A surface-coated cutting tool includes a base material and a coating film provided on a surface of the base material, wherein the coating film includes a first alternating layer provided on the base material and a second alternating layer provided on the first alternating layer, the first alternating layer includes A and B layers, the second alternating layer includes C and D layers, each of one or plurality of the A layers is composed of a nitride or carbonitride of Al.sub.aCr.sub.bM1.sub.(l-a-b), each of one or plurality of the B layers is composed of a nitride or carbonitride of Al.sub.cTi.sub.dM2.sub.(l-c-d), each of one or plurality of the C layers is composed of a nitride or carbonitride of Ti.sub.eSi.sub.fM3.sub.(l-e-f), and each of one or plurality of the D layers is composed of a nitride or carbonitride of Ti.sub.gSi.sub.hM4.sub.(l-g-h).

A cutting tool includes: a substrate; and a coating film formed on the substrate, wherein the coating film includes a first layer formed on the substrate, and a second layer formed on the first layer, the first layer is composed of a boride including titanium as a component element, and the second layer is composed of a nitride including zirconium as a component element.

A cutting tool includes: a substrate; and a coating film formed on the substrate, wherein the coating film includes a first layer formed on the substrate, and a second layer formed on the first layer, the first layer is composed of a boride including zirconium as a component element, and the second layer is composed of a nitride including zirconium as a component element.

A hard material includes a first hard phase containing titanium carbonitride as a major constituent and a binder phase containing an iron group element as a major constituent. In any surface or cross-section of the hard material, the grain size D50 at a cumulative percentage of 50% of a grain size distribution by area of the first hard phase is 1.0 m or more, and the average aspect ratio of first hard phase particles having grain sizes larger than or equal to D50 is 2.0 or less.

Provided is a coated cutting tool, which includes a hard coating film containing a layer (c) which is a layered coating film made by alternately layering a nitride or carbonitride layer (c1) that contains, with respect to the total amount of metal elements (including metalloid elements), at least 55 atom % aluminum (Al), chromium (Cr) having the second highest content percentage, and at least silicon (Si), and a nitride or carbonitride layer (c2) that contains, with respect to the total amount of metal elements (including metalloid elements), at least 55 atom % aluminum (Al) and titanium (Ti) having the second highest content, each layer having a thickness of 50 nm or less. A peak intensity Ih ascribable to an hcp (010) plane of AlN in the layer (c) and the total peak intensity Is ascribable to other predetermined crystal phases satisfy a relationship of Ih100/Is15.

A surface coated cutting tool comprises a base material and a coating layer that coats the base material, the coating layer including an alternate layer composed of a first unit layer and a second unit layer alternately stacked, the first unit layer being composed of a nitride containing aluminum and zirconium, in the first unit layer, when the total number of metal atoms constituting the first unit layer is represented as 1, a ratio thereto of the number of atoms of the zirconium being not less than 0.65 and not more than 0.95, the second unit layer being composed of a nitride containing titanium and silicon, in the second unit layer, when the total number of metal atoms constituting the second unit layer is represented as 1, a ratio thereto of the number of atoms of the silicon being larger than 0 and not more than 0.20.

A method for producing a coating on a substrate, wherein the coating includes a PVD layer (A), deposited by cathodic arc evaporation, being a compound of the formula Me.sub.xSi.sub.yAl.sub.zC.sub.aN.sub.bO.sub.c, wherein Me is one or more metals of groups 4, 5 and 6 in the IUPAC periodic table of elements. The PVD layer (A) is deposited by applying a pulsed bias voltage of from about 40 to about 450 V to the substrate and using a duty cycle of less than about 12% and a pulsed bias frequency of less than about 10 kHz. A coated cutting tool having a substrate and a coating is also disclosed, wherein the coating includes the PVD layer (A) with the compound of the formula Me.sub.xSi.sub.yAl.sub.zC.sub.aN.sub.bO.sub.c. The PVD layer (A) is crystalline having a FWHM (Full Width at Half Maximum) value for the cubic (111) peak in X-ray diffraction of 0.3 degrees (2theta).

A black member includes a base and a black layer laminated on the base. The black layer contains titanium aluminum nitride, titanium silicon nitride, or titanium aluminum silicon nitride. The black layer may also contain at least one type of elements selected from the group consisting of oxygen, fluorine, and carbon. When the black layer contains carbon, and assuming that a total amount of elements contained in the black layer is 100 at %, the black layer contains carbon of 10 at % or less. In a color evaluation according to an L*, a*, b* color system (CIE color system), the black layer satisfies L*48.0, 2.0a*3.0, and 3.5b*3.0.

A coated cutting tool, comprising: a substrate made of a cubic boron nitride-containing sintered body; and a coating layer formed on the substrate, wherein the cubic boron nitride-containing sintered body includes 65 volume % or more and 85 volume % or less of cubic boron nitride, and 15 volume % or more and 35 volume % or less of a binder phase; the cubic boron nitride is in a form of particles, the particles having an average particle size from 1.5 m or more to 4.0 m or less; the coating layer includes a lower layer, and an upper layer formed on the lower layer; the lower layer contains particles each having a composition represented by (Ti.sub.1-xAl.sub.x)N; the lower layer has an average thickness from 0.1 m or more to 1.0 m or less; the particles forming the lower layer have an average particle size from 0.01 m or more to 0.05 m or less; the upper layer contains particles each having a composition represented by (Ti.sub.1-yAl.sub.y)(C.sub.1-zN.sub.z); and the upper layer has an average thickness from 1.0 m or more to 5.0 m or less.

A surface-coated cutting tool includes: a substrate including a rake face and a flank face; a first coating film that coats the rake face; and a second coating film that coats the flank face, wherein the first coating film includes a first composite nitride layer at a region d1 on the rake face, the second coating film includes a second composite nitride layer at a region d2 on the flank face, the first composite nitride layer includes Ti.sub.1-x1-y1Al.sub.x1Ta.sub.y1C.sub.1N.sub.1, the second composite nitride layer includes Ti.sub.1-x2-y2Al.sub.x2Ta.sub.y2C.sub.2N.sub.2.