Tool Steel
Online Metals is your specialist for precision Tool Steel. We offer O1, A2, and D2 grades for making dies, blades, and cutters. With no minimum orders and custom cuts, we supply knifemakers and machinists with the hardenable steel needed for superior edge retention.
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Tool steel is a specialized high-carbon alloy designed to cut, press, and mold other materials, defined by its extraordinary hardness and ability to hold a sharp edge under extreme conditions. It relies on precise heat treatment—often classified by its quenching method (oil, air, or water)—to achieve an optimal balance of wear resistance and toughness, with grades like D2 offering high chromium for semi-stainless durability. While it must be machined in a soft, annealed state before hardening, tool steel is the essential material for industrial manufacturing dies, heavy-duty shear blades, and high-performance cutting tools.
Learn More About Tool Steel
Thinking about using Tool Steel for your next project? These are high-carbon alloy steels designed to cut, press, and mold other materials. To help you pick the right grade for your tool, here are five important factors regarding Tool Steel:
- Hardness and Wear Resistance Tool steels are defined by their ability to hold an edge. Once heat-treated, they become incredibly hard, allowing them to cut softer metals or withstand abrasive wear in stamping dies.
- The Hardening Medium Grades are often named by how they are quenched (cooled).
- O1 (Oil Hardening): Easy to heat treat, minimizes distortion; great for general tools.
- A2 (Air Hardening): Better balance of wear resistance and toughness; distorts very little.
- W1 (Water Hardening): Simple, cheap, gets very hard but can warp/crack easily.
- D2 for High Wear D2 tool steel is famous for its high chromium content. It is "semi-stainless" and offers massive wear resistance, making it a favorite for industrial shear blades and high-end knife making.
- Machining Before Hardening You must machine your part while the steel is in its "annealed" (soft) state. Once you heat treat it, it becomes too hard to cut with standard drill bits or end mills and must be ground to finish.
- Toughness vs. Hardness Trade-off Generally, the harder the steel, the more brittle it becomes. Shock-resisting tool steels (like S7) trade some hardness for extreme toughness to survive impacts (like in a jackhammer bit).
Some common uses for Tool Steel:
- Custom knives and blades
- Stamping dies and punches
- Machine cutters and drill bits
- Woodworking chisels
- Hammers and axes
- Injection molds
How Online Metals Can Help You Online Metals makes it easy to find exactly what materials you need. With the widest selection of Tool Steel sheet, plate, and bar in the U.S., we deliver both to businesses and homes with no minimum orders. We offer high-tolerance custom cuts, all supported by our first-in-class customer support, fast order processing, and economical on-time delivery.
Tool Steel FAQs
Which Tool Steel should I use for my application?
Alloy |
Application |
Why this material is chosen |
Shapes Offered |
| A2 | Punches, knives, tool holders, and wood cutting tools. | Good machinability, wear resistance, and hardenability with superior dimensional stability after heat treating. | Rectangle Bar, Round Bar, Square Bar, Drill Rod |
| D2 | Shear blades, knives, tools, punches, and stamping dies | Good machinability when annealed, high wear resistance, and mild corrosion resistance due to chromium content. | Rectangle Bar, Round Bar, Square Bar, Drill Rod |
| O1 | Dies, gages, punches, slitting cutters, and machine parts | General purpose tool steel often used when higher strength, hardness, and wear resistance are needed. | Rectangle Bar, Square Bar, Drill Rod |
| W1 | Hand tools, knives, engraving stamps, taps, and reamers | Low-cost tool steel with very good machinability and moderate wear resistance; high carbon allows a sharp cutting edge. | Rectangle Bar, Square Bar, Drill Rod |
| S7 | Shear blades, dies, chisels, and punches | Excellent toughness for shock resistance and absorption. | Rectangle Bar, Round Bar, Square Bar, Drill Rod |
| M2 | Drills, taps, saw blades, planers, router bits, and punches | High-speed steel with excellent toughness, wear resistance, and hardness. | Drill Rod |
| H13 | Extrusion dies, forging dies, molds, hot shearing, and stamping tools | Very good toughness, high-temperature strength, and resistance to thermal fatigue. Machines and welds well. | Rectangle Bar, Round Bar, Square Bar, Drill Rod |
| L6 | Punches, blades, chisels, shafts, gears | Exceptional toughness, and very good shock resistance. | Rectangle Bar, Drill Rod |
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