Microhardness

The hardness of a material as determined by forcing an indenter into its surface under a very light load. The indentations are usually so small they must be measured with a microscope. The process can determine the consistency of hardness readings across the diameter of the wire, which is useful in checking hardness. Using microhardness measurements as indicators of the bulk hardness of a material should be avoided, unless one is confident that the microhardness values represent all of the material’s microconstituents.