The reaction that facilitates returning the cold-worked metal to its stress-free state has many reaction pathways, mostly involving the elimination of lattice vacancy gradients within the body of the metal.
These processes will produce different surface integrity depending on how the processes are controlled; for instance, they can leave a stress-free surface, a remelted surface, or excessive surface roughness.
Life within and beside the village may have been comparatively stress-free in the 13th century, but the village's rural hinterland was not entirely safe for travellers.
