Ed, not all rebar is the same, they make different grades. Most people have only had experience with 40 grade which is used mainly in residential construction. I believe this is the lowest grade. I've been using 60 grade rebar for a number of my knives. The 60 grade means it has a minimum .60 of 1 percent carbon. I'm thinking it is closer to .75. Where I live all bridges, industrial, and commerical jobs use 60 grade rebar. With the proper heat treat its a good knife steel and the price is right. Ray

I don't know about rebar grades, but I have been making hot work punches and chisels out of rebar for years. They hold up fine to a lot of use.

BlacksmithRick, thats the reason I started making knives out of it. Years ago I had gone to the libary and it was closed so I ended up at a book store. Was looking around and found this Readers Digest book called "Back to the Basics". Had a section on how to make a coal fired forge and also showed how to make chisels and punches out of rebar. Kind of started something, I've still got the forge but use propane now, I bought 200 pounds of smithing coal just before I made the propane forge. I plan on setting it up outside mainly to use up the coal someday. Kind of miss that smell and taste. Ray