Test Toolmark
Definition
A known mark made under documented conditions from a relevant tool surface for comparison with questioned evidence. Orientation, substrate, force and motion affect transfer. Appropriate tests help assess variation, but one mark does not necessarily represent every contact the tool could have made.
Related terms
- AFTE Theory of Identification
- A firearm/toolmark comparison framework based on sufficient agreement in the quality and quantity of surface features, assessed through trained examiner judgement. It...
- Impressed Toolmark
- A mark produced when contact deforms a substrate and preserves aspects of a tool’s surface or shape. It can retain microscopic comparison...
- Inconclusive Toolmark Finding
- A comparison outcome in which the evidence does not support the permitted source identification or elimination conclusion under the applicable framework. It...
- Likelihood Ratio (Toolmarks)
- A comparison of the probability of observed findings under specified competing propositions, such as a same-source and a relevant different-source proposition. It...
- Striated Toolmark
- A mark involving relative sliding contact that can leave linear surface features. Its appearance depends on tool surface, motion, force and substrate....
- Subclass Characteristics
- Features potentially shared by a subset of tools or components through manufacture, rather than unique to one source. They can resemble fine...
- Toolmark Cast
- A reproduction of a marked surface using a suitable casting process. It reverses surface relief and can preserve detail when the original...