Pete S wrote:

You may be correct in thinking that the parts (the metric dies) aren't HSS,
but you could be wrong, too.
They COULD be HSS if:
-there was a problem in heat treatment
-The mfr wanted them less brittle for some specific reason

W1 can be hardened to a lot higher Rc than 55, so I wouldn't draw the
conclusion you did based simply on Rc hardness.

Pete Stanaitis
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I've bought 2 metric dies recently on eBay, that the add stated as HSS,
and testing with my rockwell hardness tester indicates Rc=55 and less.

ignator

One would think that heat treatment may be selective to the cutting
area, particularly if they were the split adjustable type of dies that
need to flex a bit without breaking.