👉 Pre-hardening is a process in which steel is subjected to a temperature reduction before it is passed through a heat treatment process. During this step, the steel becomes slightly softer and more ductile, allowing it to be hardened at a later stage during a final heating or tempering process. In other words, prehardening involves reducing the initial temperature of the steel by a small amount before passing it through a heat treatment process. This can result in a higher hardness (specific heat capacity) than after