Provided is a cutting tool including a base material including a flank face and a coating layer that coats the flank face, the coating layer including a matrix region and metal particulates, the matrix region being made of a compound represented by (Al.sub.xTi.sub.yX.sub.1-x-y)C.sub.vO.sub.wN.sub.1-v-w, where X representing at least one element selected from the group consisting of chromium, silicon, niobium, tantalum, tungsten, and boron, the metal particulates containing aluminum or titanium as a constituent element, the metal particulates having particle diameters of more than or equal to 20 nm and less than or equal to 200 nm, a number of the metal particulates being more than or equal to 12 and less than or equal to 36 in a field of view of 3 m4 m in a cross section parallel to a direction of a normal to an interface of the coating layer.

Provided is a cutting tool including a base material including a rake face and a coating layer that coats the rake face, the coating layer including a matrix region and metal particulates, the matrix region being made of a compound represented by (Al.sub.xTi.sub.yX.sub.1xy)C.sub.vO.sub.wN.sub.1vw, where X representing at least one element selected from the group consisting of chromium, silicon, niobium, tantalum, tungsten, and boron, the metal particulates containing aluminum or titanium as a constituent element, the metal particulates having particle diameters of more than or equal to 20 nm and less than or equal to 200 nm, a number of the metal particulates being more than or equal to 12 and less than or equal to 36 in a field of view of 3 m4m in a cross section parallel to a direction of a normal to an interface of the coating layer.

A coated cutting tool comprising a substrate and a coating layer formed on the substrate, wherein: the coating layer is laminated in order from the substrate side toward a surface side of the coating layer; and the coating layer comprises an upper layer and a lower layer which satisfy the following conditions that: at least one of {422} planes of TiCN particles located closest to the surface in the lower layer and at least one of {006} planes of -type Al.sub.2O.sub.3 particles located closest to the substrate in the upper layer and immediately above the TiCN particles are substantially parallel to each other, and at least one of {111} planes of the TiCN particles and at least one of {110} planes of the -type Al.sub.2O.sub.3 particles are substantially parallel to each other; and at least one of {111} planes of TiCN particles located closest to the surface in the lower layer and at least one of {006} planes of -type Al.sub.2O.sub.3 particles located closest to the substrate in the upper layer and immediately above the TiCN particles are substantially parallel to each other, and at least one of {422} planes of the TiCN particles and at least one of {110} planes of the -type Al.sub.2O.sub.3 particles are substantially parallel to each other.

A cutting tool comprises a substrate and a coating that coats the substrate, the coating including an -alumina layer, the -alumina layer including crystal grains of -alumina, the -alumina layer including a lower portion and an upper portion, the upper portion being occupied in area at a ratio of 50% or more by crystal grains of -alumina having (006) plane with a normal thereto having a direction within 15 with respect to a direction of a normal to the second interface, the lower portion being occupied in area at a ratio of 5% or more and less than 50% by crystal grains of -alumina having (012) plane, (104) plane, (110) plane, (113) plane, (116) plane, (300) plane, (214) plane and (006) plane each with a normal thereto having a direction within t 15 with respect to the direction of the normal to the second interface.

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.

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 surface-coated cutting tool includes a base material and a coating covering the base material. The base material includes a rake face and a flank face. The coating includes a TiCN layer. The TiCN layer has a (422) orientation in a region d1 in the rake face. The TiCN layer has a (311) orientation in a region d2 in the flank face.

A cutting tool in an embodiment includes a base member composed of cemented carbide and a coating layer located on a surface of the base member. The coating layer includes a first layer which is in contact with the base member and contains Ti(C.sub.xN.sub.1-x) (0x1). A KAM average value of WC particles in a region extending to a depth of 5 m from the surface of the base member is 1 or less, which is measured by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) method using a scanning electron microscope with an electron backscatter diffraction imaging system.

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.

A cBN sintered material cutting tool includes a cutting tool body that is made of a sintered material including cubic boron nitride particles and a binder phase, in which: an average particle size of the cBN particles is 0.5 m or less and a content ratio of the cBN particles in the sintered material is 35 vol % to 80 vol %; and the binder phase includes 1.0 vol % to 20 vol % of an Al compound, an average particle size of the Al compound present in the binder phase is 300 nm or less, and a value of a ratio (a value of S.sub.N/S.sub.O; area ratio) of a content S.sub.N of nitrogen (N) included in the Al compound to a content S.sub.O of oxygen (O) included in the Al compound is 1.1 to 5.