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Method for Studying Knife Tool Marks on Bone

NCJ Number
235797
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2011 Pages: 967-971
Author(s)
Kai-Ping Shaw, M.D., Ph.D.; Ju-Hui Chung, M.S.; Fang-Chun Chung, M.S.; Bo-Yuan Tseng, M.D.; Chih-Hsin Pan, M.D.; Kai-Ting Yang, B.S.; Chun-Pang Yang, M.S.
Date Published
July 2011
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The characteristics of knife tool marks retained on hard tissues can be used to outline the shape and angle of a knife. The purpose of this study was to describe such marks on bone tissues that had been chopped with knives.
Abstract
A chopping stage with a gravity accelerator and a fixed bone platform was designed to reconstruct the chopping action. A digital microscope was also used to measure the knife angle (è) and retained V-shape tool mark angle (ø) in a pig skull. The ê value (elasticity coefficient; è/ø) was derived and recorded after the knife angle (è) and the accompanied velocity were compared with the proportional impulsive force of the knife and ø on the bone. The constant impulsive force revealed a correlation between the V-shape tool mark angle (ø) and the elasticity coefficient (ê). These results describe the tool marks crucial in the medicolegal investigation of a knife on hard tissues. (Published Abstract)