Some people love the rebar look in forged items. When I use rebar, I am very careful. I don't think all rebar is bad. There is enough bad rebar around to give it a bad name. The master blacksmith in our organization told us to qualify all our raw material for making tools. This saves you from wasting time. The main toolmaking material that is used in the beginner workshop is sucker rod reused from central California oil wells. This stuff is something like 25 cents per foot, and it really outperforms mild steel, even on hot cutting applications. They buy this stuff by the truckload and I think that it was grade number cross referenced and spectro'ed as 4130. It is not S-7, and you can tell the difference, but S-7 or Atlantic flutagon can cost real money. I have a large stash of 5/8" rebar that I qualified as water quenching and uniform, and I save it in the rack as for tools only. Everything else is suspect. If you want to turn your rebar, heat it above critical, forge down the ridges, and normalize. Test for hard spots with a file. You will only have to do this once per lot. Do not take shortcuts. I have seen two students take shortcuts and end up with spectacular failures. The shards will fly at supersonic speeds and penetrate polycarbonate safety glasses and leather aprons. One of the guys told me he saw a guy just slump down. He had an exit wound in his back that looked like a .38 special. And this was factory certified 4140, the victim just goofed up the heat treat a little.
