Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electron backscatter diffraction were used to study formation of the low-carbon steel surface relief upon chemical etching with nital. The combination of these techniques allowed quantitative characterization of the iron etch depth dependence on the crystallographic orientation of individual ferrite grains. The obtained results demonstrate high potential of AFM for quantitative metallography. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.