Temper

The state of or condition of a metal as to its hardness or toughness produced by either thermal or heat treatment and quench or cold working or a combination of same in order to bring the metal to its specified consistency.

In heat treatment, reheating hardened steel or hardened cast iron to some temperature below the eutectoid temperature for the purpose of decreasing the hardness and increasing the toughness. The process also is sometimes applied to normalized steel.

See also: Colour Temperature, Eutectic, Heat Treatment, Temper Colours.