Cooling blades...

While grinding, I have a bucket of water underneath my table that I dunk the blade into to cool it down so that I can continue grinding (I don't wear gloves). Are there any drawbacks to this practice? Should I be grinding two blades (one after the other) and let them cool on their own? I'm asking because it seems like the blade is getting harder and harder to work as I progress. I had to wonder if the blade is being hardened each and every time I cool it down. Thanks.

Chris

Chris,
The blade does not start to get hard from heat untill you hit the lower critical limit,(Cherry)
Turning the blade blue won't do it.
The blade gets harder to grind on the finer grits. This is the nature of what we do.
The water dipping won't hurt them as long as you don't let them rust afterwards.
Keep your belts clean and sharp.This will help a lot.