CPM CruWear Tool Blade Steel
CPM CruWear is an air-hardening powder metallurgy tool steel and is one of the best knife steels that offers balanced performance in edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance and high Rockwell hardness.
It is among the few steels that are not skewed on one property. It is an upgraded version of D-2 steel with a high percentage of Vanadium Carbides which are better than the much more chromium carbides in D-2 steel.
CPM CruWear is air hardening and heat treatable to HRC 60-65. The original conventionally melted CruWear was designed as an upgrade to A-2 and D-2, for better wear resistance, greater toughness and higher attainable hardness.
It was introduced as a way to make the conventionally melted version easier to machine and more resistant to chipping. Compared to the chemistry of D-2 (D-2 = 1.55% carbon, 11.5% chromium, 0.8% vanadium, and 0.9% molybdenum), CPM CruWear has less carbon and less chromium, but more vanadium and tungsten.
The overall carbide content of CPM CruWear is less than D-2 which helps make it tougher than D-2. CPM CruWear’s higher attainable hardness results from the fact that it contains sufficient tungsten and molybdenum to cause a secondary hardening response. CPM CruWear tempers at a higher range (900-1050°F) than D-2 (400-600°F), so it is more compatible with a wide variety of surface treatments.
Knifemakers love this steel because of its high wear resistance, edge retention, and toughness. The knives will serve across generations, even with regular usage and sharpening.
For CPM CRU-WEAR Heat Treatment Recipe follow this link: