The materials commonly used for the cutting sections of tools fall into two major categories: high-speed tool steel and cemented carbide.

(1) High-Speed Tool Steel

Often abbreviated as "high-speed steel," this is a highly alloyed tool steel containing significant proportions of alloying elements such as tungsten, chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum. It possesses excellent overall performance characteristics. After heat treatment, its hardness can reach 63 to 70 HRC, and it maintains its hardness at temperatures ranging from 550 to 600°C (in comparison, ordinary steel exhibits a hardness of 47 to 55 HRC at 200°C). It offers superior cutting performance, with typical cutting speeds ranging from 16 to 35 m/min. High-speed steel features high strength and good toughness; it can be ground to form a sharp cutting edge and possesses excellent processability—it is forgeable and easy to machine, making it an ideal material for tool manufacturing. Generally, tools with complex geometries are manufactured using high-speed steel. It continues to hold a dominant position in the production of tools such as twist drills, taps, broaches, gear cutting tools, and form tools.

High-speed steel can be broadly classified into standard high-speed steel and high-performance high-speed steel. Standard high-speed steel typically operates at relatively moderate cutting speeds—specifically, around 40 to 60 m/min when machining ordinary steels. High-performance high-speed steel is produced by increasing the carbon and vanadium content of standard high-speed steel, and by incorporating additional elements such as cobalt and aluminum during the smelting process. Its tool life is 1.5 to 3 times longer than that of standard high-speed steel.

(2) Cemented Carbide

Cemented carbide is manufactured using powder metallurgy techniques; it consists of high-hardness, refractory metal carbide powders (such as WC, TiC, TaC, NbC, etc.) bonded together using cobalt, molybdenum, or tungsten as a binder. It possesses extremely high hardness, reaching 74 to 82 HRC at room temperature. Furthermore, it maintains its hardness at temperatures as high as 900 to 1000°C, demonstrating exceptional performance in high-temperature environments. Compared to ordinary tool materials, its key performance indicators (such as strength, hot hardness retention, etc.—depending on the specific application context) can be enhanced by a factor of 5 to 10. When cutting medium-carbon steel, cutting speeds exceeding 100 m/min can be achieved. However, this material exhibits relatively poor toughness and limited resistance to impact and vibration; furthermore, its cutting edges are difficult to grind to a very sharp finish, its cutting performance is poor at low speeds, and its overall machinability is inferior. According to the GB2075–87 standard, these materials are classified into three categories: P, M, and K. Category P cemented carbides are used for machining ferrous metals that generate long chips and are identified by a blue marking; Category M is used for machining both ferrous and non-ferrous metals and is identified by a yellow marking; and Category K is used for machining ferrous metals that generate short chips, as well as non-ferrous metals and non-metallic materials, and is identified by a red marking.