Tool steel grades

Tool steels

Tool steel grades used in cutlery : A, D, O, M, T, S, L, W. See also AISI Tool Steel Grades.

The following are steel/" target="_blank" class="keylink">tool steels, which are steel/" target="_blank" class="keylink">alloy steels commonly used to produce hardened cutting tools:

Alphanumeric series

The "alphanumeric series" is only labeled to briefly describe a property in that particular steel. One should not confuse them to be related other than the fact that they are steel/" target="_blank" class="keylink">tool steels and that most of them are produced by bohler-uddelholm. Alphanumeric only means that they name always contains (and start with) a letter.

A-2, a steel that trades wear resistance for toughness. It is used in custom made fighting knives by makers such as Phill Hartsfield, Mike Snody and John Fitzen (Razor Edge US).

A-3, (No description available)

A-4, (No description available)

A-5, (No description available)

A-6, This grade of steel/" target="_blank" class="keylink">tool steel air-hardens at a relatively low temperature (approximately the same temperature as oil-hardening grades) and is dimensionally stable. Therefore it is commonly used for dies, forming tools, and gauges that do not require extreme wear resistance but do need high stability.

A-7, (No description available)

A-8, (No description available)

A-9, (No description available)

A-10, This grade contains a uniform distribution of graphite particles to increase machinability and provide self-lubricating properties. It is commonly used for gauges, arbors, shears, and punches.[5]

D-2, has a high chrome content of 12.00%, it is called "semi-stainless", because of the lack of free Chromium in solution. While not as tough as premium carbon steels, it is much tougher than premium stainless steels.

O-1, popular forging steel. Good wear resistance and edge stability. Relatively tough, but not as much as A2 or 5160.[6] It is most commonly used by Randall Knives, Mad Dog Knives,[7] and many other custom knife makers.

M2, slightly tougher than D-2. Capable of keeping a tempered edge at high temperatures. However, it is hardly used anymore in factory production knives, CPM M4 is becoming more popular. Custom knife makers still use it for knives intended for fine cutting with very thin edges.

T1 (No description available)

T2 (No description available)

S-1 (No description available)

W-1, water hardening steel/" target="_blank" class="keylink">tool steel.High carbon content.

W-2, steel/" target="_blank" class="keylink">tool steel, holds edge quite well. Not very tough. Has a carbon content of 1.5.