I am just assuming.... , you might have heard Как это ? meaning Что это? when asking what(how) an object is called in Russian..?? Как это (называется по- русски) ?- would be the full sentance in a sequence of questions - Как это по- русски? / - А как это? / - А это как? Что это ? - you would ask , when you want an object defined/ you don't know what it is

Just an addition to what has been already said. There is an idiomatic expression "как это?" that roughly means "what is it?", and Russians use it a lot, although it might seem wrong. Thus, the answer for your question is yes, sometimes you can. For example: -Я занимаюсь логистикой = "I do logistics" -Логистикой? Как это? = Logistics? What does that mean? (I haven't heard this word before) -Ты умеешь решать дифференциальные уравнения? = Do you know how to solve differential equations? -Как это? = (No, I've never done it and I even don't know what this is) But if you point at something and asking what it is, you only can ask "что это?" Hope this helps.

что = what (en) / cosa (it) Что это? What is it? / Cosa e'? как = how (en) / come (it) Как это? for ex. Как это случилось? How did it happen? / Come e' successo?

Что = what как = how You can't use как это? instead of что это? because it would be another meaning of your question.

Because "что" and "как" different types of questions. You use "что" for question like What is it - Что это? and "как" using for question like How do you run? - Как ты бегаешь?