Every Kennametal turning and milling grade in our reference database, with the ISO 513 application positions that manufacturer comparison charts place it at, its coating status where the charts state it, and how many cross-brand grades sit at the same position. No Kennametal marketing, no vendor steering: this is the chart a buyer uses to compare, not the one a seller uses to upsell.
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Source: manufacturer grade-comparison charts, ingested with page-level provenance (fixture generated 2026-09-01). “Comparable at the same ISO application position” means the charts place these grades at the same P/M/K/N/S/H position — it is a starting point for a trial, not an identical-performance guarantee. Coating shown only where a chart states it; “—” is never guessed.
Reading the positions in the chart itself: KCP grades cluster in P (steel turning), KCM in M (stainless), KCK in K (cast iron), and KCU grades span several groups at once (multi-material). KB-prefixed entries sit in H positions, which is CBN hard-machining territory, and the classic uncoated grades K313 and K68 cover K/M/N/S finishing positions. That clustering comes straight from the ISO positions in the table above, not from a brochure.
ISO 513 application positions (P10, M20, K10…) are the one scale every maker publishes against. That is what makes a brand-neutral swap possible: find the position your current grade sits at, then look at which other brands’ grades the comparison charts place at the same position, and trial from there. Our compare tool and cross-reference pages do exactly that lookup.
Look up the grade’s ISO application position in the chart above, then use the link on that row: it opens the grades from other makers that two or more manufacturer comparison charts place at the same position. Where no match is confirmed yet, the row links to the free check instead. Treat the result as a trial candidate at the same application position, and verify on a sample part; comparison charts align application areas, not guaranteed performance.
Whatever the letters officially abbreviate, the chart shows what matters: KCP grades sit at P positions (steel), KCM at M (stainless), KCK at K (cast iron), with the trailing number tracking the position from finishing (05/10) to roughing (30/40). Pick the family by your ISO material group, then the number by how tough the operation is.
Because the source charts did not state it, and we do not guess. A dash in the coating column means exactly that: the comparison charts we ingested carry no coating claim for that grade. The maker’s own catalog is the place to confirm.
No. It is compiled from multiple manufacturers’ published grade-comparison charts, ingested with page-level provenance into a brand-neutral reference database. We sell no tools, take no commission, and no brand pays for placement, which is the point: the same method applies to every brand in the database, not just this one.
The chart answers “what sits where”. For “which grade for 42CrMo4 interrupted turning” you want the advisor: it grounds the answer in catalog data across 15 brands and says so when there is no verified match.