I've had some luck rebending wayward cantilevers, but working under a microscope with tiny microsurgical instruments. Nonetheless, it is not easy and I agree with Elizabeth that the outcome is probably 50/50 at best. Trying to unbend the bend around the original flexure point (especially if the bend is in a tubular cantilever which has crimped on one side) may be technique most fraught with failure - you often create a new separate bend or crack the cantilever when manipulating it. Better to use a long flat plier-type instrument (suture holders/forceps) and engauge the cantilever along its long axis and gently squeeze repeatedly moving circumferentially - distributing the force more gently along the rod/tube. I've managed to salvage a Supex 900, an Acutex 320STR and an AKG P8ES this way. My failures: a Shure V-15 IV and another P8. Intermediate success with a Grace F-9 - the cantilever cracked on one side, but a tiny drop of superglue holds it in place nicely. Do these perform as new? I don't know except for the AKG - which sounds the same as an undamaged one. Also, aluminum is much more flexible and forgiving than exotics like beryllium (all those lovely Micro-Acoustics with broken styli) and boron. And no, I'm not wrecking cartridges routinely - I buy damaged ones for cheap on e-bay and then try to fix them.
