High-Quality Materials We Offer For Industrial Blades

As one of the leading industrial knife manufacturers, Carolina Knife & Manufacturing, Inc. uses a wide variety of high-quality materials to manufacture its industrial blades, machine knives, circular blades, score knives, and straight blades. No matter what industry you are in, our industrial knife specialists can craft the best knives and blades manufactured from high-quality materials tailored for your application. If you need advice on which material is best for your industrial knife blades, we can help you select the best option to get the most out of your knives and blades. Whether you are in the packaging, paper, rubber, or film converting industry, our industrial knife manufacturers can help choose the best material for your applications. 

High-Quality Materials We Offer For Industrial Blades

Whether you need straight razor blades, circular knives, slitting knives, or other industrial blades for your converting application, choosing the right material is essential to manufacturing a high-quality product. Cutting blade material dictates blade longevity and metal compositions determine how the blade will react or degrade while cutting products. Below are some of the quality materials we can manufacture your industrial blades in.

D2 High-Carbon Tool Steel

First emerging during the World War II era, D2 tool steel is a popular material in many industrial settings. D2 steel blades have a high hardness and a relatively high toughness. Because of the material’s high carbon content, industrial blades manufactured from D2 are extremely abrasion-resistant and hold their edge as well or better than blades made from other materials. D2 steel contains almost enough chromium to be considered stainless steel material and is often referred to in the industry as semi-stainless steel. D2 tool steel is also popular in most cold work applications and has a better balance of toughness and wear-resistance than most other tool steels.

Chemical Characteristics

  • Carbon: 1.55 percent
  • Chromium: 11.50 percent
  • Vanadium: 0.80 percent
  • Molybdenum: 0.90percent

52100 Tool Steel

52100 is a high-carbon tool steel with low quantities of manganese and chromium to improve hardening and resistance against corrosion compared to other high chromium tool steels. 52100 high carbon tool steel is ideal in converting applications where corrosion is less of an issue. This material also offers a very fine grain with superior edge retention. Because this material offers toughness, hardness, and wear-resistance it is capable of cutting a variety of materials.

Chemical Characteristics

  • Carbon: 1.00 percent
  • Chromium: 1.50 percent
  • Manganese: 0.35 percent
  • Silicon: 0.25 percent

 

M2 High-Speed Tool Steel

M2 high-speed steel has a well-balanced composition, making it suitable for a wide variety of applications. This high-speed tool has fine-grained alloy containing high levels of tungsten and molybdenum. M2 offers superior toughness, edge retention, and wear resistance. M2 blades can be coated to add corrosion-resistant properties. Due to its superior properties and affordability, M2 tool steel is easily one of the most popular high-speed steels in most converting applications.

Chemical Characteristics

  • Carbon: 0.85 percent
  • Chromium: 4.15 percent
  • Molybdenum: 5.00 percent
  • Vanadium: 1.95 percent
  • Tungsten: 6.40 percent
  • Silicon: 0.30 percent
  • Manganese: 0.30 percent
  • Sulfur: 0.03 percent – 0.10 percent

A2 Tool Steel

A2 tool steel offers a superior toughness compared to other tool steels. However, it does have less wear resistance. Because of the material’s toughness, A2 tool steel is a popular option for combat knives. A2 tool steel is an air-hardened alloy and has chromium and carbon properties. A2 is most known for its toughness and resistance to abrasion. Plus, it is easy to sharpen. Keep in mind, A2 blades are less corrosion resistant and must be maintained carefully or coated to avoid rust. 

Chemical Characteristics

  • Carbon: 1.00 percent
  • Chromium: 5.20 percent
  • Manganese: 0.70 percent
  • Molybdenum: 1.10 percent
  • Silicon: 0.30 percent
  • Vanadium: 0.20 percent

 

Tungsten Carbide

Offering superior hardness, heat-resistance, and stretch resistance, tungsten carbide material is ideal in intensive high-run conversion processes. Tungsten carbide has an RC 75-80, hardness, and blades manufactured from tungsten carbide can be expected to last 10 to 50 times longer than blades made from tool steel. Because all grades of this material are susceptible to chipping or breaking, tungsten carbide blades are only appropriate for certain cutting applications. Due to its high cost and potential for breaking, many of our clients choose carbide-tipped blades rather than solid carbide blades.

Stainless Knife Steel

440C grade stainless knife steel has a very high carbon content and can attain, after proper heat treatment, the most superior hardness and wear resistance of all stainless steel alloys. This high chromium stainless steel material is both rust and corrosion-resistant while maintaining its ability to take a sharp cutting edge. It is also easier to sharpen than other grades of stainless steel blade material, making it a better choice for industrial blades.

Chemical Characteristics

  • Carbon: 1.00 percent
  • Chromium: 17.00 percent
  • Manganese: 1.00 percent
  • Molybdenum :0.75 percent
  • Silicon: 1.00 percent

CPM M4

M4 is a special purpose high-speed tool steel, containing a high level of vanadium, that provides a unique combination of high wear resistance, high impact toughness, and oblique bend strength. M4 is tougher and more wear-resistant than M2 and M3 in high-speed cutting applications involving lighter cuts. M4 can be modified to include high carbon, which offers a better hardening response during treating as well as high-sulfur which allows for improved machinability and grindability over traditional M4 steel. This blade material excels in cold work tooling applications, where it provides superior toughness and wear resistance than high-carbon steels like D2.

  • Chemical Characteristics
  • Carbon: 0.85 percent
  • Chromium: 4.15 percent
  • Molybdenum: 5.00 percent
  • Vanadium: 1.95 percent
  • Tungsten: 6.40 percent
  • Silicon: 0.30 percent
  • Manganese: 0.30 percent
  • Sulfur: 0.03% – 0.10 percent

9V Hot Work Steel

CPM 9V tool steel provides a very high wear resistance, heat resistance, and improved toughness due to its lower carbon and vanadium levels. These characteristics make CPM 9V better suited to handle problematic cutting and converting applications where higher carbon and vanadium tool steels have insufficient toughness and heat resistance, and where other hot work steels lack sufficient wear resistance.

Chemical Characteristics

  • Carbon: 1.90 percent
  • Chromium: 5.25 percent
  • Vanadium: 9.10 percent
  • Molybdenum: 1.30 percent

10V Cold Work Steel

CPM 10V was introduced for commercial use in 1978. Today, it has become the standard for high wear converting applications. CPM 10V is one of the toughest, most wear-resistant tool steels available on the market. It is produced using the patented CPM (Crucible Particle Metallurgy) process. To manufacture CPM powdered metal, the molten metal is pumped through a small nozzle and gas atomized to produce a fine powder. This powder is filtered through a screen, poured into steel containers, and heated to solidify the contents into one mass. While this material has the same toughness as M2 and D2 steels, yet it has significantly increased wear resistance compared to traditional steels.

CPM 10V provides a cost-effective replacement for carbide, especially in situations where tungsten carbide is not tough enough and tool breakage or edge chipping is a concern.

Contact Carolina Knife & Manufacturing, Inc. To Learn More About Our Industrial Blade Manufacturers

These are just a few of the many quality blade materials we use to manufacture industrial blades fit to your converting application. If you aren’t sure which blade material will work best for your cutting application, contact our technicians

 

 

Carolina Knife & Manufacturing, Inc.