Sterile surgical needles with a hard sharp cutting edge and method for producing the same

A process for producting a sterile surgical needle having a very sharp cutting edge having a surface hardness of at least 45 measured on the Rockwell C Hardness Scale and a body portion which is malleable and resistant to breaking comprising:

• forming a cutting edge at one end of a piece of steel wire;
• treating said cutting edge with a laser beam having a power output, between 10 watts and 150 watts and a wave length of 8 to 12 microns to harden said edge to a depth of from about 0.0001 inch to 0.010 inch and to a hardness of at least 45 measured on a Rockwell C Hardness Scale;
• sharpening said edge;
• and
• sterilizing said sharpened steel wire to produce a sterile surgical needle.