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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/eng-tempering-martensite

Why is quenched steel often tempered afterward?

Tempering sacrifices some hardness to gain toughness and stress relief.

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  1. To make brittle martensite tougher ✔
  2. To make it even harder
  3. To make it fully soft again

Why: As-quenched martensite is hard but brittle and internally stressed. Controlled reheating permits limited atomic rearrangement, making it less hard but much tougher.

Huh, didn't know that: Higher tempering temperatures generally trade more strength for greater ductility and toughness.

The dad joke
The steel took a tempering class to become less brittle.
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References

Answer: To make brittle martensite tougher. As-quenched martensite is hard but brittle and internally stressed. Controlled reheating permits limited atomic rearrangement, making it less hard but much tougher.

  1. MIT OpenCourseWare Heat Treatment of Steel ocw.mit.edu/courses/2-002-mechanics-and-materials-ii-spring-2004/750ccb5eb0b82814883944ddab3fa166_lab5_s04_1045new.pdf
    Tempered martensites are generally somewhat less hard, but much more tough
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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