State check
Keep the as-quenched condition separate from the final tempered condition. Grade, section size, quench route and tempering history matter. Some highly alloyed tool steels show secondary hardening during tempering, so a universal “hotter means softer” rule is unsuitable.
Next step
Read the specified property, test method and location together with the final condition. A hardness result alone does not certify toughness.
Carry the final condition into the material record
A process name does not supply a universal hardness, strength, temperature, dimensional allowance or cutting parameter.
Sources and scope
Reviewed 23 October 2026. Process explanations and public standard summaries do not establish a treatment recipe or certify a supplied part.
Bodycote neutral hardening
Process definition and stated condition boundaries; public standard abstracts only where applicable.
Open source ↗Bodycote tempering
Process definition and stated condition boundaries; public standard abstracts only where applicable.
Open source ↗Uddeholm Heat Treatment of Tool Steel
Process definition and stated condition boundaries; public standard abstracts only where applicable.
Open source ↗