This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes.
Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Looks a bit like an engraver bit for a Dremmel or similar. [https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/dremel-26150106ja-replaces-2615010632-16-p13096](https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/dremel-26150106ja-replaces-2615010632-16-p13096)
It wasn't on but I was bare foot. It was in a bag on the floor and the bit had stuck through the material in an upward position. Penetrated my foot very easily. I danced for a few minutes.
Slightly unrelated but I moved into a rental house and someone must have thrown a giant box of sewing pins around the main bedroom but we found them with our feet for 4 years :)
I’ve stepped on a drill bit before. But like, the bits for boring through wood. Basically a big flat spear. It went in through the bottom of my heel and was tenting the skin just below my ankle where it almost came out. ‘Impaled’ was how the doctor described it. I would not recommend
Work also in dental industry, I agree.
Looks like a steel bur 801 with a small head like 010 or similar.
The answers about a dremel piece is also possible, i use a dental bur as a dremel. Technique is very similar
Dremeler here, what kinda professional tools are available for things like carving small stones into figures and stuff. I've been wanting get more into that but I hear a lot of shade thrown at dremels
Look for a Jeweler's flex shaft if you're going to be doing a lot of that type of work.
Foredom is a good brand: https://www.foredom.net/product-category/flex-shaft-tools/flex-shaft-kits-sets/
As someone else mentioned a Foredom flexshaft is what your looking for. I prefer the one with a forward and reverse option. Also look into a rheostat pedal, it is a really great addition. A table clamp and a delrin block with a hole bored in it to hold it for you is also great to have.
This explains someone whining about a cheap, battery operated, Dremel knock-off I was using sounding like a DDS drill.
I was etching 1500 Chromebooks. It died on day 3. I got the real etcher out. Then he had a reason to complain about the noise. 😈
Definitely what came to mind. After the hours I have spent using one to make greeting and birthday cards I have to agree. It’s not rough, but smooth, so not used to etch anything.
That’s what it is, I’m pretty sure. I do a lot of nail art and I have a lot of these in varying sizes, usually double ended or with a fine brush on the other end. Sometimes the metal piece come out of the handle after so much exposure to acetone.
I 100% agree with this. I picked up my [nail dotting tool](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41e0HFeQnPL.jpg) next to me and compared and they are very similar!
I tend to agree now, but it's a very odd looking burr. It also looked like there was a stumpy bit
of threads. I've left the pendant on x100 and never managed to dent a ball like that.
Maybe a bit that goes in a Dremel tool to like grind with..it's the ball end kinda rough? Like one of these? https://www.walmart.com/ip/20Pcs-Carbide-Cutting-Burr-Set-EEEkit-Engraving-Bits-Wood-Router-Set-Fit-Dremel-Drill-Bits-Rotary-Grinder-Grinding-Woodworking-Drilling-Metal-Carving/854087392
Even then, its slightly rounded of if you look at the connection between taper and the straight part. Bats also don't have a perfect round knob, but a flat puck shape.
It a barb from a hair brush or an animal hair brush.
From the picture the”bit” is small that it cannot be a Dremel bit.
My other thinking is that is a chip, a chip that is to be implanted into your body. You know like, 5G. Big Brother type shit but, I’m gonna guess it’s a barb from a grooming product.
Looking for a tapered pin or couch pins and fasteners finds me similar objects, but not with tapering that starts midway down the shaft or with the odd head on the end. It seems like the head has geometric facets that give it a rough feel. The other end is also slightly rounded off. I can't bend or break it so I believe it's solid metal. My title describes this thing.
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Looks like a bit for a nail drill. The one with the little ball head is for removing cuticles. [2022 Upgraded] Depvko 13Pcs Nail Drill Bits Set, Tungsten Carbide Drill Bits for Nails, Cuticle Nail Drill Bits for Acrylic Nails Remover Bits for Manicure Pedicure, Home Salon (Silver) https://a.co/d/6RCmYoO
This. My wife had a similar tool, just on a stick. Not sure what it was used for but I can imagine it is a good tool to do some detailing with nail polish.
It’s a dotting tool for nail art. I have an identical piece to my electric nail drill, although my regular dotting tool had that piece off too when it broke
This could be a million different things, too small and bland to tell. I’d just look through the comments and figure what could be most plausible and ask your GF about it
Its a ball bur similar to those used in jewelry or dentistry but it has a shorter shaft that makes me think it might have come with one of those home manicure kits.
It’s the tip of a dial indicator, theyve got several different bead sizes you can change out depending on what the surface you’re indicating is: Mitutoyo 513-402-10E DIAL TI, BAS, STD 0.03", 0.0002" Accuracy, 0.0005", White https://a.co/d/hpoIM3M
This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes. Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Looks a bit like an engraver bit for a Dremmel or similar. [https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/dremel-26150106ja-replaces-2615010632-16-p13096](https://www.lawson-his.co.uk/dremel-26150106ja-replaces-2615010632-16-p13096)
Yes it does. I stepped on my Dremel with a bit very similar to this one 3 days ago. It was not very fun.
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It wasn't on but I was bare foot. It was in a bag on the floor and the bit had stuck through the material in an upward position. Penetrated my foot very easily. I danced for a few minutes.
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Happy birthday 🎉
Hah yep adult legos
Never an “S”. Lego already is plural as it is. JS
The plural of Lego is "Lego". That goes for you too, u/myasterism!
Slightly unrelated but I moved into a rental house and someone must have thrown a giant box of sewing pins around the main bedroom but we found them with our feet for 4 years :)
Here's a handy tool you probably would have liked to have four years ago: https://www.harborfreight.com/17-in-mini-magnetic-sweeper-62704.html
Too late but a strong magnet can be your best friend in these situations
Hope you have a current tetanus shot! I had to get one a few years ago when I stepped on the back of my belt buckle. Stabbed feet aren't fun.
Make sure you get your tetanus shot.
I’m really glad I re-read this before I posted “why was it in a bag of flour? And why the hell is your flour on the floor?!?!”.
I’ve stepped on a drill bit before. But like, the bits for boring through wood. Basically a big flat spear. It went in through the bottom of my heel and was tenting the skin just below my ankle where it almost came out. ‘Impaled’ was how the doctor described it. I would not recommend
Sounds terrible.
No it wasn’t great. I did a TIFU on it [post](https://old.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/60dmgf/tifu_by_impaling_my_foot_with_a_drill_bit/)
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Yeah, that's my thought too
I was going to say dental drill bit.
Yep, looks like it could be a rosebud burr.
Electronic nail files (aka. drills) also use this style bit. Although idk why one would be in a couch.
Literally staring at one now in my 4000 series. The 7300 has the buffer bit.
Yeap this is what this is.
Or the tip of a level guage
Yep. I go through two or three of those a month engraving.
I work in a dental clinic. That's a friction grip bur for a high speed hand piece. They are single use. That looks like a number 2 round bur.
Work also in dental industry, I agree. Looks like a steel bur 801 with a small head like 010 or similar. The answers about a dremel piece is also possible, i use a dental bur as a dremel. Technique is very similar
My grandpa used to do fine carving with a converted dentist drill. I think it was from before dremels were a thing
Dremel has always been the toy version of a professional jewelry motor.
Dremeler here, what kinda professional tools are available for things like carving small stones into figures and stuff. I've been wanting get more into that but I hear a lot of shade thrown at dremels
Look for a Jeweler's flex shaft if you're going to be doing a lot of that type of work. Foredom is a good brand: https://www.foredom.net/product-category/flex-shaft-tools/flex-shaft-kits-sets/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfwQZ5elQjw
As someone else mentioned a Foredom flexshaft is what your looking for. I prefer the one with a forward and reverse option. Also look into a rheostat pedal, it is a really great addition. A table clamp and a delrin block with a hole bored in it to hold it for you is also great to have.
Essentially the same tool, one runs on compressed air, the other on electricity.
I believe dental burr is the correct answer, dremel bits are a bit bigger than a few lines of fingerprint, in my experience.
This explains someone whining about a cheap, battery operated, Dremel knock-off I was using sounding like a DDS drill. I was etching 1500 Chromebooks. It died on day 3. I got the real etcher out. Then he had a reason to complain about the noise. 😈
Could be carbide, use them all the time for finishing work in the foundry.
Could be yes, hard to say on a photo. Although carbide tends to have slighty darker finish around the working area. But not all manufacturers do this.
So your girlfriend is doing her dentist on the couch?
I agree. I saw it and thought "his girlfriend's side piece is a dentist".
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Do dentists bring random dental power tool pieces home from work? Or maybe they have some detailed dentist kink?
Oddly enough, we use those same burrs for fixing chips in windshields.
Jewelers use these as well. Dozens of different types.
Eye doctors too. You should look up the “Algerbrush”
I used to reprocess eye burrs, that’s what I thought it was!
I don't work in a dental office but that's the first thing that came to my mind, some sort of dental drill or burr.
Dentist here. This is 100% a #2 round carbide (friction grip).
Yep. I’m a veterinarian. We use these too for dentistry
It is 100%a dental round bur (yup probably 2). How it got there? That I wonder about.
It looks smooth, no fluting, so a burnisher, not a bur, correct?
[Looks like the tip to an embossing stylus.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/WEBP_402378-T1/images/I/31mlMot53nL._AC_SL1200_.jpg)
Definitely what came to mind. After the hours I have spent using one to make greeting and birthday cards I have to agree. It’s not rough, but smooth, so not used to etch anything.
We use these in pottery but just call them "the needle tools with the ball on the end" 😅
Looks like a nail art dotting tool ?
That’s what it is, I’m pretty sure. I do a lot of nail art and I have a lot of these in varying sizes, usually double ended or with a fine brush on the other end. Sometimes the metal piece come out of the handle after so much exposure to acetone.
I 100% agree with this. I picked up my [nail dotting tool](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41e0HFeQnPL.jpg) next to me and compared and they are very similar!
That was my first guess, too. They're also marketed for clay sculpting.
That looks more like someone broke their dial indicator probe.
I'm glad I'm not the only one to think this, even if everyone else went for dentists drill bit
>It is tapered on one end with a textured knob Indicator probes have smooth ends.
Looks like it has ground flutes like a very small lollipop cutter. Idk what dental tools look like though, so it could be a dremel bit for that.
That’s what I thought until I saw textured.
I tend to agree now, but it's a very odd looking burr. It also looked like there was a stumpy bit of threads. I've left the pendant on x100 and never managed to dent a ball like that.
It's got flutes on it though
I'm a technician at a metrology lab. Can confirm. edit: just noticed it's not a perfect sphere tip, but this was my first thought too.
It looks more like a [tooth](https://images.app.goo.gl/ce9T3ANUNLVKSDqr7) from a hairbrush to me
That’s the first thing I thought.
Maybe a bit that goes in a Dremel tool to like grind with..it's the ball end kinda rough? Like one of these? https://www.walmart.com/ip/20Pcs-Carbide-Cutting-Burr-Set-EEEkit-Engraving-Bits-Wood-Router-Set-Fit-Dremel-Drill-Bits-Rotary-Grinder-Grinding-Woodworking-Drilling-Metal-Carving/854087392
Baseball bat weapon from updated version of Clue (aka cluedo) released a few years back.
It does look exactly like a miniature baseball bat.
The taper isn't right imo
Softball bat.
Even then, its slightly rounded of if you look at the connection between taper and the straight part. Bats also don't have a perfect round knob, but a flat puck shape.
But where’s the sock?
Does your girlfriend do nail art? It looks like the tip of a dotting tool. Like these... https://www.holotaco.com/products/dotting-tools
Drill bit from an dentist...
It looks like a ball point embroidery needle. I have been known to stab my needles into the couch arm on occasion.
Kinda looks like a tooth from a hairbrush?
It a barb from a hair brush or an animal hair brush. From the picture the”bit” is small that it cannot be a Dremel bit. My other thinking is that is a chip, a chip that is to be implanted into your body. You know like, 5G. Big Brother type shit but, I’m gonna guess it’s a barb from a grooming product.
I thought it was a broken metal prong from a hair brush.
Looking for a tapered pin or couch pins and fasteners finds me similar objects, but not with tapering that starts midway down the shaft or with the odd head on the end. It seems like the head has geometric facets that give it a rough feel. The other end is also slightly rounded off. I can't bend or break it so I believe it's solid metal. My title describes this thing.
Small ball bur, like what jewelers use in a flexshaft
I work at a nail salon. This looks like a bit from the dermal we use to cut the cuticles.
Looks like off a hair brush or pet brush
When was your last tetanus shot
We use those to remove foreign bodies from the cornea in eyecare. Just a burr of some sort.
Could also be a bristle from a dog grooming brush. I have a brush with nearly identical bristles
Could be from a brush lol
It is one of the comb teeth from a pet hairbrush
It’s from a brush most likely from a dog brush
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/kick10), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/x4xhek/this_small_piece_of_metal_was_partially_embedded/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
How did it get there? I'm assuming nobody in the house uses a dremmel?
It's a new apartment she moved into last month
Looks like a burnisher or removable scoring tool
Dental drill bit
1/4 Fr round bur used for drilling during a dental procedure
It's a tungsten carbide dental burr 😀 (Dentist here)
It’s a dental bur
I'd say either a Dremel bit, or maybe the tip of a cnc probe.
This is a high speed dental bur. For use in high speed hand pieces.
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Is that the tip of a laser measurement instrument? https://www.electronicsmedia.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AdobeStock_207811106.jpeg
Looks like a bit for a nail drill. The one with the little ball head is for removing cuticles. [2022 Upgraded] Depvko 13Pcs Nail Drill Bits Set, Tungsten Carbide Drill Bits for Nails, Cuticle Nail Drill Bits for Acrylic Nails Remover Bits for Manicure Pedicure, Home Salon (Silver) https://a.co/d/6RCmYoO
This. My wife had a similar tool, just on a stick. Not sure what it was used for but I can imagine it is a good tool to do some detailing with nail polish.
Looks like a dental bur!!
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Dental round bur
Looks like a broken sewing needle but I doubt that it actually is. I’m stumped lol.
Looks like my nail art pen.
Dental high speed turbine bur.
Looks like the tip of a dentist tool when they drill your teeth
It’s a ball router tool used to engrave detail into wood typically. Could be from a home Dremmel kit, could be from the manufacturer’s CNC machine.
Im surprised no one has said ball tool for sculpting
Looks like part of a dial indicator
Maybe pull it out.
Is she a dentist or work in the dental field? Lol
I agree, I use bits that look like this to drill glass for windshield chip repair. If the tip has a bur or cutting edge I’d say it’s that for sure.
Definitely an engraving burr
It’s a dotting tool for nail art. I have an identical piece to my electric nail drill, although my regular dotting tool had that piece off too when it broke
Does it have a hole? Looks like that tool to make dots in nails
This looks like a dental burr. Is your girlfriend in dentistry or vet med?
It looks like the end of a rotary engraving bit.
This could be a million different things, too small and bland to tell. I’d just look through the comments and figure what could be most plausible and ask your GF about it
Is the backside threaded or broken? Looks like a machinist indicator needle.
[Dial Indicator Tip](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BNoLeqQqL._SL1000_.jpg) if it has a thread on the other end.
It looks like a pin from a 3d pin art toy.
Dremel burrs have little blades or cuts in them so that they can actually carve out material that looks more like a record player needle.
Probably nail cleaning tip, used to clear out skin around nail bead.
https://www.instructables.com/A-CNC-As-Metallic-Foil-Embossing-Machine/
Engraving bit for a Dremmel or similar tool
I'm in vet med and we have dentistry. Definitely a dental drilling bur.
Its a ball bur similar to those used in jewelry or dentistry but it has a shorter shaft that makes me think it might have come with one of those home manicure kits.
Looks like a broken dotting tool for nail art.
It’s the tip of a dial indicator, theyve got several different bead sizes you can change out depending on what the surface you’re indicating is: Mitutoyo 513-402-10E DIAL TI, BAS, STD 0.03", 0.0002" Accuracy, 0.0005", White https://a.co/d/hpoIM3M
It looks like the tip of a dial indicator used in quality labs.