Which is stronger - titanium or cobalt?

A2A. Honestly, I have no idea about the relative strength or weakness of cobalt vs Titanium as metals. The reason is cobalt is not used (as far as I know) as a pure metal. read more

Cobalt is commonly used as an alloying agent in high speed steel to produce a tool steel that maintains hardness and sharpness at higher temperatures than would otherwise be possible. If you are asking about “cobalt drill bits” vs “titanium drill bits” you are probably asking about cobalt-alloyed high speed steel drill bits vs high speed steel drill bits coated with “titanium nitride” (aka TiN). read more

Cobalt bits are the way to go. The titanium-nitride coated bits (it's not just straight titanium coating) are really designed more for CNC use where lots of closely controlled holes are drilled. Used in a hand drill, it's not hard to break through the coating and then you just have a plain HSS bit. read more

Titanium has a much darker complexion than cobalt, which could be the deciding factor in your choice between cobalt chrome and titanium. Hardness: As mentioned in the detailing of cobalt and titanium's scratch resistance, both metals have a similar hardness. But it was noted that cobalt was just a bit harder than titanium. read more