Abstract: A cold rolled full hard steel strap usable in a strapping machine has a tensile strength of at least about 125.7 thousand pounds per square inch (KSI) when the strap has a width of about 0.500 inches and a thickness of 0.020 inches. The steel strap is fabricated from a coiled steel formed by hot mill rolling and reduced by cold rolling. The steel strap has a composition of approximately (in weight percent): 0.02 to 0.25 percent carbon, 0.15 to 1.50 percent manganese, 0.01 to 0.12 percent aluminum, 0.04 to 0.03 percent nitrogen, 0.04 to 0.50 percent copper, 0.03 to 0.25 percent nickel, 0.02 to 0.25 percent molybdenum, 0.03 to 0.25 percent chromium, maximum 0.05 percent phosphorous, maximum 0.05 percent sulfur, and maximum 0.25 percent silicon. A method for forming the strap also is disclosed.