Re: Cotter pins
Since the whole point of cotter pins is that you can bend them with pliers, or often just your thumb, I would consider their strength to be minimal. You could probably make them out of plastic if you wanted. Their job is to prevent the nut from working loose due to vibration, there's virtually no strength required for that.
Edit: There is a valid debate about whether it's a good idea to re-use cotter pins since the act of setting/bending them fatigues the metal. I try not to re-use unless I don't have a suitable replacement. Not a hard-and-fast rule though.
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