The cutting edge hardness of carbide ranges from 77 to 81 HRC. solid carbide cutting tools, such as drills and end mills, are thermally stable and offer high resistance to abrasive wear. Carbide is brittle, however, and rough handling, misuse, or misalignment can lead to broken tools and/or poor tool life.

Rigid setups and accurate spindles are necessary for peak performance.

Carbide is more expensive then steel so larger solid carbide tools tend to be more expensive, but at Chiltern Tooling we keep the prices low.