Global Tool Steel Equivalents: A Practical Guide for Industrial Shear Blades (D2 / SKD11 / 1.2379 / Cr12Mo1V1)

 

Anyone who works with industrial knives has experienced this moment:

 

• A customer sends a drawing and says, "We need D2."
• You open the file and find "Cr12Mo1V1."
• An engineer from Germany joins the discussion and asks for "1.2379."
• A Japanese supplier replies with "SKD11."

 

Suddenly, four people are talking about the same steel-but none of them realize it. At SHJ KNIFE, we face this situation almost every week. After 25 years making industrial replacement blades, we learned that material naming differences cause more confusion than blade dimensions, heat-treatment, or hardness. This article exists for one purpose:

To give international engineers a clear, practical guide to understanding the tool steels used in industrial shear blades-no jargon, no academic complexity, just what you need for real manufacturing.

 

 

 

 

 

You may wonder why tool steels have multiple identities. The answer is simple: each country created its own industrial standards long before global supply chains existed.

 

• The U.S. uses ASTM / AISI naming.
• Europe uses DIN / W-Nr / EN standards.
• Japan follows JIS.
• China uses GB.
• The former Soviet Union uses ГОСТ (GOST).

 

These systems were developed independently, so a steel like D2 might appear under five completely different codes. There is no universal naming system. That's why cross-country projects often fail at the material confirmation stage-even if the blade design is perfect. This is exactly where our experience becomes valuable.

 

 

 

 

One thing we want to highlight: A tool steel "equivalent" does not mean "chemically identical."It simply means:"In industrial knife manufacturing, these steels perform similarly and are commonly used as substitutes."Each steel can behave slightly differently depending on:·

• heat treatment·
• forging quality·
• annealing·
• microstructure·
• batch quality·

 

So think of equivalence as a practical reference, not a legal or scientific statement.If you understand this principle, the rest becomes easy.

 

GB (China)	ASTM (U.S.)	JIS (Japan)	W-Nr (Germany)	DIN (Germany)	NF (France)	ROCT (Former Soviet Union)	SS14 (Sweden)	BS (U.K.)	ISO (International)
9CrSi	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	90CrSi5	1.2108	No direct equivalent	9XC	2090	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent
6CrW2Si	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	60WCrV7	1.255	55WC20	6XB2C	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	60WCrV7
Cr12MoV	D2	SKD11	X165CrMoV12/ X155Cr12Mo12-1	1.2379	X160CrMoV12	X12M	2310	BD	160CrMoV12
4Cr5MoSiV1	H13	SKD61	X40CrMoV5-1	1.2344	X40CrMoV5	4X5M01C	No direct equivalent	BH13	40CrMoV5
LD	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent	No direct equivalent
W18Cr4V	T1	SKH2	S18-0-1	1.3355	HS18-0-1	P18	2750	BT1	HS18-0-1
W6Mo5Cr4V2	M2	SKH9	S6-5-2	1.3343	No direct equivalent	P6M5	2722	BM2	HS6-5-2
45 steel	1450	S45C	C45E	1.1191	C45E	45	1660	C40E	C45EC
42CrMo	4140	SCM440	42CrMo4	1.7225	42CD4	No direct equivalent	2244	708M40	42CrMo4
T8	W1A-8	SK5	C80W2	1.1625	C80E2U	Y6	1778	No direct equivalent	TC80

 

 

 

Instead of listing steels alphabetically-which is meaningless for real engineering-we organized materials the way knife manufacturers actually think:

 

1. Cold Work Tool Steels (for most metal shear blades)

2. Hot Work Tool Steels (for heavy impact and stainless steel cutting)

3. High Speed Steels (HSS) (for precision or high-wear cutting)

4. Alloy/Carbon Steels (for general and low-cost industrial knives)

 

This grouping makes material selection intuitive and prevents confusion.

 

 

 

 

Most shear blades on the market use cold work tool steels because they deliver:·

• strong wear resistance·
• stable hardness·
• clean cutting edges·
• long working life

 

They handle steel sheets, stainless steel, galvanized material, electrical steel, and aluminum.

 

Most Common Cold Work Tool Steel Equivalents

 

 

China (GB)	ASTM	DIN / W-Nr	Japan (JIS)	ISO
Cr12MoV	-	X165CrMoV12 / 1.2601	SKD11 (partial)	-
Cr12Mo1V1	D2	X155CrMoV12-1 / 1.2379	-	160CrMoV12
9CrSi	-	90CrSi5 / 1.2108	-	-

 

 

How to choose among them

 

D2 / 1.2379 / Cr12Mo1V1 → high wear, stable edge (most popular choice)

Cr12MoV → cost-effective and reliable

90CrSi5 / 9CrSi → ideal for lighter cutting and thin steel

If you only remember one thing: D2 and 1.2379 are the world's most universal shear blade steels.

 

 

 

 

Cold work steels fail when cutting:
 

• stainless steel
• high-tensile steel
• thick steel plate
• hot material
• high-impact scrap steel

This is where H13 / SKD61 / 1.2344 shines.

 

Hot Work Tool Steel Equivalents

 

 

China	ASTM	DIN / W-Nr	JIS	ISO
4Cr5MoSiV1	H13	X40CrMoV5-1 / 1.2344	SKD61	40CrMoV5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

High speed steels are perfect for:

 

• precision slitting
• high-speed trimming
• thin strip processing
• ultra-clean cutting applications

 

They allow sharper angles without cracking.

 

High Speed Steel Equivalents

 

China	ASTM	DIN / W-Nr	JIS	ISO
W18Cr4V	T1	S18-0-1 / 1.3355	SKH2	HS18-0-1
W6Mo5Cr4V2	M2	S6-5-2 / 1.3343	SKH9	HS6-5-2

 

 

 

T1 vs M2

 

• T1 → classic HSS, great wear resistance
• M2 → more balanced, stable and widely available

 

When surface finish matters, HSS performs best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not all knives require high-end tool steel. For general industrial use:

• trimming
• soft materials
• non-metal cutting
• low-impact shearing
• cost-sensitive projects

 

alloy steels provide a good balance.

 

Common Alloy/Carbon Steel Equivalents

 

 

China	ASTM	DIN / W-Nr	JIS	ISO
42CrMo	4140	42CrMo4 / 1.7225	SCM440	42CrMo4
45	1045	C45E / 1.1191	S45C	C45E
T8	W1A-8	C80W2 / 1.1625	SK5	C80E2U

 

 

When to use these

 

• low-impact cutting
• simple geometries
• cost efficiency
• non-continuous production

 

They are not for high wear, but they work well in many basic applications.

 

 

 

 

Instead of asking customers to choose between 1.2379, D2, SKD11, or Cr12Mo1V1, we ask simpler questions:

 

• What material are you cutting?
• How thick is it?
• What is your cutting speed?
• Do you experience chipping or quick wear?
• What machine do you use?
• How many hours per day does it run?

 

From these answers, we determine whether you need:

 

• wear resistance (D2)
• toughness (H13)
• ultra-wear resistance (M2)
• or economic performance (42CrMo)

 

For customers with old or discontinued machines, we can reverse-engineer the blade and match the optimal steel based on use.

 

 

 

 

This comparison reflects SHJ KNIFE's engineering and manufacturing experience, not an official metallurgical standard. Actual performance depends on:

 

• heat treatment
• forging quality
• batch variation
• processing environment

 

We encourage customers to consult us when choosing steel for critical applications.

 

When you work with customers from different countries, you quickly realize something:

 

You can align drawings, prices, tolerances, and lead time-but if the material name is misunderstood, the entire project stops.

By sharing this guide, we hope to offer something simple and useful:

A common language for tool steels in industrial knife manufacturing.

No matter which name you use-D2, 1.2379, SKD11, or Cr12Mo1V1-if you know what each steel represents, choosing the right blade material becomes easy.

And whenever you need help, SHJ KNIFE is here to recommend the best steel for your shearing machine, application, and production goals.