You Can't Go Wrong With Carbide And Proper Care
Steel and iron often get the lion's share of the "tough metal" praise, but carbide should be on your radar, too. If you're creating a home workshop and are looking at tools, those with carbide tips or inserts should be at the top of your list. Carbide is an efficient cutting material, and a sharp carbide insert can last for much longer than those other tough materials like steel blades. But as usual, proper care and use are essential.
Not All Carbide
Carbide itself is very good at cutting and very durable when placed under the stress of use, but it is also kind of fragile. A big, heavy tool made from all carbide could actually crack a lot more easily than one made from another metal. Tools that are made from other materials, like steel, and that have carbide inserts give you the best combination of strength and endurance.
Replaceable Tips
If possible, find tools where you can replace the carbide tips, or replace just one part when the carbide wears rather than replacing the entire tool. Carbide is very sharp, but it does wear down, and it has the odd characteristic of wearing down increasingly fast as it wears down -- in other words, the greater the current wear, the faster future wear can happen.
Carbide also has an increased risk of having material bind to it, turning the sharp point into a lump that doesn't cut very smoothly. Because it usually cuts metal, removing the metal bits is nearly impossible. Being able to remove the damaged or worn carbide inserts and adding new ones would save you time and money.
Custom Parts
One proactive step you might want to take is finding a company that makes custom carbide inserts and tips, for two reasons. One, if the company that made the tool stops making parts for that model, you can get custom parts made and keep using that same tool instead of buying a new one. Two, if you've been using the tool for a long time and have noticed that there seem to be some minor variances (ones that don't really affect operation but that do make generic parts harder to fit), you can try to get inserts made that fit your tool specifically.
Despite that list of things that could go wrong, carbide is one of the best materials available for cutting tools. Custom parts can help keep your workshop humming for years. To learn more, contact a company like Olson Carbide.
