The impressive history of hardmetals starts with the Schröter Patent on WC-Co cemented carbides and was then followed by the first hardmetal company, Krupp-WIDIA. Currently Kennametal in USA, Sandvik in Sweden, and Metallwerk Plansee in Austria are the leading manufacturers of hardmetals. Other carbide and binder combinations characterized further development of hardmetals. TiC-based hardmetals are a great step forward for the machining of steels, as is the introduction of fine-grained hardmetals for a wide spectrum of applications.With rising demands for automation in metal cutting, indexable inserts with complex geometries were developed for applications in lathes and milling centers with computer numerical controls.The introduction of coated hardmetals by chemical and physical vapor deposition greatly enhanced their wear resistance and tool life. Further developments led to aluminum oxide multilayers, and diamond and diamond-like coatings. Additionally, nonmetallic hard materials such as diamond, cubic boron nitride, oxide and nitride ceramics as well as mixed ceramics were introduced. Additionally in this chapter, cermets and their special properties, ultrahard ceramics for special applications, and a short survey of the literature of hardmetals and hard materials are also discussed.