The term "tool steel" refers to a variety of carbon and alloy steels that are particularly useful in knife manufacturing. It is characterized by high hardness, good wear resistance, good toughness, and good brittle resistance under high temperature conditions. These characteristics make them ideal for making a variety of cutting tools, such as reamers, drill bits, machine dies and hand tools.
They are divided into many categories based on their characteristics and makeup. There are seven main types of tool steel: water-hardened tool steel, hot work tool steel, cold work tool steel, earthquake-resistant tool steel, mold steel, high-speed steel and special-purpose tool steel.
The presence of carbide-forming elements such as chromium, vanadium, molybdenum, and tungsten is the main identification mark of high-speed tool steel. Adding Co and Ni can improve the high temperature performance of the material. Tool steel is generally heat treated for use in stamping, forming, shearing, cutting and plastic forming of metals.
