Carbide vs. Stainless Steel vs. “Heat Treated” Endpin tips

Occasionally cellists or bass players ask me if Saddle Rider makes Carbide (i.e. Tungsten Carbide) endpin tips. Yes, we do! But I generally don’t use them myself. Here’s why: Carbide is an impressive material. It is available in different hardness ratings and qualities. Just like the surgical stainless steel we use in our standard-issue endpin tips, carbide can be ground to an extremely sharp point. This is important because, in our experience, the sharper the endpin tip, the better it allows an instrument to resonate and the more secure a player feels when performing. The problem with carbide arises when tips chip or dull over time as they eventually do. Even the most careful cellist will inadvertently place a carbide tip on a hard stone floor, catching it with just the right angle and force to chip it. And the sharper the carbide point is, the more likely it is to chip. To see an example of this phenomenon, take a look at the lower two carbide tips embedded in brass in the attached photo. Both of these “famous brand” Silicon Nitride endpins were traded in by professional cellists for Saddle Rider endpins made of other materials. The embedded tips are tungsten carbide in both the upper Saddle Rider stainless steel tips and the lower brass tips by the “famous brand”.)

The upper of the two “famous brand” endpins is fairly new and wasn’t used long by its owner. The lower one shows what happens after a season or two toting it to various venues and stages. It no longer has the point of a new endpin and, unfortunately, can’t be sharpened without expensive and sophisticated diamond tooling. Conversely, a sharp traditional stainless steel tip can also hold up for years on wooden stages yet can easily be resharpened with a hand file after encounters with stone or concrete. For tonal reasons, I routinely use standard stainless steel endpin tips on stone (just like Pablo Casals!) but resharpen them as needed with a hand file.

So called “heat hardened steel” can be the most frustrating of all the options. It isn’t as hard as carbide and will dull sooner, but still can’t be sharpened with a hand file. In our experience, when encountering a dull “heat hardened steel” endpin tip, the best way to sharpen it is with a rotary grinder. The heat from grinding removes its temper allowing future sharpening with a hand file. Fortunately, many brands that advertise “heat hardened” steel tips are actually not using the types of “Martensitic” stainless steels that can be tempered with heat. A simple way to check: Does the endpin tip attract a magnet? If not, it’s not martensitic and wasn’t “heat hardened” as advertised.

So, for cellists or bassists who have the irresistible urge to engrave rock with their endpins, try Saddle Rider’s carbide steel endpin tips pictured here! We use the highest grade of carbide available with a tip design that can hold up to years of abuse without chipping or dulling. But, if you want a tough tip you can hone to a razor’s edge with a hand file, check out our standard surgical stainless steel endpin tip options. We currently offer them in 10 mm, 12.7 mm (1/2 inch), 16 mm (5/8 inch) options, and this summer will be introducing 8 mm and 12 mm as well to the lineup for both bass and cello (threaded and unthreaded.)