I have cropping/cutting wedges with a thickness of 4 mm cutting either side of a round mild steel bar (17.5 mm). Imagine two wedges being driven together with a round mild steel bar in the middle (similar to the design of bolt cutters) These wedges are operated using 2 hydraulic cylinders (6" diameter, 2 1/2 travel) (one for each cutting wedge) to force them together (against the mild steel). The cropping wedges are made from BS 970 304S12 steel.
How can I determine the force required to crop this round bar? What equations/formulas are relevant?