I recently had a 3/8" bowl gouge that was getting a little short and when I still had quite a bit of steel left that I could sharpen with my wolverine jig, the steel got soft and mushy. I took a file to it and found that the bottom 3 3/4" of inches of the had not been hardened. I usually repurpose these gouges and was disappointed. I won't mention the brand name because I have been pleased overall with their products and purchased many items in the past.

Are all gouges only partially hardened??