Materials that is difficult to machine, such as AISI 440C stainless steel, show great wear on the cutting edge of inserts, which is enhanced by the heat of abrasive friction. In this study, a methodology was developed to verify the efficiency of the cutting cooling method against insert flank wear and integrity of the machined surface. In the dry cutting method, no liquid or gaseous coolant was used. Emulsifying liquid cutting fluid was applied by the continuous flow method, with the jet directed in the cutting region by the upper part of the insert. To measure the wear on the flank of the insert, a digital macroscopy method was applied. The analyzes showed that the dry cooling method presented lower machined surface roughness for 15 min (Ra = 1.449 μm). The liquid nitrogen cryogenic cooling method offered less flank wear for 15 min of machining (Vb = 0.168 mm). The machining tests showed that the TNMG160404 Class 6525 insert supports the machining parameters, for and cooling methods and the material adopted according to ABNT NBR ISO 3685 standard.