Patent ID: 7703555

Claim:
A device for use in drilling subterranean formations, the device comprising: a first structure; a second structure secured to the first structure along an interface; a bonding material disposed between the first structure and the second structure at the interface, the bonding material securing the first structure and the second structure together; and an abrasive wear-resistant material disposed on a surface of the device, at least a continuous portion of the wear-resistant material being bonded to a surface of the first structure and a surface of the second structure and extending over the interface between the first structure and the second structure and covering the bonding material, the abrasive wear-resistant material comprising: a matrix material having a melting temperature of less than about 1100° C.; a plurality of sintered tungsten carbide pellets substantially randomly dispersed throughout the matrix material, wherein a chemical composition of each pellet of the plurality of sintered tungsten carbide pellets is at least substantially homogenous throughout each respective pellet and wherein each pellet of the plurality of sintered tungsten carbide pellets has a first average hardness in a central region of the pellet and a second average hardness in a peripheral region of the pellet, the second hardness being greater than about 99% of the first hardness, the first hardness and the second hardness being different; and a plurality of cast tungsten carbide granules substantially randomly dispersed throughout the matrix material.