How do you calculate the scrap-versus-recondition score?

Weight severity by 0.40, recurrence by 0.35, and detectability by 0.25, then sum. With severity 6, recurrence 4, and detectability 3, the risk score is 4.55.

What score means scrap the tool?

Set a shop cutoff, commonly around 6-7 on a 10-point scale. A 4.55 result sits in the recondition-favorable range; scores climbing toward 7 signal the tool is a repeat failure risk and scrapping may be cheaper.

Why is severity weighted highest?

Because catastrophic wear or a cracked flute can ruin a customer's part or scrap a workpiece, severity carries the largest 40% weight. A high severity score dominates the result even if recurrence and detectability are low.

What does the detectability score capture?

How reliably you can catch the defect before regrind. A high detectability score means the flaw is hard to spot, which raises risk because a bad tool could pass through; it is weighted 25%.

Can I change the weights?

The default 40/35/25 split reflects severity-first triage. If your failures are dominated by recurring wear rather than dramatic damage, you may lean recurrence heavier, but keep weights summing to 100% and apply them consistently.

Scrap-versus-recondition score vs a simple cost comparison, which is better?

Use both. The risk score flags whether the tool will fail again; a cost comparison tells you if regrinding is cheaper than replacement. A low risk score plus favorable cost means recondition; a high score overrides cost and says scrap.

Tool Sharpening, Reconditioning & Industrial Repair Services calculator

Scrap Vs Recondition Decision Calculator

The scrap-versus-recondition decision score helps a sharpening shop decide, tool by tool, whether a worn cutter is worth regrinding or should be scrapped. Reconditioning a tool that will fail again wastes grinding time and coating, while scrapping a salvageable tool throws away value. This calculator adapts FMEA-style thinking to that call, weighting how severe the wear or damage is, how often this failure mode recurs on the tool type, and how detectable the defect is before regrind. Estimators and QC leads use the resulting risk score to set a consistent, defensible cutoff instead of judging every tool by gut feel.

What this calculator does

The scrap-versus-recondition decision score helps a sharpening shop decide, tool by tool, whether a worn cutter is worth regrinding or should be scrapped.
Use it when scrap vs recondition decision in tool sharpening, reconditioning and industrial repair services needs a defensible ranking against other tool sharpening, reconditioning and industrial repair services risks for the next review.
It computes a weighted risk score from severity, recurrence, and detectability, with severity weighted 40%, recurrence 35%, and detectability 25%.

Formula used

Scrap Vs Recondition Decision risk score = severity × 0.40 + occurrence × 0.35 + detection × 0.25

Inputs explained

Wear & damage severity:
Recurrence of this failure mode:
Detectability before regrind:

How to use the result

Use it at incoming inspection to triage returned tools, or when standardizing scrap criteria across inspectors so decisions stay consistent.
The score is a decision aid, not a verdict; it depends on honest 1-10 scoring, and edge cases like customer-owned tooling or specialty coatings may warrant overriding the number.

Common questions

How do you calculate the scrap-versus-recondition score? Weight severity by 0.40, recurrence by 0.35, and detectability by 0.25, then sum. With severity 6, recurrence 4, and detectability 3, the risk score is 4.55.
What score means scrap the tool? Set a shop cutoff, commonly around 6-7 on a 10-point scale. A 4.55 result sits in the recondition-favorable range; scores climbing toward 7 signal the tool is a repeat failure risk and scrapping may be cheaper.
Why is severity weighted highest? Because catastrophic wear or a cracked flute can ruin a customer's part or scrap a workpiece, severity carries the largest 40% weight. A high severity score dominates the result even if recurrence and detectability are low.
What does the detectability score capture? How reliably you can catch the defect before regrind. A high detectability score means the flaw is hard to spot, which raises risk because a bad tool could pass through; it is weighted 25%.
Can I change the weights? The default 40/35/25 split reflects severity-first triage. If your failures are dominated by recurring wear rather than dramatic damage, you may lean recurrence heavier, but keep weights summing to 100% and apply them consistently.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.