Metalsight Utility

[Trusk'our he/him]

How useful would the Steelsight/Ironsight of a Steel Inquisitor actually be? 

Yes, you can see in the dark and it's harder to be blinded (from pocketsand and flashbangs, but are there any other ideas for it's use?

Also, do you think an Inquisitor or other Hemalurgist could wear an eyepatch to conceal their eye spike, but learn to ignore the cloth's presence and see through it? Otherwise, having an eye spike just feels too much like a give away to literally everyone around you.

[Lunamor she/her]

This thread answers your questions pretty well. Basically, the spikes give inquisitors 360 vision and x-ray vision.

 

[alder24]

1 hour ago, Trusk'our said:

How useful would the Steelsight/Ironsight of a Steel Inquisitor actually be? 

Yes, you can see in the dark and it's harder to be blinded (from pocketsand and flashbangs, but are there any other ideas for it's use?

Also, do you think an Inquisitor or other Hemalurgist could wear an eyepatch to conceal their eye spike, but learn to ignore the cloth's presence and see through it? Otherwise, having an eye spike just feels too much like a give away to literally everyone around you.

58 minutes ago, Lunamor said:

This thread answers your questions pretty well. Basically, the spikes give inquisitors 360 vision and x-ray vision.

I wouldn't say they can see 360 degrees, they can definitely see the movement of steel lines behind their back, but they don't really see what's there. Steelsight can distinguish colors and types of metals and they can see through walls (but steel lines get thinner the thicker or denser they are). However, unlike Wax seeing blue lines pointing towards metal cables in the wall, a full steelsight would see every trace of metal inside the wall, thus it would blind you seeing through it (just like throwing pewter dust blinds an inquisitor), but you should still see lines pointing through the wall towards bigger, metallic objects - you could at least see them moving. Phone screens are your worst enemy.

An eye patch wouldn't stop steelsight, but I think it would be pretty distracting. it would be really hard to conceal spikes in your eyes. Wearing glasses for blind people would kind of help, but that's more traces of metal closer to your eyes, blinding you. Maybe over time you could learn how to ignore that, just like your brain ignores your nose, but time is needed. 

HoA prologue:

Quote

The spikes gave him power. Everything was outlined in fine blue Allomantic lines, highlighting the world. The room was of modest size, and several companions—also outlined in blue, the Allomantic lines pointing at the metals contained in their very blood—stood with Marsh. Each one had spikes through his eyes.

HoA ch 34:

Quote

It was far nicer inside than the exterior had led him to expect. Rich furnishings, freshly painted walls, intricate ceramics. Marsh raised an eyebrow, scanning the room with his spiked eyes. The way his sight worked, it was hard for him to distinguish colors, but he was familiar enough with his powers now that he could pick them out if he wanted. The Allomantic lines from the metals inside of most things were really quite expressive.
To Marsh, the mansion was a place of pristine whiteness and bright blobs of expensive color.

AoL ch 14:

Quote

Ranette stepped forward. She was a Lurcher, and could recognize most metals by simply burning iron.

 

Spoiler

Titan Arum

Can iron/steelsight lines be used to identify specific metals? If yes, for only savants?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible. Not just savants.

General Signed Books 2016 (Dec. 23, 2016)

 

Spoiler

Hunter of the Rain

Could Steel Inquisitors read phone screens?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh boy. Phone screens are made out of... there's like a liquid almost, liquid crystal. So could you read a phone screen... or are they just asking cause it's metal? No they're saying there's this blank screen, and it's just changing pixel's colors, so would an Inquisitor not be able to see that because it's going to be indistinguishable according to their steel sight, I think that's what they're getting at. I don't know if the question is "Is the phone going to glow too much because there is too much metal in it" or is it "Because the pixels don't really register to steel sight". I'm gonna say phones are a good way to hide things from an Inquisitor. Yeah, an Inquisitor's not gonna enjoy the move to all digital formats probably. 

YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 (Dec. 2, 2022)

 

[Trusk'our he/him]

7 hours ago, Lunamor said:

This thread answers your questions pretty well. Basically, the spikes give inquisitors 360 vision and x-ray vision.

 

Thanks for the link!

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

I wouldn't say they can see 360 degrees, they can definitely see the movement of steel lines behind their back, but they don't really see what's there.

Hmmm, actually, now that I think of it, didn't Wax sense a Steel line in TLM from the one newspaper lady with a gun aimed at his back? Seems like a useful ability, even if you couldn't get full vision.

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

An eye patch wouldn't stop steelsight, but I think it would be pretty distracting. it would be really hard to conceal spikes in your eyes. Wearing glasses for blind people would kind of help, but that's more traces of metal closer to your eyes, blinding you. Maybe over time you could learn how to ignore that, just like your brain ignores your nose, but time is needed. 

Makes sense to me. My biggest concern with someone (like Kelsier) deciding to use an eye spike to gain the benefits of it would be it drawing lots of unwanted attention; You can't exactly walk around unnoticed and unbothered with a railroad spike sticking from your eye. An eyepatch would do wonders for its concealment.

6 hours ago, alder24 said:

HoA prologue:

HoA ch 34:

AoL ch 14:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Titan Arum

Can iron/steelsight lines be used to identify specific metals? If yes, for only savants?

Brandon Sanderson

This is possible. Not just savants.

General Signed Books 2016 (Dec. 23, 2016)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Hunter of the Rain

Could Steel Inquisitors read phone screens?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh boy. Phone screens are made out of... there's like a liquid almost, liquid crystal. So could you read a phone screen... or are they just asking cause it's metal? No they're saying there's this blank screen, and it's just changing pixel's colors, so would an Inquisitor not be able to see that because it's going to be indistinguishable according to their steel sight, I think that's what they're getting at. I don't know if the question is "Is the phone going to glow too much because there is too much metal in it" or is it "Because the pixels don't really register to steel sight". I'm gonna say phones are a good way to hide things from an Inquisitor. Yeah, an Inquisitor's not gonna enjoy the move to all digital formats probably. 

YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 (Dec. 2, 2022)

 

Thanks for the quotes @alder24 ; I don't have any of the books on me right now, so I appreciate your work.

[alder24]

6 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

Hmmm, actually, now that I think of it, didn't Wax sense a Steel line in TLM from the one newspaper lady with a gun aimed at his back? Seems like a useful ability, even if you couldn't get full vision.

Maybe, there were many situations like this in both Era 1 and 2 where they saw a line behind their back moving. You might be able to even judge the size of the object moving - the bigger it is, the thicker the line.

6 hours ago, Trusk'our said:

Makes sense to me. My biggest concern with someone (like Kelsier) deciding to use an eye spike to gain the benefits of it would be it drawing lots of unwanted attention; You can't exactly walk around unnoticed and unbothered with a railroad spike sticking from your eye. An eyepatch would do wonders for its concealment.

Well, Kelsier is doing fine somehow. There are no stories of people seeing Kelsier and truthfully in this case it would be ignored as fanatic, religious followers wanting to appear more important rather than something real. If you really want to be unnoticed, give yourself F-duralumin with Hemalurgy, then nobody would see you and your giant spike in your head - I'm surprised that you, a hemalurgic enthusiast, didn't immediately think of this solution  

Edited February 21, 2024 by alder24

[Trusk'our he/him]

3 hours ago, alder24 said:

Well, Kelsier is doing fine somehow. There are no stories of people seeing Kelsier and truthfully in this case it would be ignored as fanatic, religious followers wanting to appear more important rather than something real.

I wonder if he just chills out in places that people who aren't a part of his organization won't see him. That, my friend, would be a very limiting existence.

3 hours ago, alder24 said:

If you really want to be unnoticed, give yourself F-duralumin with Hemalurgy, then nobody would see you and your giant spike in your head - I'm surprised that you, a hemalurgic enthusiast, didn't immediately think of this solution  

Dadgum it, you're right, the answer always is, and always should be MORE SPIKES!

Spoiler

But in all seriousness, if a Hemalurgist's portfolio of powers is limited to three spikes- five if they're willing to open themselves up to Shardic influence and a needing a Linchpin spike- requiring a specific power seems limiting, even if it's a pretty good power. Other solutions should be considered in addition to just adding on certain powers.

Edited February 21, 2024 by Trusk'our

[alder24]

23 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

But in all seriousness, if a Hemalurgist's portfolio of powers is limited to three spikes- five if they're willing to open themselves up to Shardic influence and a needing a Linchpin spike- requiring a specific power seems limiting, even if it's a pretty good power. Other solutions should be considered in addition to just adding on certain powers.

Then you don't need any spike in your eye, just in your chest giving you A-steel/iron - a Misting can learn how to view the world like an Inquisitor or Kelsier. The spike is concealed and you have all benefits of steelsight. 

[Trusk'our he/him]

9 minutes ago, alder24 said:

Then you don't need any spike in your eye, just in your chest giving you A-steel/iron - a Misting can learn how to view the world like an Inquisitor or Kelsier. The spike is concealed and you have all benefits of steelsight. 

Possibly, but it seems to be difficult to get exactly the same effects of an eye spike when just Burning iron/steel; those give you lines to utilize, yes, but it doesn't usually let you outline the entire world.

I know that there's that WoB that says that anyone can do it potentially, but we've only see it happen to the extent of a Steel Inquisitor without the eye spike(s) once, and that was with the raw power of the Band of Mourning. That makes me hesitant to believe that anyone would be able to do it, just that's it's a technical "you can technically do it" and not a "you would actually do it realistically". 

[alder24]

18 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Possibly, but it seems to be difficult to get exactly the same effects of an eye spike when just Burning iron/steel; those give you lines to utilize, yes, but it doesn't usually let you outline the entire world.

Some have already done that in the past. You can learn it, to the same extent as inquisitor's Steelsight. The most complicated thing about it would be knowing it's even possible.

Spoiler

Brandon Sanderson

By the way, you probably remember form book one the way that Inquisitors see. They have such a subtle touch with Steel and Iron, and their lines, that they can see via the trace metals in everyone's bodies and in the objects around them.

The thing is, any Allomancer with access to iron or steel could learn to do this. Some have figured it out, in the past, but in current times, nobody–at least, nobody the heroes know–is aware of this. Except, of course, for Marsh.

And he chose not to share it.

The Well of Ascension Annotations (Nov. 11, 2007)

 

20 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

I know that there's that WoB that says that anyone can do it potentially, but we've only see it happen to the extent of a Steel Inquisitor without the eye spike(s) once, and that was with the raw power of the Band of Mourning. That makes me hesitant to believe that anyone would be able to do it, just that's it's a technical "you can technically do it" and not a "you would actually do it realistically". 

The Bands made you see like that because you could push on every line. The Bands are just that strong. 

[Duxredux he/him]

Piggybacking off of @alder24's quotes, Steelsight is useful because of the context of the world the Hemalurgist is interacting with. Even for someone like Kelsier who can no longer fly on Steel, he can still at a glance identify the viable anchors and weapons available to an enemy Coinshot.

Here's an old thread discussing Wax's precision and how it relates to Steelsight. In summary, Wax is an incredible marksman likely because of the sensory feedback for his shots, Steelsight basically gives modified laser sights, and decades of practice. There's other things like increasing his weight and correcting his shots with Steelpushes that are less relevant to this conversation. Notably Wax acknowledges that the Coinshot they fight at the end of AoL has very good aim, so it's probably not just Wax. Steelsight in the context of firefights means everyone else effectively is using tracer rounds, with Wax able to pair and identify who was shooting invisible Aluminum when fighting a small army in BoM.

If you take the time to learn your Allomantic metals, being able to identify metals on sight could be really useful. Since you're a living metal detector, you'll may be able to tell if the person you're facing has Feruchemical bracers or metal vials hidden on their person (like how Wax identified Marasi as a Misting), what type of metal it is, and logically what powerset you can expect to be facing. Dead zones indicate Aluminum and the general size and shape probably will tell you if they have a shielded metal flask, an aluminum firearm, or an lined hat. You may also be able to spot Hemalurgists from their spike material or placement (depending on how those look to an Inquisitor's eyes). Sure you have to have done your research and be paying really close attention, but that's a lot of information. I'll also note that having someone who can on sight verify good Allomantic metals with the right percentages can be useful even just by inspecting metals for other Mistings. It makes sense, but it does make me wonder why Inquisitors weren't better at spotting Feruchemists and Allomancers. Maybe they just relied on their enhanced Seeking since it could punch through Copperclouds which was an advantage most didn't even know was possible, and it could let them pick out unaware Allomancers like Vin who was burning trace metals.

In the modern world, you may be able to identify the interior conduit and wiring for a building which may be relevant in later eras to trace things like surveillance cameras. The x-ray vision that specifically highlights metals is useful because power and information are generally transmitted on metal wires, and it seemed like that was the case for Southern Scadrian technology as well. Mapping what and where something is drawing power and sending information is pretty useful, particularly for one of the greatest thieves of the Cosmere, though electricians, engineers, and hackers can get some mileage too. 

Greater Cosmere spoilers:

Spoiler

Metal position and composition for Fabrials is specifically one of the ways that artefabrians can identify and reverse engineer fabrials. While Steelsight might not let you see the spren (maybe? It's Investiture and power, though not Connected to Allomancy), the size and layout of the metals may give you a head start on identifying the fabrial. Basically, seeing metals is relevant for most advancing cultures we've seen so far. Identifying silver on Lumar or Threnody also is relevant, though perhaps not too difficult.

Now there are pros and cons between getting an eye spike vs A-Steel/A-Iron the main advantage being that it's a passive ability. It doesn't run out through normal use or while burning Duralumin, it can't be Leeched away, and it doesn't need a Coppercloud to be hidden from Seekers (which got Wax in trouble in BoM when snooping at the New Seran party). The cons are of course you can't Push or Pull.

[Colors]

I'd have to look back at the times its mentioned in the original trilogy but I think seeing through an eyepatch should be easy as I believe they're able to see through walls and the like.

I suspect they could also train themselves to basically ignore the Eyepatch and simply focus on the feedback from th he world beyond it.

I think my question is could you get the best of both worlds through one supercharged spike through one eye while leaving the other normal? How would those two types of vision overlay?

[alder24]

1 hour ago, Colors said:

I think my question is could you get the best of both worlds through one supercharged spike through one eye while leaving the other normal? How would those two types of vision overlay?

Kelsier has that. TLM epilogue 4:

Quote

Kelsier didn’t see quite as he once had. One eye saw as a mortal, the other as an immortal. His spiked eye not only pinned his soul to his bones, but gave him a constant overlay of blue, letting him see the world as a being like Sazed did. Outlining not only sources of metal, but all things. The very axi that made up matter had their own polarity, influenceable with Steelpushing under the right circumstances.
One eye of the gods. One eye of the common men. As he had always tried to see the world.

 

[Colors]

28 minutes ago, alder24 said:

Kelsier has that. TLM epilogue 4:

 

Yeah, I know that applies to Kelsier...but I wasn't sure if it was the same for him as it would be for a normal person since he is under some weird circumstances. With the spike pinning his soul/cognitive aspect to an unknown body that isn't his original body, and if I recall he can't use allomancy anymore since he died. I was kind of always confused how he couldn't use allomancy, but could use steel sight.  

 

[alder24]

4 minutes ago, Colors said:

Yeah, I know that applies to Kelsier...but I wasn't sure if it was the same for him as it would be for a normal person since he is under some weird circumstances. With the spike pinning his soul/cognitive aspect to an unknown body that isn't his original body, and if I recall he can't use allomancy anymore since he died. I was kind of always confused how he couldn't use allomancy, but could use steel sight.  

It's the same. For the same reasons Inquisitors see without constantly burning iron/steel. It's the nature of Hemalurgy, it changes the body with each spike and a spike in the eye changes your sight to see in steelsight. He isn't a Mistborn anymore, Lerasium won't work on him - that's true (probably because that's not his real body, he is "possessing" a Mistwraith). In my opinion his spike holds no powers, it only pins his spirit to his body (almost his words). HoA ch 41:

Quote

Hemalurgic spikes change people physically, depending on which powers are granted, where the spike is placed, and how many spikes someone has. Inquisitors, for instance, are changed drastically from the humans they used to be. Their hearts are in different places from those of humans, and their brains rearrange to accommodate the lengths of metal jabbed through their eyes. Koloss are changed in even more drastic ways.

TLM epilogue 4:

Quote

Hemalurgy had proven ineffective on what he’d become. It held his soul and body together, but no more.
There had to be another way. He had hope. Ever, he had hope. Hope he could control the metals again. Hope he would be able to soar again. Hope he’d be able to touch the metals he could see in the world all around him.

 

Spoiler

Sethcran

When Kelsier said in The Lost Metal that he couldn't Steelpush over water, do the Ghostbloods think that Kelsier has his Allomantic powers, and is he lying to them about it?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, they think he has Allomantic powers still.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 (Dec. 2, 2022)

 

[Colors]

2 hours ago, alder24 said:

It's the same. For the same reasons Inquisitors see without constantly burning iron/steel. It's the nature of Hemalurgy, it changes the body with each spike and a spike in the eye changes your sight to see in steelsight. He isn't a Mistborn anymore, Lerasium won't work on him - that's true (probably because that's not his real body, he is "possessing" a Mistwraith). In my opinion his spike holds no powers, it only pins his spirit to his body (almost his words). HoA ch 41:

TLM epilogue 4:

 

  Hide contents

Sethcran

When Kelsier said in The Lost Metal that he couldn't Steelpush over water, do the Ghostbloods think that Kelsier has his Allomantic powers, and is he lying to them about it?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, they think he has Allomantic powers still.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 (Dec. 2, 2022)

 

Just interesting to me the spikes cannot impart any allomantic powers, but they can impart steel sight. Maybe I'm missing some obvious distinction between the two.

[alder24]

14 hours ago, Colors said:

Just interesting to me the spikes cannot impart any allomantic powers, but they can impart steel sight. Maybe I'm missing some obvious distinction between the two.

Steelsight isn't exclusive to Allomancy. Steel lines manifest Spiritually, Connection is involved, you can see investiture, down to the very axi of all things, or even fundamental forces of Cosmere. Kelsier said it's the way Shards see the world. Steelsight has more to do with your soul and how it perceives the Physical world than just with Allomancy.

Warbreaker spoilers:

Spoiler

 Awakened objects see via steelsight-like mechanics as well:

Spoiler

Questioner

In Awakening an object when you give it the sort of Command like, go get the keys, or something. How does that object perceive the world around it? Since it doesn't have standard human senses, how does it see? How does it touch?

Brandon Sanderson

It is not--

Moderator

Repeat the question.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh… go ahead.

Moderator

The question was, how do Awakened objects actually perceive the world.

Brandon Sanderson

…The closest correlation you have to this is how Inquisitors see.

Questioner

Okay, following up on that say, someone who has-- say someone with bronze who-- a bronze Misting managed to somehow get access to Breath and Awaken would he then be able to tell that object "Hey I sense this Allomancer over there, can you find it".

Brandon Sanderson

That is not outside the realm of possibility.

JordanCon 2016 (April 23, 2016)

 

Spoiler

Argent

Mechanically speaking, how does steelsight work? The scientific definition of "metal" gets a little murky in the middle of the periodic table-

Brandon Sanderson

It does.

Argent

-and we see that powerful enough Allomancers can see more than just metals.

Brandon Sanderson

Yep.

Argent

Are Connection and perception significantly involved here?

Brandon Sanderson

To an extent, but the science of it also is. I feel like the stronger steelsight is getting, the more it is detecting things like electromagnetic bonds and even, you know, the strong and weak force and some of these sorts of things that is just in everything, right? And I do think that in strongest applications, Allomancy is going to be moving beyond metals and moving toward things like fundamental forces. So there you go.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 3 (Dec. 16, 2021)

 

Spoiler

Oneyespike (paraphrased)

Can a Shardblade interrupt iron or steel lines?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

*after mulling it over a bit, he was very interested in this question* "It would be theoretically possible, because steel lines manifest themselves on the Spiritual Realm. Also, there are other things that can cut/interfere with steel lines."

Shadows of Self Denver signing (Oct. 6, 2015)

 

Edited February 28, 2024 by alder24

[Colors]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

Steelsight isn't exclusive to Allomancy. Steel lines manifest Spiritually, Connection is involved, you can see investiture, down to the very axi of all things, or even fundamental forces of Cosmere. Kelsier said it's the way Shards see the world. Steelsight has more to do with your soul and how it perceives the Physical world than just with Allomancy.

Warbreaker spoilers:

  Reveal hidden contents

 Awakened objects see via steelsight-like mechanics as well:

  Reveal hidden contents

Questioner

In Awakening an object when you give it the sort of Command like, go get the keys, or something. How does that object perceive the world around it? Since it doesn't have standard human senses, how does it see? How does it touch?

Brandon Sanderson

It is not--

Moderator

Repeat the question.

Brandon Sanderson

Oh… go ahead.

Moderator

The question was, how do Awakened objects actually perceive the world.

Brandon Sanderson

…The closest correlation you have to this is how Inquisitors see.

Questioner

Okay, following up on that say, someone who has-- say someone with bronze who-- a bronze Misting managed to somehow get access to Breath and Awaken would he then be able to tell that object "Hey I sense this Allomancer over there, can you find it".

Brandon Sanderson

That is not outside the realm of possibility.

JordanCon 2016 (April 23, 2016)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Argent

Mechanically speaking, how does steelsight work? The scientific definition of "metal" gets a little murky in the middle of the periodic table-

Brandon Sanderson

It does.

Argent

-and we see that powerful enough Allomancers can see more than just metals.

Brandon Sanderson

Yep.

Argent

Are Connection and perception significantly involved here?

Brandon Sanderson

To an extent, but the science of it also is. I feel like the stronger steelsight is getting, the more it is detecting things like electromagnetic bonds and even, you know, the strong and weak force and some of these sorts of things that is just in everything, right? And I do think that in strongest applications, Allomancy is going to be moving beyond metals and moving toward things like fundamental forces. So there you go.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 3 (Dec. 16, 2021)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Oneyespike (paraphrased)

Can a Shardblade interrupt iron or steel lines?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

*after mulling it over a bit, he was very interested in this question* "It would be theoretically possible, because steel lines manifest themselves on the Spiritual Realm. Also, there are other things that can cut/interfere with steel lines."

Shadows of Self Denver signing (Oct. 6, 2015)

 

That's interesting, I guess I'm just interested to learn more about it all. How do spikes grant this? Typically when you use a spike you're stealing a piece off someone's spirit web that allows them to access a certain power (i.e. steel pushing from a steel misting). 

I had assumed that the spikes in Inquisitors' eyes were charged by killing steel mistings and the amplified strength of their steel sight was a product of having two spikes.

If Inquisitor steel sight is not granted by allomantic powers stolen from steel mistings where does it come from? It can't be another being with that kind of sight because as far as we know Inquisitors are the only being who demonstrate that ability on Scadrial (apart from the lesser steel sense provided by A-steel).

So maybe you understand my confusion. If steel sight isn't granted by allomantic powers contained in the spike, where is the ability coming from? If it is granted by allomantic powers, why does it work for Kelsier when no other spikes granted any allomantic powers to him? 

Unless maybe the being Kelsier spiked to create his spike had some unique properties? Or the spike itself has something different going on with it?

 

Edited February 28, 2024 by Colors

[alder24]

42 minutes ago, Colors said:

That's interesting, I guess I'm just interested to learn more about it all. How do spikes grant this? Typically when you use a spike you're stealing a piece off someone's spirit web that allows them to access a certain power (i.e. steel pushing from a steel misting). 

I had assumed that the spikes in Inquisitors' eyes were charged by killing steel mistings and the amplified strength of their steel sight was a product of having two spikes.

If Inquisitor steel sight is not granted by allomantic powers stolen from steel mistings where does it come from? It can't be another being with that kind of sight because as far as we know Inquisitors are the only being who demonstrate that ability on Scadrial (apart from the lesser steel sense provided by A-steel).

So maybe you understand my confusion. If steel sight isn't granted by allomantic powers contained in the spike, where is the ability coming from? If it is granted by allomantic powers, why does it work for Kelsier when no other spikes granted any allomantic powers to him? 

Unless maybe the being Kelsier spiked to create his spike had some unique properties? Or the spike itself has something different going on with it?

I get it, you think you have to steal it first to grant it. I disagree. I theorize that any Hemalurgic spike in eyes will physically change them enough to replace your normal vision with steelsight. Go back and read that epigraph from HoA where Sazed talks about changes done to the body by Hemalurgic spikes. And because steelsight is something bigger than Allomancy, other entities like Shards or Awakened objects use it as well, that's what Hemalurgy is replacing your vision with - it's not about the charge of the spike, but the placement of it. That's at least my little theory. You don't steal steelsight, you get it by changes done to your body from spikes. 

That explains why Kelsier has it but doesn't have any powers. He specifically said that Hemalurgy ONLY pins his soul to his body. I further theorize that his spike contains no charge at all, it dragged his soul and stapled it into his new body. Alternative theory is that it contains his whole soul. But it doesn't contain Metalborn powers, nor steelsight, this is given to him to replace his lost vision because of the nature of mutations associated with Hemalurgy.

Inquisitors' spikes were all charged with powers - that's for sure. But if you look at the Hemalurgic table of HoA you will see that eyes are binding points for granting ANY physical Allomantic power - you can place there A-pewter if you want and you would still get steelsight replacing your vision. The steelsight isn't stolen.

[Colors]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

I get it, you think you have to steal it first to grant it. I disagree. I theorize that any Hemalurgic spike in eyes will physically change them enough to replace your normal vision with steelsight. Go back and read that epigraph from HoA where Sazed talks about changes done to the body by Hemalurgic spikes. And because steelsight is something bigger than Allomancy, other entities like Shards or Awakened objects use it as well, that's what Hemalurgy is replacing your vision with - it's not about the charge of the spike, but the placement of it. That's at least my little theory. You don't steal steelsight, you get it by changes done to your body from spikes. 

That explains why Kelsier has it but doesn't have any powers. He specifically said that Hemalurgy ONLY pins his soul to his body. I further theorize that his spike contains no charge at all, it dragged his soul and stapled it into his new body. Alternative theory is that it contains his whole soul. But it doesn't contain Metalborn powers, nor steelsight, this is given to him to replace his lost vision because of the nature of mutations associated with Hemalurgy.

Inquisitors' spikes were all charged with powers - that's for sure. But if you look at the Hemalurgic table of HoA you will see that eyes are binding points for granting ANY physical Allomantic power - you can place there A-pewter if you want and you would still get steelsight replacing your vision. The steelsight isn't stolen.

Explained that way it does make sense, I could see that.