The present invention relates to a hardness tester that measures hardness of a material by pressing an indenter attached to the lower end of a load application shaft into the test specimen.
With the conventional hardness testers of this type, a predetermined test load has been applied to produce an indentation of variable dimensions in the surface of the specimen. Then, the area or the depth of the indentation was measured to determine the hardness of the material being tested. A high degree of technical skill was needed to accomplish accurate measurement of the area or depth of such indentation.