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Shoot, you're right. You need to heat beyond the A1 transformation temperature for annealing, preferably significantly exceeding the A3 line.

I read the page I referenced after I had copied the...

Thanks for your addition TulaneBoy. I'm new here myself but if the new people don't post then they will always be new :)

What you described by heating in an oven is called Annealing. Tempering...

Stropping does actually remove metal from the blade.
Found a source to back it up since I'm new: WONDER PHOTOS REVEAL UNSUSPECTED FACTS ABOUT Razor Blades and Shaving (Oct, 1931) | Modern Mechanix
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