316L austenitic stainless steel is widely used in aerospace because of its excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, work hardening and harsh tool-chip contact environments lead to decreased tool life and machining efficiency. In this paper, finite element simulation and cutting experiments of restricted contact cutting were constructed to explore the effect of restricted contact tools on the force and thermal characteristics of the machining process. The effect of cutting and restricted contact parameters was investigated through the establishment of the finite element simulation model of restricted contact cutting, and the action mechanism of variable restricted contact structure was clarified. It indicated that the variable-length restricted contact structure can effectively reduce the cutting force and temperature and improve the cutting performance, among which the trapezoidal restricted contact structure has the best effect on improving cutting performance. The result, which was validated by cutting experiments and proved the reliability of the finite element simulation, offers the basis for optimizing the structure of the restricted contact tool.