CPM-15V

CPM-15V is a high-performance powder metallurgy tool steel from the American manufacturer Crucible Industries, characterized by extreme wear resistance and exceptionally high hardness, reaching up to 63 HRc on the Rockwell scale. Its chemical composition contains approximately 3.4% carbon, 5.25% chromium, 1.3% molybdenum, 14.9% vanadium, 0.5% manganese, 0.9% silicon, and 0.4% tungsten. Thanks to the high vanadium content, a large amount of very hard vanadium carbides are formed in the material, giving the steel an exceptional ability to resist wear even under extreme conditions. CPM-15V steel is not widely used because it is very difficult to process and grind, but its performance surpasses even the legendary Japanese ZDP-189 steel. It is mainly used where extreme blade life is crucial and where more demanding maintenance and more difficult machining are acceptable.