As described above, iron-base hardfacing alloys are more widely used than cobalt- and/or nickel-base hardfacing alloys and constitute the largest volume use of hardfacing alloys. Iron-base hardfacing alloys offer low cost and a broad range of desirable properties. Most equipment that undergoes severe wear, such as crushing and grinding equipment and earthmoving equipment, is usually very large and rugged. Parts subjected to wear usually require downtime for repair. For this reason, there is a general temptation to hardface them with the lowest cost and most readily available materials. As a result, literally hundreds of iron-base hardfacing alloys are in use today.