Bob, Austenite that does not transform to martensite upon quenching/tempering is called retained austenite (RA). Here is a link for more reading:Ken - excellent, thanks for the guidance. Do you know of a technical description of the metallurgical transformation that takes place in the cryo cycle? Say, a TTT diagram, or equivalent?
![www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corehtml/pmc/pmcgifs/pmc-card-share.jpg?_=0)
Retained Austenite Decomposition and Carbide Precipitation during Isothermal Tempering of a Medium-Carbon Low-Alloy Bainitic Steel
The effect of isothermal tempering on retained austenite decomposition and carbide precipitation were investigated in a medium-carbon low-alloy bainitic steel. High-resolution dilatometry was used to perform isothermal tempering at 350 °C, 550 ...
![www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/coreutils/nwds/img/favicons/favicon.png)
Here is perhaps a better paper thats aimed more toward knifemakers:
![knifesteelnerds.com](https://i2.wp.com/knifesteelnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/recovery-and-recrystallization.jpg?fit=1960%2C485&ssl=1)
What Happens During Tempering of Steel? - Knife Steel Nerds
Thanks to Shawn Houston and Tyler Christian for becoming Knife Steel Nerds Patreon supporters. We have reached our first goal and therefore I will be interviewing Devin Thomas and posting it as an article to the website. In a previous post I wrote about what happens during rapid quenching of...
![knifesteelnerds.com](https://i2.wp.com/knifesteelnerds.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/cropped-icon.gif?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1)