Graphite and silicon nanoneedles arc fabricated by different etching processes oil HOPG and SiOx. The masks used to engrave such Substrates are needle-shaped ferrite nanocrystals. We demonstrate that nanocrystals achieve the role of colloidal masks leading to resolutions down to 10 nm in distance between objects when the etched Substrate is SiOx and less than 3 nm when it is HOPG.