We explored the influences of hydrogen on small-scale strength of a linepipe steel through nanoindentation experiments with four pyramidal indenters. Interestingly, a transition from hydrogen-induced hardening to softening was observed as indenter sharpness increases. The transition was analyzed based on the enhancement in hydrogen's elastic shielding effects for a sharper indenter, which could be indirectly evidenced by the stress effects on indentation pile-up, dislocation density, and rate dependency of hardness. Copyright (C) 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.