"Bob Engelhardt" wrote in message
...
It doesn't have to be hard in the sense of holding an edge (no cutting
involved). But it doesn't seem to me (by intuition ONLY) that mild steel
would be "strong" enough. It seems like it would bend too easily.

But not-bending is a matter of tensile strength, yes? And mild steel and
hard steel have the same tensile strength, right? Or, is it a matter of
yield verses ultimate strength?

Not-bending as in a spring is a function of stiffness. Not-bending as in
taking a permanent set is a matter of yield strength.

They have the same *stiffness* -- Young's modulus. Their yield strengths
differ greatly, and their tensile strengths do, too, in rough proportion to
their relative yield strength.


Bottom line - what should I use use to make a pry bar? (It will have very
specific geometry, so store-bought is not an option.)

It depends on how big it is and what heat treating facilities you have.

--
Ed Huntress