A wide range of material property improvements has been claimed for steels treated at low-temperatures:

Wear Resistance

One of the most prevalent claims for cold or cryogenic treatment of metals is an increase in wear resistance (with or without a hardness increase).

Dimensional Stability

The original purpose of cryogenic treatment was to stabilize part dimensions by eliminating the possibility of spontaneous transformation of retained austenite to martensite during fabrication or in service.

Hardness

In many cases, hardness increases of 1 to 3 points Rockwell C-scale hardness(HRC) have been claimed, although some report little increase in hardness.

Resonant Frequency

Shifts in resonant frequency have been documented and are being applied to musical instruments such as trumpets and trombones.

The practical cost savings from increased wear resistance of low temperature treating of tooling include:

Delayed purchase of new tooling

Decreased resharpen, regrind, and rework

Less scheduled downtime to change tooling

Lower labor costs

Decreased loss of production parts when tooling is out of spec.