Properties of Tungsten Carbide

For hard materials applications

Tungsten Carbide has a hardness close to diamond. This makes it a commonly used material for applications requiring high strength and wear resistance.

Other tungsten carbide properties include:
high fracture strength high thermal conductivity high resistance to thermal creep	high electrical conductivity high resistance to corrosion high modulus of elasticity

Tungsten carbide is harder than sapphire and retains a superior edge after extensive use. Tungsten carbide is not a metal alloy but the product of powder metallurgy; very fine grains of two materials are mixed and fused under high temperature and pressure.

While the fine knife edge is vulnerable to chipping under lateral forces, this composite material is exceptionally strong in compression, which is the dominant force applied during sectioning.

The hardness of tungsten carbide contributes greatly to its durability when sectioning. Durability depends on many factors including types of sample being cut, frequency of use and care taken in handling the blades.

Thin sectioning ability - Because of the nature of tungsten carbide, there is a minimum section thickness that can be obtained. At grain boundaries the edge is microscopically discontinuous. The size of these discontinuities makes smooth sections below 1µm seemingly impossible as in these thinnest of sections minor knife marks are more apparent. Since contrast in sections below 1µm is very low, thicker sections are preferred for most light microscopy applications.
Embedding materials - Tissues are usually embedded in plastic resins like Histocryl, LR White, Spurr's, glycol-methacrylate or methyl-methacrylate. Resins do not diminish blade life. Curiously, wax is destructive to these extremely hard edges. It seems that wax can pluck particles from the very fine edge and, however soft the wax, it quickly blunts a tungsten carbide edge.

A tungsten carbide or diamond knife is a requirement for sectioning very hard or tough materials. DDK's permanent microtome blades increase productivity on softer specimens, because of the time saving achieved by eliminating frequent changes of disposable steel blades, glass knives or sharpening of steel knives and also the elimination of frequent alignment procedures and the material cost of other knives. Tungsten carbide microtome blades can last for thousands of sections each.

Specifications

Blade edge length range:	2.0-6.0mm
Blade angle:	45 degrees
Section thickness:	500nm-5um
Embedding material:	Epoxy: Epon, Araldite, Spurrs

Resharpening Service

DDK will restore your cutting edge to its original condition to extend the life of your knife. Your resharpened knife will have the same cutting edge length and be backed by the same unconditional guarantee as your original new knife.We will accept knives from any manufacturer and in any condition as an "exchange" knife, enabling you to get a new DDK knife for the resharpening price.Our diamond knives can be resharpened an unlimited number of times because when your diamond is worn, we replace it with a new one at the resharpening price. Ask us about our coupon promotions to provide you with more value for your dollar.

Unconditional Guarantee

All of Delaware Diamond Knives products are completely guaranteed. If for any reason you are unhappy with the product you receive, let us know. We will resolve the problem by repair, replacement or refund in a prompt and helpful manner.