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A study was made of the strength of highly polished silicon surfaces after nanoindentation with a Berkovich diamond. Strengths of the indented surfaces were measured as a function of flaw size, quantified by indenter penetration. Analogous data from etched soda-lime glass surfaces were used as a control. The strengths increased with diminishing indentation flaw size for the two materials, especially below the threshold for visible radial cracking at the impression corners. The threshold flaw size is substantially lower in the silicon, rendering this material especially vulnerable to strength degradation from small-scale contact damage.