Tungsten carbide is extensively used as a cutting tool for machining and in armor-piercing ammunition. It is also used in farriery, the shoeing of horses as well as to improve traction on slippery surfaces like roads or ice. It finds application in nuclear reactors as an effective neutron reflector. It is also used for making surgical instruments meant for open surgery such as scissors, forceps, hemostats, blade-handles and in laparoscopic surgery instruments such as graspers, cutter, needle holder and cautery. Further, it also used to make the rotating ball in the tips of ballpoint pens, bridal jewelry, and gauge blocks, which is useful for producing precision lengths in dimensional metrology.
