Many hours later...

[Hixie]

I think that XRF can be used to determine the elemental composition of steel and provide a fairly accurate "fingerprint" of the steel sample. It is a surface analyses technique and the sample tested needs to be big enough. These days they have hand-held analyzers that can provide almost "instant" results. Sulfur and phosphorous may not be detectable that way.

If only a small sample is available, it could be dissolved in a mineral acid and analyzed using ICP-AES which I think can detect and measure all of the elements Edgar listed. I am not a metallurgist but I would venture a guess that the elemental composition would be the same throughout the test sample except, perhaps, for the carbon content. Again I am guessing but I suspect that the carbon content may vary widely within the sample, i.e. higher at the surface compared to at the center of the test sample.

[B. Dudley]

Another feature not normally seen on a Repro.

8A0321F2-BF17-48F6-9F2F-3628C1B82703.jpg