Textile products are commonly damaged during cases of sharp-force assault. Examination of the morphology of the resultant damage, that is the size and appearance of the severance and the surrounding textile, may provide important information about the characteristics of the weapon used, the dynamics of assault, and the postimpact conditions to which the textile was exposed. The analysis of textile damage is primarily subjective, and therefore, it is important that the textile examiner understands the variables that govern damage morphology. These variables can be broadly categorised as preimpact, impact and postimpact variables. The influence of such variables on damage morphology, the protocols and equipment used during the examination of severed textiles, and the reconstruction of textile damage due to sharp-force assault are discussed in this chapter.
Geotextiles, industrial textiles, medical textiles, and many other areas are examples of technical textiles, whereas clothing and furnishings are examples of consumer textiles. Each component of a textile product, including fiber, yarn, fabric, processing, and finishing, affects the final product. Components may vary among various textile products as they are selected based on fitness for purpose.