Abstract
The paper briefly describes factors influencing the effectivity of forgings production. It focuses on lifetime of forging dies and possibilities of surface layers mechanical strengthening application. Included are also the results of experiments in the area of surface layer strengthening of forging die tool steels by shot peening. The article presents the results obtained on the basis of monitoring the influence of the initial hardness on the surface roughness after shot peening and on the course of hardness in the surface layer after shot peening. The results of the experiments confirmed the beneficial effect of mechanical reinforcement (strengthening) on the final properties of surface layer.