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Was asked by neighbor to cut two keys for his shed door. Went to my old key rack and got one Star 5KW1 and one Curtis KW1, both NOS. Cut the Star with no problem. First cut on the Curtis went great but attempt at second cut was harder and then I saw a tiny spark. SOB. The Curtis blank was all steel. The 23RF cutting wheel had less than 75 keys cut on it. I took a fresh Ilco blank and cut 2nd key. The cutting wheel had not sustained permanent damage. The Curtis blank felt no heavier than the Star blank so I assumed it was brass with a coating. Lesson learned. I took the 3 remaining Curtis KW1 blanks and bent them before throwing them into my scrap bucket.

https://imgur.com/a/hAW3V

Your forum name suits the post perfectly.
I can see how a surprise steel-blank could upset you, but I cut them daily.
A decent machine with a sharp HSS or carbide blade can cut hundreds of (for example) JMA steel blanks.
Check out "Fo-select" from Swizerland.

It's all about the cutting speed, that is how fast the cutter is rotating. If it is rotating in excess of 50 m/min, it will bur itself in steel in short time, while in brass it just wants more.

Those Curtis steel blanks are crap anyway. That lousy coating they put on them is ugly and they will rust, after all they are steel! The coating keeps them from rusting while hanging on a hook waiting to be cut. They also DO NOT interact with brass / nickel silver lock pins. They will literally "saw" a groove in them. This I have seen many times.

I never gave it a thought when i took them off the old rack. Must have been the 1st time I ever used a NOS Curtis KW1 blank. I certainly would have remembered if I had attempted to cut one previously. Lesson learned.

BTDT - with Schlage L blanks. Learned that mistake quickly!

we keep a magnet on the handle of our duplicator, so the key can be checked quick and easy. Sometimes we cut keys that people bring in and you never know.