How to Spend Less on Carbide: Proven Strategies

Carbide pricing has been top of mind for shop owners and purchasing managers of late.

With the cost of tungsten, cobalt and other carbide ingredients unstable and generally on the rise, it’s hard to know whether to stock up on cutting tools, spot buy as needed, or simply make the most of what you already have, since prices will likely hold near current levels once the turmoil settles down.

“The practical message for shops is not to wait for lower prices, but to reduce premature failures, consume every available cutting edge, and use only as much carbide as the application requires.”

Scott Pettay, Director of National Accounts, KYOCERA SGS

This article focuses on the last approach—making the most of your cutting tools by maximizing their life and effectiveness.

How Carbide Costs Have Changed

Before we dive in, it’s important to understand how carbide costs have shifted since last year. One data point comes from the latest Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR), a collaboration of the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT) and the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI).

It states that domestic cutting tool shipments totaled $270.5 million in June of this year, up 31.7 percent from June 2025, with year-to-date shipments 19.3 percent higher than the same period in 2025.

Such growth seems like good news, leading the more optimistic among us to wonder if the much-vaunted reshoring is at hand. But USCTI President Mike Stokey tempers these hopes: “As I stated in my last update, much of this growth is due to raw material prices skyrocketing, which has caused inflation.”

When Are the Costs of Carbide Expected to Come Down?

Stokey goes on to explain that USCTI’s leadership team has been active in Washington, D.C., leading to a ruling from the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security that should help increase tungsten carbide supplies. “The outlook for the remainder of 2026 remains cautiously optimistic,” he concludes.

Scott Pettay, director of national accounts with KYOCERA SGS, offers a related perspective. “Regarding carbide pricing, our experience has been that costs remain elevated and volatile, particularly for carbide rod and other tungsten-based input,” Pettay says. “I would hesitate to predict when costs will decline because raw material pricing and availability remain difficult to forecast. The practical message for shops is not to wait for lower prices, but to reduce premature failures, consume every available cutting edge, and use only as much carbide as the application requires.”

Expert Tips to Manage Carbide Costs

With that in mind, Pettay’s team and other cutting tool experts share their best tips for how shops can sharpen their carbide discipline, make smarter purchasing decisions, and boost throughput, part quality and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).

Reduce, Recondition, Recycle

Brandon Hull, vice president of product management and business development with Guhring, recommends reconditioning solid carbide tools whenever possible to extend their life. “Most solid carbide tools can be reconditioned a minimum of three times before needing to scrap the tool,” he says. “And once tools can no longer be reconditioned, shops should utilize carbide recycling programs to recover value from the spent material.”

Broc Bryson, one of MSC’s strategic account leaders, points to the bins full of “scrap” carbide that many shops have tucked away in the crib somewhere—tooling that has often been discarded prematurely. “In my experience, they’ll find inserts with unused corners, end mills that are far from dull, and similar evidence that shops should behave differently toward their cutting tools,” he says.

Bryson suggests that a shop’s most experienced people should lead this work, ideally with newcomers watching and learning about wear patterns and failure modes. “And when the day comes to ship that carbide to the recycler, beware of fraud! I’ve heard stories of nefarious people trying to get your carbide and then failing to send the payment.”

Use a Microscope to Understand Tool Wear and Usage

Bryson also points to the microscope as a simple way to inspect tool wear and teach others what they’re looking at. “You can also get ‘wear posters’ from many of the cutting tool manufacturers to hang up around the shop,” he says. “These people are usually willing to come on-site and spend time teaching your people as well.”

Brian Wilshire, Kyocera SG’s senior applications engineering manager for indexable tools, agrees. “A microscope is one of the simplest tools a shop can use to reduce carbide spending,” he says. “Examining the cutting edge helps determine whether a tool reached its normal end of life or was removed because of chipping, built-up edge, thermal cracking, runout, vibration, or another correctable condition. Without that analysis, shops can continue replacing tools without addressing the actual cause of failure.”

Use the Right Insert for the Job

Kyocera SGS application engineer Tyler Martin flags an often-overlooked hack: using inserts with a smaller inscribed circle (IC), especially for finishing applications. “It has little or no effect on tool life, surface quality or productivity, but significantly reduces the amount of carbide purchased without compromising the operation,” he says. “I also tell customers to use narrower cut-off inserts whenever the part diameter and application allow.”

Wilshire agrees, noting that trigon-shaped turning inserts offer more usable edges than the conventional 80-degree diamond most shops default to. Shops attached to their CNMG roughers can still extract extra value by pairing them with a holder that uses the opposite 100-degree edge—a good solution for shaft turning and heavy facing work.

“Similarly, consider square and round inserts for these kinds of rough turning operations,” Wilshire says. “They offer more edges, and as with the example just cited, the chip thinning effect supports higher feed rates and longer tool life.”

Standardize Around Multi-Application Tools

William Sebring, vice president of KYOCERA SGS’s Technical Center (R&D), says standardizing on a smaller set of end mill sizes, flute counts and geometries can reduce inventory and simplify tool management.

“In addition, implementing high-efficiency milling strategies where applicable can reduce tool wear and consumption,” Sebring says. “That’s because the reduced radial engagement and greater axial depth distribute wear more evenly across the entire cutting edge.”

He also advises minimizing tool runout to ensure even wear across all cutting edges. In addition, selecting and maintaining the proper tool holder provides significant benefits—specifically through regular holder cleaning, correct collet selection, proper tightening torque and keeping the gage length as short as possible.

Each expert also emphasizes the need for regular operator training, knowledge sharing and a documented approach to the “who, what, why, when and how” of cutting tool replacement.

As Guhring’s Hull says, “It’s crucial to work with your cutting tool suppliers and look for opportunities to reduce cycle time and improve overall productivity. Continuous improvement like this is often the best way to reduce overall tooling costs.”