Another thing people constantly confuse hardening and tempering. 2 completely different things. First the steel must be hardened which converts it from a pearlite matrix into a martensite matrix. Once hardened it then needs tempered. This forms the martensite structures into smaller finer structures.
All steels have their own best HT. Temperatures, soak times, quench speeds and temper temperatures for the desired hardness. Taking a piece of high carbon steel to red and where a magnet don't stick then quenching it in oil will leave much to be desired. Old motor oil isn't going to quench a steel like 1095 fast enough. Lots left unconverted.
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