work hardening

[EOU]

Thank you Jan for your well measured response to our previous post. Without a doubt, this is a head spinner with or without a degree in metallurgy. Work hardening, plastic deformation, stress hardening, stress fracturing and metal fatigue seem to all be interrelated and sometimes interchangeable terms depending on whether we are speaking to the virtues and benefits or the detriments of work hardening. To question whether hardened and tempered steels can be work hardened might seem to question whether those same steels are subject to stress fracturing and metal fatigue but of course we know that they are. Evidence of plastic deformation, a hallmark of work hardening, is common with well tempered knife blades. Who hasn't put a permanent bend in the tip or blade of a knife? None of this is proof, one way or the other, and that is what we will be seeking over the next few months. Our Exchange master will close this thread after this post and it will be reopened when our tests are complete. We look forward to that day and once again to Ken, Thanks for bringing it up!