Sintered ceramic bodies and applications thereof

Sintered ceramic bodies are described which, in some embodiments, demonstrate improved resistance to wear and enhanced cutting lifetimes. A sintered ceramic body is disclosed comprises tungsten carbide (WC) in an amount of 40-95 weight percent, alumina in an amount of 5-30 weight percent and ditungsten carbide (W2C) in an amount of at least 1 weight percent. The ceramic may also comprise zirconia, an oxide of rare earth elements such as ytterbium, aluminium oxynitride Group VB metal carbides, chromium carbide and ZrNbC. A sintered ceramic body is disclosed comprises tungsten carbide (WC) in an amount of 40-95 weight percent, alumina in an amount of 1-40 weight percent and one or more compounds containing titanium and molybdenum. A sintered ceramic body is disclosed comprises tungsten carbide (WC) in an amount of 40-95 weight percent, and aluminium oxynitride (AlON).