[Patknives]

Whoa, hang on! I had a pair of metal drumsticks and they were the biggest rip off ever. First, If you understand how a drum stroke works. When you hit a drum you are using Type II (or fast twitching) muscles in your wrist and hand. If you work out a Type II muscle with metal sticks, a type II muscle turns into a type I or (slow twitching)muscle. A Type I muscle are a lot stronger but much much slower. Thats exactly what happened when I used metal sticks. I used them for 6 months a while back and they totally set me back in speed and control. I could hit harder, but my speed around the set really slowed down. I got really frustrated and researched the muscles used in a drum stroke.
I don't know of any drummer, novice or pro, that uses these sticks. If you play drumset, get a pair of marching sticks to warm up to and run rudiments with, but nothing heaver.