Patent ID: 7909906

Claim:
A method for producing cold work steel, comprising: via a melt metallurgical technique, creating a molten steel with a weight-% composition comprising 1.25-1.75 (C+N), wherein C is a minimum of 0.5, 0.1-1.5 Si, 0.1-1.5 Mn, 4.5-5.5 Cr, 2.5-4.25 (Mo+W/2), wherein W is a maximum of 0.5, 3.0-4.5 (V+Nb/2), wherein Nb is a maximum of 0.5, a maximum of 0.3 S, and a balance of Fe and unavoidable impurities; manufacturing a powder from the molten steel via nitrogen gas atomization of a stream of the molten steel; filling a metal sheet capsule with the powder; hot isostatic pressing the capsule, at a predetermined hot isostatic pressing temperature and a predetermined hot isostatic pressing pressure, to create a consolidated body; wherein the consolidated body contains 6-13 vol-% vanadium-rich MX carbides, nitrides, and/or carbonitrides, which are evenly distributed in the matrix of the steel, with X being C and/or N, wherein at least 90 vol-% of said vanadium rich MX carbides nitrides, and/or carbonitrides have an equivalent diameter, D eq , that is smaller than 3.0 μm, and a total maximum of 1 vol-% of other carbides, nitrides, and/or carbonitrides.