Simply Tool Steel Blog

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Sep 20, 2023

PM Tool Steel Comparison Chart

A comparison chart is one of the tools available to the tooling manager. This PM tool steel comparison chart compares some of the common PM tool steel grades.

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Sep 12, 2023

Tool Steel Supplier

Steel

Who do you depend on for your tool steel information? Who should you depend on for your tool steel supply? Discover the criteria necessary to make the correct choice.

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Sep 11, 2023

Powder Metal Compaction

Learn about the powder compaction process, properties, characteristics and tool steels used.in the PM industry. The PM industry is very diverse, serving nearly every consumer market.

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Sep 07, 2023

CPM 3V Tool Steel Data Sheet

CPM 3V provides good wear resistance and toughness in the HRC 58-60 range.

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Sep 06, 2023

Welding of Tool Steel

Welding of tool steel is sometimes a necessary practice. This article is an explanation of the procedure and precautions that should be taken and equipment used when welding tool steel.

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Aug 30, 2023

Tool and Die

Tool and die makers are a specialized group of manufacturers that produce tooling components for other industries. Tool steel is the center of the tool and die industry.

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Aug 26, 2023

Steel Comparison Charts

Readywise

Compare the wear resistance, hardness, toughness, red hardness and corrosion resistance of similar tool steel grades.

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Aug 25, 2023

420HC Stainless Steel Data Sheet

200WSolar

A 420HC Stainless steel data sheet for the popular knife grade. 420 HC is a commonly used stainless steel grade that is used in the commercial knife industry. 420HC takes a very sharp cutting edge.

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Aug 24, 2023

Temperature Color Guide

Temperature Color Guide-large

This is a temperature color guide indicating the appoximate temperature of steel when heated

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Aug 23, 2023

Simply Tool Steel Home

Chair

Custom fabricated high-speed steel tool bits in PM M-48 and PM T-15

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Aug 22, 2023

Recordkeeping for Tool Steel Heat Treating

Recordkeeping is a very important part of the heat treating process. If a tooling problem should occur, the manufacturer will want to look at the heat treating process for a possible solution.

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Aug 21, 2023

Quenching of Tool Steel

Quenching is the process of rapidly cooling the tool steel to freeze the alloying elements in the microstructure. Read the article for details and precautions of the quench cycle.

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Aug 18, 2023

PM Tool Steel Heat Treating Cycle

PM tool steel heat treats differently than conventional tool steel. The time at the high temperature is much shorter. This diagram depicts the differences in the PM tool steel heat treating cycle.

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Aug 15, 2023

Knife Steel Simplified Book

KSSBC-2019

Knife Steel Simplified is our new book that contains 152 pages of tool steel information devoted to the knife maker engaged in the production of high-quality tool steel knives.

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Aug 12, 2023

Metal Stamping

Metal stamping is the process of shaping metal coil or sheet into finished parts through the use of a tool set. These tool sets are manufactured from tool steel and hardened for strength.

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Aug 08, 2023

Roll Forming

Roll forming is the process where metal sheet or coil is rolled between tool steel roll to form a profile on the sheet or coil.

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Aug 07, 2023

Tool Steel Simplified Book

TSSBC-2019

"Tool Steel Simplified" is packed with valued tool steel knowledge and resources necessary to produce high-quality tooling. 226 pages of information that can help you produce high-quality tooling for your manufacturing application.

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Jul 23, 2023

CPM S35VN Stainless Steel Knives

CPM S35VN Stainless Steel Knives are the new emerging knives made from this new steel grade, bringing superior performance to the user.

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Jul 23, 2023

Featured Knives

These featured knives are some of the highest quality knives available in the market. They have been tried, tested and proven to withstand the most demanding situations.

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Jul 18, 2023

M-42 High Speed Steel Data Sheet

M-42 is a 8% cobalt high speed steel that offers superior heat and wear resistance over M-2 high speed steel. M-42 can be hardened to RC 67.

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Jul 16, 2023

Conventional Tool Steel Production

How is tool steel produced? Read this article to gain an understanding of the conventional tool steel production process.

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Jul 11, 2023

Common Alloying Elements of Tool Steel

What makes tool steel different from most other steel? How do the alloying elements affect tool steel? The answers are here.

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Jul 03, 2023

SOG Terminus XR LTE Knife

SOG-3

Likely one of the best values in the high-quality knife industry. This SOG knife includes many features that aren't available at this price.

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Jul 01, 2023

Knifemaking Tools

Forge

A curated list of the tools needed for custom knifemaking, both forging and grinding

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Jun 26, 2023

CNC Machining of Tool Steel

Mill3

CNC machining has become a leading force behind the manufacturing renaissance. CNC machining provides many benefits that enable the toolmaker to turn tool steel into a tooling component.

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Jun 22, 2023

Contact STS

TSSBC-2019

Submit your questions and suggestions to Simply Tool Steel. Do you have a question for us, or maybe a suggestion for a tool steel related article? Submit it here.

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Jun 14, 2023

Leatherman Signal Topographical Multitool

LeathermanSignal1

The Signal is a complete 4.5-inch adventure buddy with 19 different tools including pliers, wire cutters, knife, saw, hammer, can opener, a diamond-coated sharpener and much more

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Jun 13, 2023

Machining Tool Steel

Machining tool steel is the process of shaping the tool steel into a useable form. Learn about the process here or add your knowledge to teach others.

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Jun 12, 2023

Industries

Many manufacturing industries employ the use of tool steel in their process. Discover these industries, their manufacturing process and the tool steel grades that are used to produce the products.

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Jun 09, 2023

High Speed Steel Comparison Chart

This high-speed steel chart compares the hardness, wear resistance, toughness and red hardness of M-2, M-42, PM M-4, PM M-48 and PM T-15.

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Jun 08, 2023

Avoiding Tool Failure

Is tool failure a problem for your operation? Many factors contribute to the production of a good tool.. Using the proper precautions can lead to higher productivity.

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Jun 05, 2023

Tool Steel Properties

This is the page dedicated to tool steel properties and selection

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Jun 03, 2023

Why do we heat treat tool steel?

Let's do some tool steel heat treating.

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May 26, 2023

A-11 Tool Steel Data Sheet

A-11 Tool steel is a very common high wear resistant tool steel. This grade achieves its wear resistance by forming vanadium carbides through the use of 10% vanadium content.

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May 25, 2023

Calculating weight of tool steel

Learn how to properly calculate the weight of tool steel. These easy formulas for calculating the weight are very useful for engineers, machinist and buyers of tool steel

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May 20, 2023

Rockwell Hardness Conversion Chart

Rockwell C-Scale is the standard scale on which tool steels are measured. Occasionally, the hardness is stated as Brinell hardness and must be converted to the Rockwell C-scale for comparison.

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May 19, 2023

Conventional Tool Steel Heat Treating Cycle

Proper heat treating of your tooling is critical. This article covers the proper heat treating method for conventional tool steels, such as A-2, D-2, S-7 and H-13, to assure their best performance.

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May 12, 2023

CPM 154 Stainless Steel Data Sheet

CPM 154 is a PM version of the popular 154 CM stainless knife steel. The chemical composition is the same, however, the toughness and grindability has been improved.

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May 09, 2023

Heat Treating Introduction

An understanding of the definition of heat treating and its' affect on the properties of tool steel is explained here.

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May 04, 2023

What is Tool Steel

Tool steel forms nearly everything in your life. Tool steel is a special type of steel used in the production of tooling for many industrial processes.

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May 03, 2023

440C Stainless Steel

440C Stainless steel is a heat treatable stainless steel that has been designed for very good wear resistance with moderate corrosion resistance in mild environments.

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May 02, 2023

O-1 Oil Hardening Tool Steel

O-1 is widely used in production parts and tooling fixtures, jigs, slides and pins. O-1 is easily hardened and readily available in flat ground stock and drill rod.

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Apr 20, 2023

Austenizing of Tool Steel

An explanation of the hardening, or austenizing of tool steel. This is the stage of the heat treating process when the transformation of the structure takes place.

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Apr 19, 2023

Camping Gear / Emergency Tool

RDMT2

Rush Deer introduces a 16-in-1 hammer multi tool made of stainless steel and aluminum

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Apr 18, 2023

Advertise on simplytoolsteel

Sitewide advertising begins on March 1st. Reserve your spot today and reach more than 30,000 manufacturers per month. Larger ads with duration periods of 3 months or 1 year.

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Apr 14, 2023

Ultimate Survival Multi-Tool

ZLImage

We have discovered what could be the ultimate survival multi-tool. This tactical shovel is designed and built to withstand the abuse in a desperate situation.

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Apr 12, 2023

Choosing the Correct Tool Steel

Choosing the correct tool steel for your application will lead to successful production, less downtime and increased tool performance.

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Apr 10, 2023

Tool Steel Tensile Strength

The tensile strength of tool steel is directly related to the hardness of tool steel. This chart shows the approximate tensile strength of tool steel at vaious hardnesses.

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Apr 06, 2023

Tool Steel Selection

With so many tool steel grades available, how do you chose the correct tool steel grade for your application and what tool steel properties are required for your tool to be successful?

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