship it and we pay the shipping. Start with the quote form.
Where can I sell scrap carbide if I live outside the four pickup states?
To us, by carrier. Send the quote request first, pack sturdy boxes within the USPS weight cap given in the packing section, and we cover the shipping.
Can one shipment hold both solid tools and grinding sludge?
Yes, with the sludge in its own sealed, leak-proof container and the solids bagged apart.
What should I have ready when you come to collect?
A government photo ID such as a driver's license. Each of the four states' scrap laws has the buyer record the seller's identification, and Utah's, for regulated metal, also asks for your signature on a certificate of your legal right to sell. The payment table above sets out each state.
Do you take exotic metals in the same lot as carbide?
Yes. We buy all exotic metals and alloys alongside the carbide. Give each metal its own labeled bag and list them on the quote request.
More for sellers
Carbide we buy
Carbide in every form, plus exotic metals and alloys
Learn more
Ship your carbide
Packing heavy carbide so it arrives in one piece
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Pickup areas
We come to you in California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada
Learn more
Selling steps
From photos and a weight to getting paid
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Scrap metal laws in CA, AZ, UT and NV
ID, records, holds and cash rules where we pick up
Learn more
Sorting carbide scrap
What to keep together, what to separate, and why
Learn moreReady to sell your carbide?
Send a few photos and a rough weight. From any state, you ship it and we cover the shipping; in California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, we drive out to you.