Replacement lyman trimmer heads, standard or carbide?

[crawford769]

There were mixed reviews for both on midway, is the carbide worth the money or do the standard ones hold up decent for the substantially lower price?   The carbide is 5x the price. 

[wncchester]

 
I have one of the original Lyman Universal Trimmers and it's on it's second standard cutter.  Which you need to get depends on what you expect to do.  The steel cutters are hardened and sharper, they will last a long time and will do a few thousand case trims nicely.   The carbide cutters aren't quite as sharp but will cut tens of thousands of cases.  Either cutter will last longer if everything you cut isn't the same diameter.
 

[sr sawyer]

Don't think the carbide cutters were availabe fot my Lyman when I bought my replacement several years back.  Actually bought an additional because I was trimming cases for the .30 Herrett and this requires a lot of trimming and had a carbide been available I would have purchased it
 
I am a journeyman carpenter and I never buy non carbide tipped cutters unless they are not available for the tools or blades I am using.  My experience with carbide cutters is they are sharper, cut smoother, and last longer.
 
Carbide cutters are worth the price. JMO.
 
Ken