So when you buy a cheaper 5% cobalt drill set you are naturally skeptical that the drills you receive will actually be anything other than high speed steel. I had to drill through the shank of the screw to insert the sensor. First I took an HSS bit and actually flattened the grooves. It is clear that this was not a quality blow. I then took one of these and put it in my CNC lathe. I hesitantly used the recommended speeds and feeds at 90% for the cobalt drill and hit Cycle Start, expecting the drill to snap. Went perfectly. The beat was still sharp. I believe they are actually pieces of cobalt.