The Sword of Laban

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.
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.
It is proposed and argued that the Sword of Laban was originally forged by Joseph, son of Jacob, and is the same sword also known as the Sword of Joshua.
A sheathable and unsheathable Sword of Laban is described as being in the treasure cave.
The Sword of Laban is described as having rusted out leaving a gold hilt on a chain.
A more original source would be Vogel, Dan (1996), Early Mormon Documents, vol.1,Salt Lake City Signature Books, ISBN 1-56085-072-8
Cites Joseph Smith Jr.'s sister Katharine Smith Salisbury as follows:
"I well remember the trials my brother had, before he obtained the records. After he had the vision, he went frequently to the hill, and upon returning would tell us, "I have seen the records, also the brass plates and the sword of Laban with the breast plate and interpreters." He would ask father why he could not get them? The time had not yet come, but when it did arrive he was commanded to go on the 22d day of September 1827 at 2 o'clock. We had supposed that when he should bring them home, the whole family would be allowed to see them, but he said it was forbidden of the Lord."
It is interesting that she would cite Joseph referring to the sword as the "Sword of Laban". Presumably, the angel identified the objects in the box for him, or she is paraphrasing him based on later obtained knowledge.
Was the Sword of Laban Damascus steel?
Ammon may have been wielding either the Sword of Laban, or a replica. (Considering that Nephi says he made swords after the model of the Sword of Laban. He is clearly recognized on sight as being someone special, when he encounters the Lamanites, and there seems to be an important weapon theme in the story of Ammon's mission.)

Notes

Personally, I give more credence to Fayette Lapham's account of the Sword of Laban as the significance of the stone box being like the Ark of the Covenant and the sword's rusting out, does not seem to have been apprehended by him, while the story of the treasure cave seems uncharacteristically magical and romantic.

The idea that the sword was in the stone box is backed by Katharine Smith Salisbury's account, though she had nothing to say about the condition of the Sword.

Cross-References