Average Tungsten Carbide Price

180-day market: price lists from 3 yards. As of 2/17/2026.
$10.63/ lb -$0.45 (10.8%)
GT = Gross Ton (2240 lbs)
Avg: $10.63
Lowest price $9.50
Highest price$11.75Who pays the most? ⟶
How to read a yard's offer
  • Low (up to $9.50): Floor price, typically for small loads.
  • Mid ($10.63): A fair deal for standard quantities.
  • High ($11.75+): Top-dollar rate. Offered for large commercial loads or by the most competitive buyers.
52-week price range
Over the past year, prices ranged from $5.00 to $12.55.
Mar '25Jun '25Sep '25Dec '25Today
Market snapshot
Stable market. Prices have held steady over the past 6 months.
Pricing verified from 3 live board rates (out of 4 local buyers tracked).

Top Scrap Yards Buying Tungsten Carbide New Jersey

Don't let this high-value material get tossed in with cheap steel. Compare the payouts from these local buyers in New Jersey, ensure your carbide is separated from standard tooling, and always call ahead to lock in their current rates.

💼 Scrap yard owners: Post your buy prices and get more customers
By price
By date
Updated 32 days ago

Sgt. Scrap

Listed as: Carbide Inserts / Shapes
9105 Burrough Dover Ln, Pennsauken, NJ 08110 Get Directions
$5.00 / lb
Updated 141 days ago

Rockaway Recycling

Listed as: Carbide Inserts & Shapes
311 W Main St, Rockaway, NJ 07866 Get Directions
$11.75 / lb
Updated 148 days ago

ADJ Metals

Listed as: Carbide Inserts/Shapes
14 Broad St Suite 205 Get Directions
$9.50 / lb
Updated 665 days ago

Sgt. Scrap

Listed as: Carbide Inserts / Shapes
610 Crescent Blvd, Gloucester City, NJ 08030 Get Directions
$5.00 / lb

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Tungsten Carbide vs. Other High-Temp Alloys

The #1 rule at scrap yards: if you mix grades, they’ll weigh everything at the lowest rate. See the price gap below — if you have higher-value metal, always sort and weigh each grade separately to avoid leaving money on the table.

Tantalum Based on 2 scrap yards
Avg price:$9.00 / lb
Trend (30d): 0.0%
Price analytics
Welding Copper Estimated U.S. prices
Avg price:$2.47 / lb
Trend (30d): 0.0%
Price analytics

Tungsten Carbide Historical Price Trends

This chart shows where the market is headed. If the line is climbing, prices are rising — you might get a better deal in a few days. If it’s dropping, don’t wait: sell today before yards lower their buy prices further.

Tungsten Carbide Scrap Price History — Daily Data

A day-by-day market snapshot in exact numbers. Every day we aggregate buy prices from local scrap yards, recording the average, low, and high. Use this table to track real price movement over recent days.

DateAvg price (per lb)ChangeRange (Low/High)
2/17/2026$5.00 / lb-$6.75$5.00 - $5.00
10/31/2025$11.75 / lb+$2.25$11.75 - $11.75
10/24/2025$9.50 / lb+$1.00$9.50 - $9.50
10/8/2025$8.50 / lb-$1.40$8.50 - $8.50
9/29/2025$9.90 / lb+$0.50$9.90 - $9.90
9/26/2025$9.40 / lb-$0.50$9.40 - $9.40
9/25/2025$9.90 / lb+$0.50$9.90 - $9.90
9/10/2025$9.40 / lb+$0.50$9.40 - $9.40
9/7/2025$8.90 / lb-$3.65$8.90 - $8.90
8/14/2025$12.55 / lb+$1.00$12.55 - $12.55
7/29/2025$11.55 / lb+$1.05$11.55 - $11.55
7/21/2025$10.50 / lb+$0.50$10.50 - $10.50
7/1/2025$10.00 / lb+$0.55$10.00 - $10.00
5/17/2025$9.45 / lb+$1.95$9.45 - $9.45
4/29/2025$7.50 / lb-$1.55$7.50 - $7.50
4/20/2025$9.05 / lb+$2.30$9.05 - $9.05
1/23/2025$6.75 / lb+$0.05$6.75 - $6.75
11/13/2024$6.70 / lb-$0.20$6.70 - $6.70
10/12/2024$6.90 / lb-$0.85$6.90 - $6.90
8/15/2024$7.75 / lb+$1.00$7.75 - $7.75
5/29/2024$6.75 / lb+$1.75$6.75 - $6.75
5/25/2024$5.00 / lb-$2.25$5.00 - $5.00
5/22/2023$7.25 / lb-$0.50$7.25 - $7.25
7/6/2022$7.75 / lb-$0.25$7.75 - $7.75
5/30/2022$8.00 / lb+$1.75$8.00 - $8.00
10/29/2020$6.25 / lb+$0.75$6.25 - $6.25
8/9/2020$5.50 / lb+$1.50$5.50 - $5.50
5/12/2020$4.00 / lb-$1.00$4.00 - $4.00
4/8/2020$5.00 / lb-$0.75$5.00 - $5.00
12/16/2019$5.75 / lb-$2.00$5.75 - $5.75
8/23/2018$7.75 / lb+$0.25$7.75 - $7.75

Cash in on the Heaviest Scrap: Tungsten Carbide

Tungsten carbide is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the machine shop floor. It is insanely dense, incredibly hard, and commands a massive premium over standard scrap. Our data shows that yards are currently paying anywhere from $9.50 for dirty or mixed loads up to $11.75 for clean, solid material, with a national average hovering around $10.42. If you are cleaning out a CNC shop or hauling worn mining bits in New Jersey, treating this material like regular scrap is a fast way to get ripped off at the scale.

Yard Pro Tip: Not sure if that end mill or drill bit is solid Tungsten Carbide or just standard High-Speed Steel (HSS)? Check the weight and hit it with a grinder. Carbide is almost twice as heavy as standard steel. On a grinding wheel, carbide throws very short, dark red sparks, whereas standard HSS throws long, bright yellow-orange sparks. Carbide is also extremely brittle—a hard strike with a hammer will shatter an insert, while steel will just dent.

Sorting Guide: Stop Giving Away Your Profit

The golden rule of scrapping specialty metals is simple: the yard will always pay you the rate of the cheapest metal in your bucket. Tossing your valuable carbide inserts into a bin of Tool Steel & Stainless is a massive rookie mistake. Doing so will cost you a staggering $10.23 per pound in lost value. Buyers offer top dollar only when the material is prepped and strictly segregated.

ConditionWhat It IsPayout Expectation
Clean SolidInserts, solid end mills, dies (no steel attached)Top tier, near $11.75
BrazedCarbide tips welded to steel shanks (mining/road teeth)Downgraded, near $9.50
Sludge/SwarfGrinding dust from sharpening carbide toolsRequires specialty buyers

Spotting Carbide in the Wild

You will find this metal wherever extreme wear resistance is required. Look for it in machine shop dumpsters, oil and gas drilling equipment, road milling machines, and heavy metalworking dies. While hunting for carbide, keep an eye out for other premium materials used in extreme environments, like Inconel, Hastelloy, or Cobalt & High Temp Alloys. For reference, those high-temp alloys are currently trading around $2.40 to $5.00/lb. Always keep these superalloys in their own dedicated containers to maximize your payout.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Tungsten Carbide payout lower than the national average?

If your material still has steel shanks attached (brazed carbide) or is heavily contaminated with oil and regular steel chips, yards will downgrade your load. Clean, solid inserts fetch prices closer to the $10.42 mark.

How do local prices compare to the index?

Scrap yards typically pay about 15% below the COMEX spot price. This margin accounts for sorting, handling, and freight costs required to ship the heavy material to specialized processors.

Can I sell carbide sludge or swarf?

Yes, but not every standard yard buys it. Sludge requires extensive refining to separate the carbide from the coolant and grinding wheel debris, so buyers offer a lower rate than they do for solid scrap, and you often need to route it directly to a specialty alloy buyer.