Taylor Special Steels are UK and Ireland stockholders and suppliers of A2 tool steel, also known by its DIN designation 1.2363 X100CrMoV5, BA2 (BS4649), ASTM A681 and BS EN ISO 4957. We hold stock in rounds and flats, cut to your required sizes, as one-offs or in multiples. No order is too large or too small; contact our experienced team for a fast, competitive quote.
Taylor Special Steels have been supplying A2 tool steel to UK industry for over 30 years.
A2 Tool Steel (1.2363) is a 5% Chromium steel which air hardens to provide high hardness with minimum dimensional change. A2 Tool Steel (1.2363) has impact and wear resistance characteristics intermediate between the oil hardening Carbon Manganese steels and the conventional High Carbon High Chromium types.
A2 is an air-hardening, cold-work tool steel containing approximately 5% chromium. It sits between oil-hardening grades such as O1 and the higher-alloy cold-work steels like D2 in terms of wear resistance, offering a well-balanced combination of toughness, wear resistance and dimensional stability after heat treatment. A2 is readily machinable in the annealed condition and achieves a working hardness in the range of 57–62 HRC, making it one of the most versatile cold-work grades in general toolmaking.
Related Grades:
O1 Tool Steel (1.2510) | D2 Tool Steel (1.2379) | S1 Tool Steel (1.2550) | H13 Tool Steel (1.2344)
This steel is particularly useful as intricate dies where minimal dimensional change is required in heat treatment but it is also widely used for blanking tools and dies, gauges, shear blades for cold light sections, cold heading tools and trimming and stamping dies.
A2 tool steel is widely used across the toolmaking, pressing and manufacturing industries. Typical applications include blanking and forming dies, punches, trim dies, shear blades, stamping dies, gauges, coining dies, cold forging dies, cold heading dies, knurling tools and cutting knives for paper, wood, fibre and resin-bonded materials.
A2 tool steel is covered by the following international standards and designations:
| Standard | Designation |
|---|---|
| DIN / Werkstoff | 1.2363 — X100CrMoV5 |
| BS4659 | BA2 |
| AISI | A2 |
| ASTM | A681 |
| BS EN ISO | 4957 |
To prevent excessive scaling or decarburisation pack with a suitably inert material in a sealed container. Heat to 850°C / 870°C, hold at temperature for a sufficient time to ensure uniformity then cool at less than 25°C per hour to 650°C. The parts may then be cooled in air. Correctly annealed this steel should have a hardness not greater than 235 HB.
Heat to 650°C. Hold for 2-4 hours and furnace cool.
Before heat treatment, sufficient machining should be carried out to remove surface decarburisation. Where possible hardening should be carried out in neutral salt baths or controlled atmosphere furnaces. Preheat slowly to 750°C / 800°C then transfer to a bath or furnace operating at 950°C /980°C soaking for twenty minutes plus ten minutes per inch of section. Cool in still air.
Tempering should be carried out immediately following completion of the quenching operation. Heat to within the 175°C / 225°C range and hold at temperature for a minimum period of one hour. Increased toughness will be obtainable by tempering within the 350°C/ 400°C range but this will be at the expense of hardness. The tempering curve given provides typical data obtained by cooling from 970°C.
The diagram illustrates the time required for transformation of austenite to commence and it may be usefully employed in determining the correct temperatures and holding times for interrupted quenching treatments.
(Austenitised at 975°C)
Taylor Special Steels have been supplying specialist tool steels to UK and Irish industry for over 30 years. All A2 stock is supplied in the annealed condition and available in a wide range of round bar and flat bar sizes, sawn to length to your exact requirements. Ground flat stock and gauge plate can also be produced in A2. We supply to the manufacturing, aerospace, automotive and toolmaking industries, from single pieces to bulk orders.
If you need to compare grades, A2 sits between O1 tool steel, a general-purpose oil-hardening grade, and D2 tool steel, which offers higher wear resistance for more demanding applications. Our team can advise on the most suitable grade for your requirements.
Call us on 0121 552 2741 or email sales@taylorspecialsteels.co.uk to discuss your A2 tool steel requirement.
Related Grades:
O1 Tool Steel (1.2510) | D2 Tool Steel (1.2379) | S1 Tool Steel (1.2550) | H13 Tool Steel (1.2344)