On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:51:53 -0400, the infamous Bob Engelhardt
scrawled the following:

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?

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.)

Oh, a likely story, Bob.

And just how are you going to teach geometry to a steel bar, hmm?

Seriousity mode: ON

I don't have any answers, but I do have more questions (some that a
person who knows steel will want answers to, too.) I have at least 5
different types of pry bars, all for different uses, all made of
different steels, and all hardened and tempered differently.

What type of prying will you be doing?
Do you want any spring to it at all? If so, how much?
How thin does it need to be at the point of highest leverage?
How big will it be? 2"? 2'? 2 meters? @ what diameter/hex?
Will you pound on it with a hammer?
What kind of abrasion will it see?
At what temp will it be used?
On what material will it be used?
(end of quick list)

I'm sure that we're both guessing that the tougher steels would get
the nod and that hardening plays an important part in the picture.

--
No matter how cynical you are, it is impossible to keep up.
--Lily Tomlin