What is A2 tool steel used for?

A2 steel bar is available in a several forms, including square, round, and rectangular. This highly versatile material can be used for a wide variety of tools that require wear resistance, such as industrial hammers, knives, slitters, punches, tool holders, and woodworking cutting tools.

Can you flame harden A2 tool steel?

As I remember, hardening A2 in small sections is pretty easy. Heat with a torch using a reducing flame to the right color. Hold to equalize and let it cool. The darned stuff hardens real nice.

How hard can you heat treat A2 tool steel?

A2 tool steel is typically hardened to 60-62 HRC and then tempered to final hardness. I assume the 50 HRC hardness you mention is the result of this process. A (stress-relief) temper in the range of 1100-1200°F (595-650°C) will lower the hardness, but I suspect only into the range of 44-46 HRC.

How good is A2 tool steel?

A2 has good toughness, better than many high wear resistance steels. It also offers great ease in grinding and polishing for the knifemaker, and ease in sharpening for the end user.

Is A2 steel hard to sharpen?

A2 steel takes a little more effort to sharpen, but you are rewarded with a more durable edge that lasts longer. For our high carbon steel blades, HOCK TOOLS uses AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute) O1, a simple high carbon tool steel with very little added to the iron/steel alloy other than 1.1% manganese.

How hard is annealed A2?

A2 is a 5% Chromium steel which provides high hardness after heat treatment with good dimensional stability. It is heat treatable and will offer a hardness in the range 57-62 HRC.

Can you oil quench A2 steel?

Yes,AIR COOL the A2. Don’t let anyone tell you different. A2 is an AIR HARDENING STEEL. Quenching it in any medium will cool it too fast,and could cause warping or cracking,and also screw up the molecular structure of the steel.

How hard is annealed A2 tool steel?

Annealing: Soak thoroughly at 840-850°C, then slowly furnace cool at a rate of not more than 20°C per hour. After annealing A2 a maximum hardness of 215 Brinell may be achieved.

How hard is A2 steel?

A2 tool steel properties It’s highly wear-resistant and moderately tough. Like D2, it is incredibly resistant to distortion during heat treating and is moderately machinable and grindable. Popular hardness ranges for A2 run between 57 – 62 HRC with a yield strength range between 185 ksi – 230 ksi.

Is A2 easy to sharpen?

A2 steel Sharpenability Despite the steel offering you excellent edge retention performance, A2 tool steel is super-easy to sharpen. The reason why this steel scores high in ease of sharpening is that it features low chromium carbides than in the high wear resistance steels.

What is A2 steel equivalent to?

Equivalent materials to A2 tool steels are: AFNOR Z 100 CDV 5. DIN 1.2363. JIS SKD 12.

Is A2 steel machinable?

Grade Summary: A2 is a 1% carbon, 5% chrome, air-hardening tool steel. When properly annealed, A2 has a machinability rating of 60 as compared with a 1% Carbon Steel rated at 100. When air quenched from the proper hardening temperature, this grade can be expected to expand approximately .

Which is the best type of A2 steel?

A2 Tool Steel is a versatile, air-hardening tool steel that is characterized by good toughness and excellent dimensional stability in heat treatment. A2 is intermediate in wear resistance between O1 oil-hardening tool steel and D2 high-carbon, high-chromium tool steel.

What can AISI A2 be used for in steel?

It also contains the use of AISI A2,such as it is commonly used in bars, sheet,plates, steel coils, steel pipes,forged and other materials application. Datasheet for Steel Grades Tool Steel AISI A2 AISI A2 Standard Number: ITEM Standard Number Descriptions AISI A2 Chemical composition(mass fraction)(wt.%) Chemical Min.(%) Max.(%)

What kind of steel is used to make tools?

A2 is the most common grade of steel bar used to make tools for shaping metal, wood, and other materials. A2 medium-carbon chromium alloy steel is a member of the cold work tool steel group, designated by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), which includes O1 low-carbon steel, A2 steel and D2 high-carbon high-chromium steel.

What are the advantages of A6 tool steel?

A6 tool steel is an air-hardening, cold work grade which combines the advantages of a low hardening temperature range similar to that of oil hardening grades along with deeper hardening properties comparable to air hardening grades. A6 tool steel experiences minimal distortion compared to other air hardening grades or the oil hardening grades.