Slider of thin-film magnetic head and method of manufacturing same

A slider of a thin-film magnetic head, comprising:

• a medium facing surface that faces toward a recording medium;
• a substrate having a first surface that faces toward the recording medium and is located farther from the recording medium than the medium facing surface;
• and a second surface that meets the first surface;
• a thin-film magnetic head element located near the second surface of the substrate and near the medium facing surface;
• an insulating portion surrounding the thin-film magnetic head element and having a surface that constitutes a part of the medium facing surface;
• and
• a medium facing layer located adjacent to the first surface of the substrate and having a surface that constitutes another part of the medium facing surface, wherein:
• the first surface of the substrate is located farther from the recording medium than the surface of the insulating portion that constitutes the part of the medium facing surface when the medium facing surface is parallel to the recording medium;
• the medium facing layer does not cover the surface of the insulating portion that constitutes the part of the medium facing surface;
• the substrate has a hardness greater than that of the insulating portion, and
• as the substrate and the medium facing layer are compared in hardness, the medium facing layer has a hardness closer to that of the insulating portion.