Tungsten Carbide

S

Sierra280

Moderator
Okay, so I have a big event coming up. I told my better half my spending limit, so she could pick out her own ring (so she could get what she really wants). She saw what I picked out and loved the look, asked me what it was 'tungsten carbide' I said. She wanted to know what it was used for so I explained how it was first used by the Luftwaffe anti tank division, and has been used in modern times for industrial tooling and as an armor piercing projectile when depleted uranium is either unavailable or impractical. Then it hit me, armor piercing round? So I grabbed one and took a photo, looks the same to me! Although less bling, as the ring is actually cemented tungsten carbide (basically tungsten carbide impregnated nickel). Here's the photo:image.jpg

Before any one asks it's a 50BMG SLAP round. (Saboted Light Armor Penetrator)
 
Standard ring cutters won't touch those things, so if you smash your finger hard enough for it to swell signifcantly, you might be looking at an amputation.
 
One good thing about tungsten carbide rings is that if you hit it with a hammer it will shatter into a million pieces. Ive got one, but seldom wear my wedding ring.
 
HAD a tungsten carbine wedding ring. Looked great, nothing could scratch it. Then it fell out of my fingers when I was taking it off at a TSA checkpoint and it shattered into 3 pieces when it hit the tile floor.

Hardness usually also means brittleness. So do be careful with the thing and don't drop it onto a hard surface.

And yeah, watch out if you wear it while shooting because it's so hard it WILL scratch up the front strap of a pistol; while I'm a righty that usually wasn't an issue unless I was working on weak hand drills. Make sure you take it off or wear a glove while shooting if it is on your strong hand.
 
That's great info about eating front pistol straps, I'm a righty and I primarily shoot rifles but now I will certainly be careful (especially when my offhand is against a nice piece of wood).

As for the potential hazard, I can't wear it while I'm working. As a mechanic, it's an occupational hazard. There was a guy in tech school who refused to take off his gold wedding band; digging through a wiring harness it grounded out--partially melted on his finger:eek:
 
Yea, you need to watch the ring around items that may be scratched, gouged, or chipped easily. When I work on firearms, I have to take mine off to keep it from damaging the finish. But, being right handed, my wedding ring rarely has a chance to contact metal while shooting (left hand, of course).

If I used the wrap-around, over-the-slide technique with my semi-auto handguns (especially the Buckmark) they would probably have some notable damage to the slides or top straps. But, I don't. So, all is well.

The only time it really comes into play while shooting, is while reloading double-action revolvers. Since I tend to cradle the revolver with my left hand and load it with the right, it puts the TC ring on the cylinder or under the frame (depending on the size of the revolver).


As for the potential hazard, I can't wear it while I'm working. As a mechanic, it's an occupational hazard. There was a guy in tech school who refused to take off his gold wedding band; digging through a wiring harness it grounded out--partially melted on his finger
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My high school Auto Shop teacher used to raid the school's lost and found at the end of each school year, for gold and silver rings that were unclaimed. He'd use them in arc/short demonstrations during the electrical safety portion of the course (and then send the remnants upstairs to the teacher that taught a jewelry course - a win-win).

I saw plenty of photos and even a few first-hand examples of people ignoring the safety rules while I was in the military; but that Auto Shop demonstration with a wrench shorting a car battery through a gold band is the one I remember the most. ;)
 
Many emergency rooms and first responders now have "crackers" that are designed specifically to remove ceramic and tungsten carbide rings.

Lacking that device, the same thing can be done, only more slowly, with Vise Grip pliars.


That said, this discussion is really wavering all over the place.

Let's try to keep it about firearms, and not so much about finger amputations and jewelry...
 
Let's try to keep it about firearms, and not so much about finger amputations and jewelry...
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Man, Mike never lets us have any fun at all... :(


I do remember something about certain firearm finishes being incredibly hard (such as Glock's Tennifer process)... while I rather doubt those would be harder than tungsten carbide, does anybody know where those rank on the hardness scale?

On the Mohs hardness scale, diamond is at the top end with a 10 rating (there's some stuff above that, but no point in mentioning it here). Tungsten carbine is right below it at 9-9.5 hardness. Gold and silver are way down there in the 2.5-3 range. Nickel (not that many places use nickel finish anymore) is 4, and steel in the 4-5 range. But as for any funky coatings, I'm not sure where those would end up.
 
Standard ring cutters won't touch those things, so if you smash your finger hard enough for it to swell signifcantly, you might be looking at an amputation.
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Just take something hard(Hammer, wrench, ect) and bang it against it. It will shatter pretty easily. That, or just go to the hospital, they can get it off pretty easily.
 
Hardness is not abrasion resistance !! TC is used for tire studs for ice to cutting tools to rings [??? why ] Other types of cabide are formed in knives [chrome, vanadium etc] for abrasion resistance.
 
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