"It is worth noting…that many critics of the Book of Mormon have cited this passage as evidence against the Book of Mormon's historicity. 'Steel,' it is argued, 'was not known to man in those days.' Today, however, it is increasingly apparent that the practice of 'steeling' iron through deliberate carburization was well-known to the Near Eastern world from which the Lehi colony emerged. 'It seems evident that by the beginning of the tenth century b.c. blacksmiths were intentionally steeling iron.' A carburized iron knife dating to the twelfth century b.c. is known from Cyprus.fn In addition to this,
'A site on Mt. Adir in northern Israel has yielded an iron pick in association with 12th-century pottery. One would hesitate to remove a sample from the pick for analysis, but it has been possible to test the tip of it for hardness. The readings averaged 38 on the Rockwell "C" scale of hardness. This is a reading characteristic of modern hardened steel.'" (Matthew Roper, FARMS: Review of Books, vol. 9, no 1, 1997)