What is Tungsten and Tungsten Carbide? Tungsten, previously referred to as Heavy Stone, is a very hard and dense metal symbolized by a W or #74 on the periodic elements table that is extracted from Wolframite ore. Tungsten is used as the filament wire in most light bulbs because it melts at an extraordinary 6,200 degrees F. When Tungsten is processed with carbon and other elements it is transformed into Tungsten Carbide (WC) between 8 and 9 on the Mohs hardness scale. A similar formulation of this super hard composite metal has been widely used for over 50 years as a cutting tool for industrial applications. A special formulation of Tungsten Carbide has been used as well for the production of scratch proof wrist watches for nearly forty years