TEN BOLT-CUTTER BLADES WERE SPECIALLY PRODUCED TO BE AS SIMILAR AS MODERN MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES WILL ALLOW. CUTS WERE MADE BY THESE BLADES AND BY TEN FURTHER BLADES FROM THE NORMAL PRODUCTION. THESE CUTS WERE EXAMINED IN DETAIL TO ASSESS THE DEGREE OF MATCHING POSSIBLE BETWEEN CUTS MADE BY DIFFERENT BLADES AND THOSE MADE BY THE SAME BLADE. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT WITH MARKS AS LITTLE AS 2 MILLIMETERS WIDE AN UNEQUIVOCAL MATCH WAS OBTAINED WITH THE CORRECT BLADE IN EVERY CASE AND NO MATCH WAS OBTAINED WITH ANY OTHER. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)