I don't use these for sculpture but for my mixed media artwork. I paint on thick watercolour paper, so I can use these without a problem to make marks, but minding the pressure I put as they can be quite 'abrasive' on the paper. Both tools are made of good quality metal. The needle tool comes with a protection cap, which is needed as it's really pointy and I could harm myself if I placed it in my pen holder without any protection. I wish the fan tool came with a cap and the 'hairs' were a bit more flexible. Overall, a good must-have set for abstract painting