Tool Steel Specification and Information

The term tool steel is a generic description of steel which has been developed specifically for tooling applications. Generally speaking, Tool steel are known for their distinctive toughness, resistance to abrasion, their ability to hold a cutting edge, and/or their resistance to deformation at elevated temperature (red-hardness). Some of the operations that tool steel are used in include Drawing, Blanking, Mold Inserts, Stamping, Metal Slitting, Forming and Embossing, although they are not limited to just those areas.

Tool Steel are produced in the annealed condition for ease of machining. After machining, the steel is heat-treated and quenched depending upon the type of steel being used. The heat treating and quenching operations increase the toughness and strength of the material. There are three classes of tool steel generally available in the market today – cold work, hot work, and high speed steel.

Cold Work steel have high strength, hardenability, impact toughness, and wear resistance. As the name would imply, they are used in environments with lower operating temperature, typically at 400° or less. The materials that we carry that fall into the Cold Work category are O1, A2, D2, >S7 and W1.

Hot work steels have many of the same properties of cold working steel, with the added advantage that that those properties are retained at elevated operating temperatures where the tool literally becomes red-hot.

High speed steel have all of the properties listed above, but retain those properties in operating areas where the temperatures exceed 1000° F.

1.2080 | 1.2083 | 1.2311 | 1.2344 | 1.2363 | 1.2379 | 1.2436 | 1.2510 | 1.2550 | 1.2767 | 1.2842 | 1.3343
AISI O1 | AISI W1 | AISI D2 | AISI D3 | AISI D6 | AISI A2 | AISI H13|AISI S1 | AISI S7 | AISI P20|AISI M2 | AISI M42

1.2510	1.2510 is an oil hardening tool steel which hardens at a relatively low temperature with minimum distortion.
1.2379	1.2379 is a werkstoff tool steel giving a good hardness with added toughness. This steel can be vacuum hardened when minimum distortion is required.
1.2080	1.2080 werkstoff tool steel has a high carbon, high chromium content which attains a high hardness giving good abrasion resistance.
1.2436	1.2436 achieves a high hardness with good abrasion resistance similar to Werkstoff tool steel grade 1.2080.
1.2363	1.2363 is an air hardening wekstoff tool steel. It characteristics are its high abrasion resistance with good toughness.
1.2344	1.2344 is a hot work tool steel. This Werkstoff tool steel is air hardening with very little distortion.
1.2550	1.2550 is a tough and shock resisting Werkstoff tool steel, with good abrasion resistance. When hardened 1.2550 tool steel has a good cutting ability with great toughness
1.2311	1.2311 is a pre-hardened high tensile steel which is readily machineable. Also available with a higher sulpher content as Werkstoff grade 1.2312.
1.2767	1.2767 is a 4 1/4% nickel steel, which achieves a good through hardness. 1.2767 is capable of taking a good polish and is commonly used as a plastic mould steel.
1.3343	1.3343 is a Werkstoff grade high speed steel, which offers good wear resistance with superior toughness and machineability.
1.2083	1.2083 is a Werkstoff 13% chromium stainless steel plastic mould steel which will achieve a high hardness. It gives a good polish and is resistant to attack from corrosive plastics.
1.2842	1.2842 is an oil hardening tool steel which gives high surface hardness after tempering.

O1 tool steel	General purpose oil hardening tool steel which hardens at a relatively low temperature with minimum distortion.
W1 tool steel	1.1545 is a water-hardening tool steel that is easy to machine..
D2 tool steel	High carbon high chromium tool steel giving a good hardness with added toughness. This steel can be vacuum hardened when minimum distortion is required.
D3 tool steel	Similar steel to D2 tool steel, this steel attains a slightly higher hardness and has good abrasion resistance.
D6 tool steel	Popular European high carbon high chromium tool steel, with high hardness achievability and good abrasion resistance, akin to D3 tool steel.
A2 tool steel	Air hardening tool steel which is easier to machine than D2 or D3 but offers high abrasion resistance with good toughness.
H13 tool steel	5% chromium hot work tool steel. This steel is air hardening with very little distortion. H13 tool steel can be vacuum hardened and may be water cooled in service.
S1 tool steel	Excellent tough and shock resisting tool steel, with good abrasion resistance. When hardened S1 has a good cutting ability with great toughness
S7 tool steel	Hi-shock tool steel is an excellent chock steel that can be and is often used in hot work applications where the tool temperature does not exceed 1000 deg. F.
P20 tool steel	Pre-hardened high tensile steel which is readily machineable. P20 can also give a higher hardness than its supply condition and can be nitrided.
M2 high speed steel	General purpose high speed steel. M2 which offer good wear resistance and superior toughness and machineability.
M42 high speed steel	A high quality cobalt molybdenum high speed steel, suitable cor components that require high hardness and superior cutting performance.