The present invention provides a method for air bending a plate of metallic material such as steel which is characterised by having two bending steps, wherein the bending punch in the second bending step has a smaller radius and/or the die width (204) used in the second bending step is smaller than the die width (104) used in the first bending step. The method of the invention can achieve a significant improvement in the bendability of metallic materials, particularly high strength steels. The invention also provides new bending apparatus that are specifically adapted to carrying out the method of the invention, including a nested double die having a second narrower die (203) residing below and within the first die (103), and an adjustable die having a height adjustment means (either in the support, bending punch or both) capable of accommodating movement of the metallic material during the adjustment to form the second die width.