A powder metallurgy moulding composition intended for manufacturing decorative or covering articles in sintered massive cermet, including an inorganic powder to form the cermet and an organic binder. The inorganic powder includes by weight of 35% to 95% of at least one ceramic phase based on ceramic selected from the group consisting of TiC, TiCN, TiN and mixtures thereof, and from 5% to 65% of a metallic phase, the metallic phase consisting by weight of at least 40% of iron, from 15% to 45% of chromium, from 0.1% to 25% of molybdenum, from 0.1% to 10% of silicon, from 0 to 10% of boron, and from 0 to 10% of niobium, the respective amounts of the elements of the metallic phase being such that their sum is equal to 100 wt % of the metallic phase.

A powder metallurgy moulding composition intended for manufacturing decorative or covering articles in sintered massive cermet, including an inorganic powder to form the cermet and an organic binder. The inorganic powder includes by weight of 35% to 95% of at least one ceramic phase based on ceramic selected from the group consisting of TiC, TiCN, TiN and mixtures thereof, and from 5% to 65% of a metallic phase, the metallic phase consisting by weight of at least 40% of iron, from 15% to 45% of chromium, from 0.1% to 25% of molybdenum, from 0.1% to 10% of silicon, from 0 to 10% of boron, and from 0 to 10% of niobium, the respective amounts of the elements of the metallic phase being such that their sum is equal to 100 wt % of the metallic phase.

A surface-coated cutting tool having a rake face and a flank face includes a base material and a coating formed on the base material. The base material is a cemented carbide or a cermet. The coating includes an aluminum oxide layer containing a plurality of aluminum oxide crystal grains. The aluminum oxide layer includes: a first region made up of a region A on the rake face and a region B on the flank face; a second region on the rake face except for the region A; and a third region on the flank face except for the region B. The aluminum oxide layer satisfies a relation: b−a>0.5, where a is an average value of TC(110) in the first region in texture coefficient TC(hkl), and b is an average value of TC(110) in the second or third region in texture coefficient TC(hkl).

A surface-coated cutting tool having a rake face and a flank face includes a base material and a coating formed on the base material. The base material is a cemented carbide or a cermet. The coating includes an aluminum oxide layer containing a plurality of aluminum oxide crystal grains. The aluminum oxide layer includes: a first region made up of a region A on the rake face and a region B on the flank face; a second region on the rake face except for the region A; and a third region on the flank face except for the region B. The aluminum oxide layer satisfies a relation: b−a>0.5, where a is an average value of TC(110) in the first region in texture coefficient TC(hkl), and b is an average value of TC(110) in the second or third region in texture coefficient TC(hkl).

A cutting tool includes a base material. The base material is a cemented carbide or a cermet. A surface of the base material includes a rake face, a flank face, and a cutting edge face connecting the rake face to the flank face. The base material has an oxygen concentration of less than or equal to 1 at. % at a depth position of 0.4 μm from the cutting edge face.

A surface-coated cutting tool has a rake face and a flank face, and includes a base material and a coating formed on the base material. The base material has a cutting edge face connecting the rake face to the flank face. The coating includes an aluminum oxide layer containing a plurality of aluminum oxide crystal grains. The aluminum oxide layer includes: a first region made up of a region A on the rake face and a region B on the flank face; a second region on the rake face except for the region A; and a third region on the flank face except for the region B. The aluminum oxide layer satisfies a relation: b−a>0.5, where a is an average value of TC(006) in the first region in texture coefficient TC(hkl), and b is an average value of TC(006) in the second or third region in texture coefficient TC(hkl).

A coated tool of the present disclosure may include a base and a coating layer covering at least a part of the base. The base may include a hard phase of a carbonitride including Ti and a binder phase including at least one of Co and Ni and has a thermal expansion coefficient at 25 to 1000° C. of 9.0×10.sup.−6/° C. or more. The coating layer may include a TiCN layer and an Al.sub.2O.sub.3 layer positioned on the TiCN layer. The TiCN layer may have a compressive stress of 250 to 500 MPa. The Al.sub.2O.sub.3 layer may have a thickness of 2 μm or more and a compressive stress of 450 MPa or more, and the value of the compressive stress is greater than the compressive stress of the TiCN layer.

Cemented carbide contains first hard-phase particles containing WC, second hard-phase particles which contain carbonitride containing at least Ti and Nb, and a metallic binder phase containing an iron-group element. The second hard-phase particle includes a granular core portion and a peripheral portion which covers at least a part of the core portion. The core portion contains composite carbonitride expressed as Ti.sub.1-X-YNb.sub.XW.sub.YC.sub.1-ZN.sub.Z, where Y is not smaller than 0 and not greater than 0.05 and Z is not smaller than 0.3 and not greater than 0.6. The peripheral portion is different in composition from the core portion.

Cemented carbide contains first hard-phase particles containing WC, second hard-phase particles which contain carbonitride containing at least Ti and Nb, and a metallic binder phase containing an iron-group element. The second hard-phase particle includes a granular core portion and a peripheral portion which covers at least a part of the core portion. The core portion contains composite carbonitride expressed as Ti.sub.1-X-YNb.sub.XW.sub.YC.sub.1-ZN.sub.Z, where Y is not smaller than 0 and not greater than 0.05 and Z is not smaller than 0.3 and not greater than 0.6. The peripheral portion is different in composition from the core portion.

Cemented carbide contains first hard-phase particles containing WC, second hard-phase particles which contain carbonitride containing at least Ti and Nb, and a metallic binder phase containing an iron-group element. The second hard-phase particle includes a granular core portion. The core portion contains composite carbonitride expressed as Ti.sub.1XYNb.sub.XW.sub.YC.sub.1ZN.sub.Z, where X is not smaller than 0.1 and not greater than 0.2, Y is not smaller than 0 and not greater than 0.05, and Z is not smaller than 0.3 and not greater than 0.6. The cemented carbide has an absolute value of a difference not greater than 10, between a ratio (%) of an area occupied by the second hard-phase particles at a surface thereof and a ratio (%) of an area occupied by the second hard-phase particles in a region extending from the surface by 0.5 mm in a direction of depth.