Our Blog

1.2379 Material Equivalent: The Full Steel Grade Overview

You see 1.2379 on German drawings, but its standard names vary widely across countries. It is Cr12Mo1V1 in China, SKD11 in Japan, and D2 in the United States. This article fully lists the 1.2379 material equivalent: The Full Steel Grade Overview under US, Japanese, Chinese, German, Swedish, Austrian, British, French and ISO standards, together with chemical composition and property data. It helps you understand all details clearly.

Hot product

What is 1.2379 Steel

1.2379 tool steel is a high-carbon high-chromium cold work tool steel under German DIN standard. C: 1.40%–1.60%, Cr: 11.00%–13.00%, Mo: 0.70%–1.20%, V: 0.70%–1.10%. It belongs to ledeburitic steel. Its structure has many hard M₇C₃ carbides, so it has good wear resistance. 1.2379 can harden by air cooling. It has small heat treatment distortion. Its hardness reaches 58–63 HRC after quenching and tempering. But its toughness is low. It is widely used for stamping dies, shear blades, thread rolling wheels, cold extrusion dies and precision gauges.

Main 1.2379 Material Equivalent

Steel Grade	Standard	C	Si	Mn	P	S	Cr	Mo	V	Co
DIN 1.2379	DIN 17350-1980	1.50-1.60	0.10-0.40	0.15-0.45	≤0.030	≤0.020	11.00-12.00	0.60-0.80	0.90-1.10	/
AISI D2	ASTM A681-2008(R2015)	1.40-1.60	0.10-0.60	0.10-0.60	≤0.030	≤0.030	11.00-13.00	0.70-1.20	0.50-1.10	/
JIS SKD11	JIS G 4404-2006	1.40-1.60	≤0.40	≤0.60	≤0.030	≤0.030	11.00-13.00	0.80-1.20	0.20-0.50	/
GB Cr12Mo1V1	GB /T 1299-2025	1.40-1.60	≤0.60	≤0.60	≤0.030	≤0.015	11.00-13.00	0.70-1.20	0.50-1.10	≤1.00
K110	/	1.50-1.60	≤0.40	≤0.40	≤0.030	≤0.015	11.00-12.00	0.70-0.90	0.70-1.10	/

Main 1.2379 Material Equivalent — US AISI

Grade

AISI D2

D2 Steel Properties

D2 is the most widely used cold work tool steel in the United States. It reaches 58–62 HRC after quenching and tempering. High hardness plus many M₇C₃ carbides gives excellent wear resistance. D2 hardens in air and has small heat treatment distortion. It fits precision dies. It has high compressive strength and does not easily collapse under heavy stamping load. ESR grade D2 steel has high purity, more even carbides and better polishing performance.

1.2379 Material Equivalent — Japan JIS

Grade

JIS SKD11

SKD11 Properties

SKD11 has good hardenability. It can reach 60–62 HRC after vacuum heat treatment. Its carbides are fine and uniform. Its wear resistance is equal to D2, but its vanadium content is low, so its toughness is slightly worse than D2. SKD11 has good dimensional stability during heat treatment and good machinability under annealed state. It is widely used for electronic connector dies, lead frame dies, precision stamping dies and forming tools. If the material needs to take high impact, DC53 can also be considered. DC53 is an upgraded version of SKD11, and its toughness is twice that of SKD11.

1.2379 Steel Equivalent — China GB

Grade

GB Cr12Mo1V1

Cr12Mo1V1 Properties

Cr12Mo1V1 is the most common cold work tool steel in China. It reaches 60–65 HRC after quenching and tempering, and has high wear resistance. Its hardness is ≤255 HB under annealed state, with good cutting machinability. It has high hardenability, and thick sections can be fully hardened. Its toughness is average, and it easily chips under high impact. It has good cost performance. It suits stamping dies, cold heading dies and gauges.

1.2379 Equivalent — Sweden

Grade

ASSAB XW-42

Chemical composition

C: 1.55%
Si: 0.30%
Mn: 0.40%
P: ≤0.030%
S: ≤0.030
Cr: 11.30%
Mo: 0.80%
V: 0.80%

XW-42 Properties

This Swedish grade has very high purity. XW-42 has better impact toughness than standard D2 and longer service life. Its price is higher, and it has strong resistance to edge chipping. It reaches 60–62 HRC after quenching and tempering with good wear resistance. It has small heat treatment distortion. It fits high-impact stamping dies and precision shearing dies.

1.2379 Material Equivalent — France AFNOR

Grade

AFNOR Z160CDV12

Chemical composition

C: 1.50-1.60%
Si: 0.10-0.40%
Mn: 0.15-0.45%
P: ≤0.030%
S: ≤0.030%
Cr: 11.00-12.00%
Mo: 0.60-0.80%
V: 0.90-1.10%

Z160CDV12 Properties

Z160CDV12 is equivalent to D2, and its chemical composition is close to BD2. Its hardness is 58-62 HRC with high wear resistance. V: 0.90-1.10% forms fine carbides. It has small heat treatment distortion. It is suitable for cold work dies.

FAQ of Steel 1.2379

Q1: Which grade 1.2379 material equivalent has the highest vanadium content?

A: DIN 1.2379. V: 0.90-1.10%. It is the highest among all 1.2379 Equivalent grades. AISI D2 and GB Cr12Mo1V1 have V: 0.50-1.10%. K110 has V: 0.70-1.10%. JIS SKD11 is the lowest, only V: 0.20-0.50%. Vanadium refines grains and improves toughness. DIN 1.2379 has the highest vanadium content, so its carbide refining effect is most reliable.

Q2: Which grade in 1.2379 material equivalent has the strictest sulfur control?

A: GB Cr12Mo1V1 and K110, S ≤0.015%. DIN 1.2379 has S ≤0.020%. AISI D2 and JIS SKD11 have S ≤0.030%. Among material 1.2379 equivalent, lower sulfur means fewer non-metallic inclusions and better toughness and polishing performance. Choose grades with S ≤0.015% for mirror finish dies.

Q3: Why does DIN 1.2379 have a narrower chromium range than other 1.2379 Equivalent grades?

A: DIN 1.2379 Cr: 11.00-12.00%. AISI D2, JIS SKD11 and GB Cr12Mo1V1 have Cr:11.00-13.00%. As the original grade of 1.2379 material equivalent, DIN 1.2379 uses a tighter chromium range. It needs stricter smelting control and delivers more stable carbide structure.

Q4: Why does GB Cr12Mo1V1 have cobalt requirement while other 1.2379 Equivalent grades do not?

A: Keyspark steel can provide flexible solutions for customer custom orders. Cobalt improves red hardness, but it is not a key element for cold work tool steel. Our custom production can meet the 1.2379 material needs of high-end customers.

Q5: Which grade in 1.2379 steel equivalent has the lowest molybdenum content?

A: DIN 1.2379. Mo:0.60-0.80%. It is the lowest among 1.2379 steel equivalent grades. JIS SKD11 is the highest, Mo:0.80-1.20%. AISI D2 and GB Cr12Mo1V1 have Mo:0.70-1.20%. K110 has Mo:0.70-0.90%. DIN 1.2379 uses high vanadium to make up for low molybdenum and keep good thermal stability.

Conclusion

Keyspark Steel manufactures the full range of 1.2379 material equivalent. Every batch of 1.2379 steel equivalent adopts EAF+LF+VD melting process. We support bulk custom orders in various sizes, high-quality ESR versions and premium customization with fine adjustment of alloy composition.

More Steel 1.2379 Resources

📩 Contact Keyspark Steel now if you need →
📧 Email: Sales@keysparksteel.com
📱 Mobile/WhatsApp: +86 150 2405 6480
These are our related articles if you want to learn more tool steel comparison:

Steel Grade Guide

2Cr13 Material – Delivery in Pre-hardened Condition of 28-34HRC

byKeyspark Steel

October 8, 2026

2Cr13 Material - Delivery in Pre-hardened Condition of 28-34HRC 2Cr13 material with pre-hardened delivery balances machining efficiency and final performance....