Which steel bends easily?

[Olle]

Originally Posted by LWaali

Can we have more info? There are hundreds if not thousands.. how durable does it need to be? Will other metals be touching it (corrosion factor)? Does it need to be conductive? What is the normal temperature will it be exposed to? How are you bending it (pliers, pipe tools, sheet metal benders...?)

This is a lanyard loop for a pistol, it's a rectangular shape made out of 3mm rod and with 3mm radii. The strength is not critical, but it needs to bend easily and cleanly, and it needs a fairly nice surface so it can be blued without excessive prep. The tolerances are not extremely critical, maybe within 5/1000 or so.

I'm using a die do form it cold, and I can't really heat it. I have already tried to anneal the drill rod, it did make some difference but not much. I think something like 1018 cold finish round would work, but I can't find it in metric dimensions.