Tungsten carbide is a dense, metal-like substance, light gray with a bluish tinge, that decomposes, rather than melts, at 2,600º C (4,700º F). It is prepared by heating powdered tungsten with carbon black in the presence of hydrogen at 1,400º-1,600º C (2,550º-2,900º F). For fabrication, a process developed in the 1920s is employed: the ...