In experiments a tool steel wedge was indented into the surface of an aluminum specimen and then slid along it. The resulting deformation was measured using a grid printed on a plane of flow and the strain distribution near the surface was determined from an analysis of the observed deformation. Results are given for various wedge angles and lubrication conditions. The relevance of the results to a slipline field model of asperity deformation, which has been used to predict friction and wear for metal surfaces in sliding contact, is considered.