Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) studies of a 5 vol% mixture of deuterated linear polyethylene with a protonated one was used to investigate the role of partial melting-recrystallization during the solid-state deformation of the polymer in pure shear. The extension of previous studies now gives data that cover the complete deformation range in a continuous manner. The quantity R(0), the ratio of the scattering at zero angle for a given strain to that at zero strain, decreases very rapidly in the strain range 0-2. Here only modest changes occur in the stress-strain curve. In the deformation region where the stress increases rapidly with strain, only a relatively small decrease occurs in R(0). The SANS results indicate that the major reorganization and homogenization occur at low strain. These results, coupled with the Flory-Yoon hypothesis of partial melting-recrystallization, explain the observations that for a ductile-type deformation the ultimate properties do not depend on the structural factors that define the initial undeformed state.