What is the difference between solid carbide and carbide-tipped engraving cutters?
Solid carbide cutters are, as the name implies, made from a solid piece of carbide whereas a carbide tipped-cutter has a small piece of carbide brazed to the end of a steel shank. Antares offers both solid and tipped tools. Both are manufactured using premium micrograin carbide and are ground and sharpened in exactly the same way. Since the cutting is done only with the tip, the cutting qualities are exactly the same for either type of tool. Additionally, we use corrosion resistant, hardened steel shanks on the tipped tools so rusting and set screw marring are virtually eliminated. The only significant difference between the two is the rigidity of the shank itself. Therefore when engraving hard materials such as steel and stainless steel, the solid tools are preferred since the rigidity of the shank can help reduce flexing and vibration. Since the carbide tipped tools are less expensive and extremely effective over a broad range of materials, we recommend these for the majority of the typical engraving applications.
