To provide a hard film having excellent lubricating characteristics and high hardness and an application method of the film, and to provide a tool for metal plastic working, having a working surface coated with the above hard film.

The hard film is applied on a substrate surface to be in contact with another material, by an arc ion plating method, wherein the hard film comprises titanium carbide having a half value width of 1.75° or more of the (111) plane in a NaCl type crystalline structure. The tool for metal plastic working has a working face coated with the above hard film. The application method of the hard film on a substrate surface is carried out by arc ion plating, wherein a hard film comprising titanium carbide is applied on a substrate surface by arc ion plating using a titanium target, while a bias voltage of -120 to -150V is applied on the surface and methane gas is introduced to control the inner pressure of the furnace to 2.8 Pa to 3.8 Pa.