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Materials for machine knives – the right material for every cutting application
Choosing the right material is a key factor in the performance and service life of a machine knife. Different tool steels and high-performance materials are used depending on the material being cut, operating conditions and cut-quality requirements.
Hardness alone is not the deciding factor. Wear resistance, toughness, compressive strength, edge retention, corrosion resistance and dimensional stability must also be considered. We select the right material for each application and match it to the requirements of the machine knife.
On this page: Material groups | Material comparison | Applications | Material advice
Key properties of knife materials
- Wear resistance: High wear resistance enables long service life, particularly when cutting abrasive or hard materials.
- Toughness: Adequate toughness prevents chipping and damage to the cutting edge under impact or fluctuating loads.
- Hardness: High hardness ensures a stable, long-lasting cutting edge. However, it must always be balanced against the required toughness.
- Compressive strength: High compressive strength is particularly important under high cutting forces and heavy mechanical loads.
- Edge retention: A material’s ability to maintain its cutting-edge geometry over a long period has a significant impact on the knife’s service life.
- Corrosion resistance: Corrosion-resistant tool steels can offer advantages in wet, aggressive or hygiene-sensitive operating conditions.
- Dimensional stability: For precision machine knives in particular, it is important to minimize dimensional and shape changes during heat treatment.
Commonly used material groups
Different material groups are used to manufacture machine knives, depending on the application. The main groups include cold-work steels, high-speed steels (HSS), corrosion-resistant tool steels, powder metallurgy tool and high-performance steels, and carbide. The right material group always depends on the specific operating conditions.
Cold-work steels
Cold-work steels are traditional materials for machine knives. They offer a good combination of hardness, wear resistance and toughness, making them suitable for a wide range of industrial cutting applications. Highly alloyed chromium steels such as 1.2379 and 1.2436 are used when high wear resistance and good edge retention are required.
Material 1.2436 – X210CrW12
1.2436 is a highly alloyed cold-work steel with high carbon and chromium content and tungsten. It is particularly noted for its high wear resistance and good edge retention.
Typical properties
- very high wear resistance
- high hardness after appropriate heat treatment
- good compressive strength
- good edge retention
- suitable for abrasive cutting applications
Typical applications
- machine knives
- cutting knives
- slitting knives
- industrial cutting tools
- applications with increased wear
Material 1.2379 – X153CrMoV12
1.2379 is a widely used high-alloy cold-work steel for demanding cutting and wear applications. It offers a balanced combination of hardness, wear resistance and toughness, making it suitable for a wide range of machine knives.
Typical properties
- high wear resistance
- high achievable hardness
- good compressive strength
- good edge retention
- versatile
Typical applications
- Machine knives
- Circular knives
- Slitting knives
- Knives for plastics processing
- Cutting paper, films and other materials
High-speed steels – HSS
High-speed steels, or HSS, are used when particularly high cutting performance and wear resistance are required. A key advantage of HSS is its combination of high hardness, wear resistance and good hot hardness. This makes HSS suitable for applications involving higher cutting speeds and increased thermal loads.
Material 1.3343 – HS6-5-2 / M2
1.3343 / HS6-5-2 / M2 is a classic high-speed steel commonly used for cutting tools.
Typical properties
- High wear resistance
- High hardness
- Good edge retention
- Good hot hardness
- Suitable for high cutting speeds
Typical applications
- machine knives
- circular knives
- slitting knives
- cutting abrasive materials
- applications with increased service life requirements
Higher-alloy HSS grades can also be used for particularly demanding applications.
Corrosion-resistant tool steels
When increased corrosion resistance is required in addition to good cutting performance, corrosion-resistant or stainless martensitic tool steels are used. They are suitable, for example, for applications involving moisture, cleaning processes or certain media. It is important to note that corrosion-resistant does not mean corrosion-proof. Actual resistance depends, among other things, on the medium, surface, heat treatment and environmental conditions.
Material 1.4034 – X46Cr13
1.4034 / X46Cr13 is a martensitic, corrosion-resistant chromium steel with good hardenability and sufficient corrosion resistance for many applications.
Typical properties
- increased corrosion resistance
- good hardness
- good cutting properties
- good polishability
- suitable for applications with high hygiene requirements
Typical applications
- machine knives
- food processing knives
- knives for wet environments
- pharmaceutical and hygiene applications
- general industrial cutting applications
Material 1.4112 – X90CrMoV18
Compared with 1.4034, 1.4112 / X90CrMoV18 offers higher wear resistance and is used when high cutting performance is required in addition to corrosion resistance.
Typical properties
- Good corrosion resistance
- High wear resistance
- High hardness after heat treatment
- Good edge retention
- Suitable for more demanding cutting applications
Typical applications
- Machine knives
- Circular knives
- Knives for plastics processing
- Cutting applications requiring increased wear and corrosion resistance
Powder metallurgy tool steels
Powder-metallurgy tool steels are used when conventional tool steels reach their limits in terms of wear resistance, toughness or edge retention. Powder metallurgy produces a particularly fine and uniform steel microstructure from metal powders. This makes it possible to produce materials with a balanced combination of wear resistance, toughness and compressive strength. Well-known material families include CPM and ASP, for example. These are material or brand families with different grades and properties—not individual materials.
CPM 10V
CPM 10V is a powder-metallurgy high-performance material with very high wear resistance and good toughness. It is particularly suitable for applications requiring a very long service life while also needing adequate resistance to mechanical stress.
Typical properties
- very high wear resistance
- high cutting edge retention
- good toughness
- high compressive strength
- good dimensional stability
Typical applications
- heavily loaded machine knives
- slitting knives
- shear blades
- cutting highly abrasive materials
- applications with particularly demanding service-life requirements
ASP 23
ASP 23 is a powder-metallurgy high-performance high-speed steel. Its fine, homogeneous microstructure combines high wear resistance with good toughness.
Typical properties
- High wear resistance
- High compressive strength
- Good toughness
- High edge retention
- Suitable for demanding cutting and punching applications
Typical applications
- Demanding cutting and punching applications
Depending on the application, other powder-metallurgical HSS and tool steels may also be suitable alongside ASP 23.
Carbide
For particularly abrasive cutting applications and extremely high wear resistance requirements, carbide can be an interesting alternative to tool steels. Carbide consists primarily of a hard phase, typically tungsten carbide (WC), and a metallic binder phase. Its properties can be tailored by selecting the hard-material grain size and binder content. Carbide offers very high hardness, wear resistance and compressive strength. At the same time, it is less tough than many tool steels. The carbide grade must therefore always be selected to suit the load and cutting edge geometry.
WC-Co-based carbide
For machine knives, tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) carbides are particularly suitable. As a general rule:
- Higher cobalt content → generally greater toughness
- Lower cobalt content → generally higher hardness and wear resistance
- Smaller carbide grains → high hardness and good cutting-edge stability
- Larger carbide grains → greater toughness and resistance to impact loads
However, actual properties always depend on the specific carbide grade, composition and microstructure.
Fine-grain carbide grades – K10 / K20
Fine-grain carbides in the K10 to K20 range may be suitable where high hardness, wear resistance and a stable cutting edge are required.
Typical properties
- very high wear resistance
- high hardness
- high compressive strength
- good cutting edge stability
- particularly suitable for high-wear applications
Typical applications
- Cutting abrasive materials
- Foil and paper industries
- Precision knives
- Slitting knives
- Applications requiring long tool life
Tougher carbide grades – K30 / K40
For higher mechanical or impact loads, tougher carbide grades in the K30 to K40 range can offer advantages. Their greater toughness can reduce susceptibility to impact loads and edge chipping. In return, their wear resistance is generally lower than that of particularly hard, fine-grain grades.
Typical properties
- Greater toughness
- Good fracture resistance
- High compressive strength
- Greater resistance to impact loads
- Suitable for knives subject to higher mechanical loads
Typical applications
- knives for interrupted cutting
- applications with varying cutting forces
- thicker or harder materials to be cut
- machine knives subject to heavy mechanical loads
The K10, K20, K30 and K40 classifications serve as a guide when selecting a grade; for the specific application, the actual material properties and operating conditions are decisive.
Fine-grain and ultrafine-grain carbides
Fine-grain and ultrafine-grain carbides can be used to achieve particularly sharp, stable cutting edges. Their very fine hard-phase structure combines high hardness and wear resistance with a stable cutting edge. These grades are particularly suitable when high cut quality and long tool life are required with relatively fine cutting-edge geometries.
- Precision cutting
- thin materials
- films
- paper and composite materials
- applications with particularly high requirements for cutting edge quality
Coarse-grain carbides
When greater toughness is required in addition to wear resistance, coarse-grain carbide can be a suitable solution. It is suitable, for example, for applications where the cutting edge is exposed to higher mechanical loads. The larger grain size of the hard material can contribute to greater fracture toughness, while hardness and wear resistance may tend to be lower than with fine-grain grades.
Match carbide to the application
Choosing the right grade is particularly important for carbide knives. In addition to the material being cut, the following factors must also be considered:
- abrasiveness of the material being cut
- cutting speed
- cutting force
- continuous or interrupted cutting
- knife dimensions
- cutting edge geometry
- required service life
- required cut quality
- possible impact and vibration loads
The same applies to carbide: the hardest grade is not automatically the best grade.
Comparing materials
Note: This information is intended as a general guide. Actual properties depend on the specific material grade, heat treatment or sintering, knife geometry, cutting-edge geometry and operating conditions.
| Material | Wear Resistance | Toughness | Corrosion resistance | Typical application |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.2436 | very high | medium | low | abrasive cutting applications |
| 1.2379 | high to very high | medium | low | demanding general-purpose cutting applications |
| 1.3343 / HSS | very high | medium | low | high cutting speeds |
| 1.4034 | medium | medium | good | Wet / hygienic applications |
| 1.4112 | high | medium | good | Applications subject to wear and corrosion |
| CPM 10V | very high | good | low | extremely wear-intensive applications |
| ASP 23 | very high | good | low | Demanding cutting and punching tasks |
| Carbide K10/K20 | extremely high | low to medium | grade-dependent | maximum wear resistance |
| Carbide K30/K40 | very high | medium to high | grade-dependent | higher mechanical loads |
| Submicron carbide | very high | medium | grade-dependent | Precision and fine cutting |
Which material is right for each application?
High wear and abrasive materials
For highly abrasive cutting applications, high-alloy cold-work steels such as 1.2436 or 1.2379, HSS, or powder metallurgy materials such as CPM 10V may be suitable. Carbide can be another option where wear requirements are extreme.
High cutting speeds
When high cutting speeds and good edge retention are required, HSS grades such as 1.3343 offer advantages.
Wet or hygiene-sensitive applications
When corrosion resistance is important, 1.4034 or 1.4112 may be suitable materials.
Particularly long tool life required
For extreme wear requirements, powder-metallurgy tool steels or carbide may be suitable options.
High mechanical or impact loads
When both wear resistance and high resistance to mechanical stress are required, tougher PM steels or tougher carbide grades can offer advantages.
Hardness isn't everything
The highest possible hardness is not automatically the best solution for every machine knife. A knife with very high hardness can achieve excellent wear resistance, but may also be more susceptible to impact loads or cutting edge chipping. Conversely, a tougher material can perform much more reliably under varying or impact loads, even if its wear resistance is lower. That is why the right balance between hardness, wear resistance and toughness matters. This is especially true for carbide: a very hard grade can achieve exceptionally long service life under optimal conditions, but is more susceptible to cutting edge chipping under unfavorable loads.
Material and heat treatment
The properties of a machine knife are not determined by the selected material alone. For tool steels, the desired properties are achieved through heat treatment tailored to the material and knife geometry. This includes, among other things:
- Hardening
- Tempering
- Cryogenic treatment if required
- Low-stress heat treatment
- Controlled heat-treatment processes
For carbide, properties are largely determined by the carbide grade, carbide grain size, binder composition and sintering process. For demanding machine knife applications in particular, minimal dimensional change and consistent material quality are essential.
Material selection for maximum knife performance
The optimal material depends on the interplay of several factors:
material being cut + machine + cutting speed + load + cutting edge geometry + heat treatment or carbide grade
Only by considering these factors together can a machine knife be optimally designed. Our goal is therefore not to use the hardest or most wear-resistant material as a rule, but to select the material that makes the most technical and economic sense for the specific application.
Machine blades for the following industries
- Plastics industry
- Food industry
- Textile industry
- Paper industry
- Packaging industry
- Recycling industry
- Hygiene industry
- Medical technology
- Agriculture
Back to machine knives
General information about our manufacture of machine knives for industrial cutting applications can be found on the Machine Knives page.
Not sure which material is right for your application?
We can help you select the right material for your machine knife. Among other things, we take into account:
- material to be cut
- Cutting speed and cutting forces
- Materials and operating conditions
- required service life
- Cut-quality requirements
- Corrosion and environmental factors
- Heat treatment and knife geometry
- for carbide, the required combination of wear resistance and toughness as well
Get in touch—we’ll work with you to find the right material for your cutting application.