[MikeWaters]

Steel is mentioned five times in the Book of Mormon.

1 Nephi 16:18
18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.

2 Nephi 5:15
15 And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

1 Nephi 4:9
9 And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.

Jarom 1:8
8 And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war—yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.

Ether 7:9
9 Wherefore, he came to the hill Ephraim, and he did molten out of the hill, and made swords out of steel for those whom he had drawn away with him; and after he had armed them with swords he returned to the city Nehor, and gave battle unto his brother Corihor, by which means he obtained the kingdom and restored it unto his father Kib.

The phrase "Sword of Laban" appears:

2 Nephi 5:14
14 And I, Nephi, did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords, lest by any means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their hatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people.

Jacob 1:10
10 The people having loved Nephi exceedingly, he having been a great protector for them, having wielded the sword of Laban in their defence, and having labored in all his days for their welfare—

Words of Mormon 1:13
13 And it came to pass also that the armies of the Lamanites came down out of the land of Nephi, to battle against his people. But behold, king Benjamin gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm, with the sword of Laban.

Mosiah 1:16
16 And moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness, which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led, every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.

And again mentioned in the Doctrine & Covenants:

Doctrine and Covenants 17:1
1 Behold, I say unto you, that you must rely upon my word, which if you do with full purpose of heart, you shall have a view of the plates, and also of the breastplate, the sword of Laban, the Urim and Thummim, which were given to the brother of Jared upon the mount, when he talked with the Lord face to face, and the miraculous directors which were given to Lehi while in the wilderness, on the borders of the Red Sea.

A steel sword in 600 BC, which many doubt could exist, would have been valuable beyond measure. It's hard to imagine the value. Perhaps worth far more than its weight in gold. When Laban's sword is introduced in the 1st Nephi account, it's value and exquisiteness are emphasized. Particularly that it was made of "the most precious steel." We see that the Sword of Laban was a relic that was passed on from generation to generation, and the D&C account suggests that it may have been contained with the plates. We also note that brass is distinguished from steel (2nd Nephi and Jarom). It's hard to argue that when the Book of Mormon says "steel" it actually means "brass." And actually iron is distinguished from steel as well.

As to steel swords, on wikipedia I find:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword#Iron_Age

Chinese steel swords made their first appearance in the later part of the Western Zhou Dynasty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Zhou_Dynasty

he Western Zhōu period (1046–771 BCE) was the first half of the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China.

And:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword#Iron_Age

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions swords of Indian iron and steel being exported from India to Greece.[20]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periplu...Erythraean_Sea

The text has been ascribed to different dates between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, but a mid-1st century date is now the most commonly accepted.

Given that Nephi came to possess this exquisite steel sword, what are we to make of the fact that Nephi had a bow made of steel as well? It mean that Lehi and his clan were extraordinarily wealthy. While we tend to think of the Lehi/Nephi clan as relatively small (several small families), perhaps that needs to be rethought. Perhaps the clan was many times larger. A tribe. Certainly the Book of Mormon account implies a rapid population expansion by the time Nephi dies, that could be explained by much greater starting numbers.

Not all fine steel necessarily lasts very long. I bought a fixed-blade knife made of Swedish steel. I cut something up on a campout with it. When I woke up the next morning, it was rusty. It turns out it was not stainless steel. Steel weapons would be expected to degrade and rust much like iron.

Thus, I believe archaeological expectations derived from the Book of Mormon posit earlier production of steel swords and bows in the Old World than is now currently recognized, and the production of steel in the New World.

Time will tell.