[1] A more recent study published in June 2016 derived from x-ray fluorescence spectrometer analysis shows that the blade's composition is mostly iron (Fe) and 11% nickel (Ni) and 0.6% cobalt (Co).

[2] At the time of King Tutankhamun's mummification in approximately 1323 BC (the Bronze Age), iron smelting and manufacture were rare.

Iron objects were used for only artistic, ornamental, ritual, gift giving and ceremonial purposes as well as for pigmentation.

Iron artifacts were given as royal gifts during the period directly preceding Tutankhamun's rule (i.e., during the reign of Amenhotep III).

From the late Neolithic era to the Bronze Age, ancient Eastern Mediterranean cultures used iron infrequently.

[2] Therefore, state of the art X-ray fluorescence spectrometers, a method of nondestructive testing, now typically exhibit improved deconstruction capabilities resulting in more accurately resolving the chemical composition of targeted artifacts into data that describes their constituent elements.

[13] Metallic beads and other precious stones were strung across the waist and neck of an entombed man at a grave site in the Gerzeh cemetery, 70 km (43 mi) south of modern Cairo.

Hence, "for the first time using modern technology researchers recorded conclusive proof that the earliest known use of iron by Egyptians was from a meteorite.

"[13] Nineteen iron objects were discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun, including a set of blades which appear very similar to those used in the Egyptian opening of the mouth ceremony (a ritual performed for the benefit of the deceased to enable an afterlife).