The term hardened steel is often used for a medium or high carbon steel that has been given the heat treatments of quenching followed by tempering. The quenching results in the formation of metastable martensite, the fraction of which is reduced to the desired amount during tempering. This is the most common state for finished articles such as tools and machine parts. In contrast, the same steel composition in annealed state will be softer as required for forming and machining.
Case hardened articles starting as low carbon steel can also be labeled hardened steel.
Famous quotes containing the words hardened and/or steel:
“A people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood.”
—Edmund Burke (1729–1797)
“The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)