Custom hand knives are precision cutting tools made from high‑carbon, stainless, or PM steels and shaped through grinding and heat treatment. Used in packaging, leather, food, plastics, and industrial trimming, they provide durable, accurate manual cutting performance.
Custom hand knives are manually operated cutting tools engineered for specialized industrial, craft, and processing applications. Their manufacturing process typically involves precision blanking or forging of the blade profile, followed by heat treatment to achieve the required hardness and toughness. Grinding and honing operations define the cutting geometry, including bevel angle, edge radius and blade curvature. Common blade materials include high‑carbon tool steels, stainless steels, powder‑metallurgical steels, and carbide‑tipped edges for high‑wear environments. Handles are produced from wood, polymers, aluminum, or composite materials and are ergonomically shaped for safe, repetitive use. Tooling for production involves CNC grinders, waterjet or laser cutting systems, heat‑treatment furnaces, and surface‑finishing equipment. Custom knives are widely used in packaging, leatherworking, food processing, plastics trimming, rubber cutting, textiles, and general maintenance tasks where controlled manual cutting, precision, and durability are required.
Uddeholm Sleipner is a general purpose steel for cold work tooling. It has a mixed-abrasive wear profile and a good resistance to chipping. Furthermore a high hardness (>60 HRC) can be obtained after high temperature tempering. This means that surface treatments such as nitriding or PVD can be made on a high strength substrate. Also, it means that complicated shapes with hardness levels >60 HRC can be wire EDM’d from blocks with relatively thick cross-sections with a much reduced risk of cracking. Uddeholm Sleipner is recommended for medium run tooling applications where a resistance to mixed or abrasive wear and a good resistance to chipping are required. Benefits Very broad property profile Very good steel for all types of surface treatments Extremely versatile conventional tool steel for medium run cold work tooling Suitable upgrade where added chipping or wear resistance is needed over traditional AISI A2 or AISI D2 In East/South East Asian countries served by ASSAB, Uddeholm Sleipner is sold as ASSAB 88.
Read MoreUddeholm Vanadis 4 Extra SuperClean is the most versatile pm tool steel on the market today, combining high wear resistance with very good ductility and resistance to chipping of edges. Excellent machinability in both soft and hard condition ensures advantages in both tool making and tool maintenance. Uddeholm Vanadis 4 Extra SuperClean is also available as powder for processing by electron beam melting technology (EBM). This powder has the same chemical composition as the PM material. Benefits Reliable production with low risk of edge chipping Best combination of high hardness, wear resistance and chipping resistance High compressive strength Best stock standard program of all PM grades Standard specification AISI D2 / AFNOR de type Z136 CDV 5.4
Read MoreUddeholm Vanadis 8 SuperClean sets a new standard for Powder Metallurgical Tool Steel. The technological advancements makes this cold work tool steel superior to its predecessors. The unprecedented combination of extremely high wear and chipping resistance paired with improved machining properties raises production rates and reduces costs. Benefits Lower price per produced part Longer tool life Predictable Production Standard specification AISI D2 / AFNOR de type Z230VCD8.5.4
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