After a crash (actually I bought it like this..) - is it possible to bend this lever back or will it snap? It is a Campagnolo lever and is, I assume, forged. At least it works now, so bent and working, even if wonky, is better than snapped off. But that said, until I get new levers, straight would be better than bent.

Thanks.

Real-world, experienced replies appreciated rather than speculation.

As a rule, aluminum is not very forgiving when it comes to bending,at least intentionally.
It seems to withstand impact bends, but controlled bending usually ends up in multiple pieces.

My bet is that it will survive bending back, but I can't guarantee it. If it were mine, I would do it, but you seem satisfied with how it is, so ...

My experienced reply is that there is no way to tell for sure without trying it. It might also fail with use, whether or not you bend it back, so you might want to factor the probability of getting stuck in an inappropriate gear somewhere in your decision to use or bend.

LOL! Thanks for your answers! That is reality! Yes/No/Maybe!

Being Campy, the lever is probably replaceable.

I vote "yes". If it were mine, I would have just bent it back in 1/2 the time it took to take a picture & post.

You could always remove it, have it annealed to dead soft, bend it back to where it should be, have it heat treated to t4, straighten it, then treated to t6. It'll be right as rain.

Or buy a new one.

...in my real world experience, I have bent back plenty of aluminum alloy components to some semblance of the original,
but I would be hesitant to do it for a brake lever, will never do it for a crank, seat post, or a handlebar.

I try to picture in my mind what is the worst case if it fails in use after I bend it back.

I have bent aluminum bars back after a crash. The drop was bent in an inch or so, no big deal.