bassomatic123

oh, i thought tempering hardened the steel at a certain point. so you temper it, and then quench it for a desired hardness?

I am new to this site and blacksmithing as well.
I did a one week blacksmithing camp, with 3 hour sessions. But with this meager experience, I still feel confident enough to buy materials to make a very small forge.

just recently, I got a book from the library about smithing, called "The Modern Blacksmith" by Alexander G. Weygers. It involves mainly tool making, but knifemaking as well. One subject it talks about a lot is tempering the steel, something that I'm confused about. What I do know is that it's quenching the steel at certain color, or temperature. But can anyone give a good description of how to do it, or what it involves? Thanks a lot.