We have investigated the DLVO surface forces of oxidized tungsten and cobalt surfaces using the atomic force microscope (AFM) colloidal probe technique. It was shown by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrokinetic measurements that this model system is representative of industrial tungsten carbide (WC) and cobalt powders used in the production of hard metals. We found that the attractive van der Waals forces are well described by Hamaker constants, calculated from optical data for WO3 and CoOOH. The repulsive electrostatic double layer forces between WO3 surfaces increase with increasing pH due to an increasingly negative surface potential. This surface potential decreases with increasing ionic strength at pH 7.5. The electrostatic interaction between WO3 and CoOOH is attractive at pH 10, suggesting a positively charged CoOOH surface.