Pencil
Encyclopedia
Writing implement
A writing implement or writing instrument is an object used to produce writing. Most of these items can be also used for other functions such as painting, drawing and technical drawing, but writing instruments generally have the unique requirement to create a smooth, controllable line.Another...
or art medium usually constructed of a narrow, solid pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
core inside a protective casing. The case prevents the core from breaking, and also from marking the user’s hand during use.
Pencils create marks via physical abrasion, leaving behind a trail of solid core material that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. They are noticeably distinct from pens
Pens
Pens may refer to:* plural of pen, Fountain pens - writing instruments* Pens * a nickname for the Pittsburgh PenguinsPENS may refer to:* Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, commonly referred to as electroacupuncture...
, which dispense liquid or gel ink that stain the light color of the paper.
Most pencil cores are made of graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
mixed with a clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
binder, leaving grey or black marks that can be easily erased
Eraser
An eraser or rubber is an article of stationery that is used for rubbing out pencil markings. Erasers have a rubbery consistency and are often white or pink, although modern materials allow them to be made in any color. Many pencils are equipped with an eraser on one end...
. Graphite pencils are used for both writing
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
and drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, and the result is durable: although writing can usually be removed with an eraser, it is resistant to moisture, most chemicals, ultraviolet radiation and natural ageing. Other types of pencil core are less widely used. Charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
pencils are mainly used by artists for drawing and sketching. Colored pencils are sometimes used by teachers or editors to correct submitted texts
Blue pencil (editing)
A blue pencil is a pencil traditionally used by an editor or sub-editor to show corrections to written copy. The colour is used specifically because it will not show in some lithographic or photographic reproduction processes; these are known as non-photo blue pencils...
but are more usually regarded as art supplies, especially those with waxy core binders that tend to smear on paper instead of erasing. Grease pencil
Grease pencil
The grease pencil, a wax writing tool also known as a wax pencil, china marker, , is made of hardened colored wax and is useful for marking on hard, glossy non-porous surfaces such as porcelain, glass, polished stone, plastic, ceramics and other glazed, lacquered or polished surfaces, as well as...
s have a softer crayon
Crayon
A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other materials used for writing, coloring, drawing, and other methods of illustration. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel; both are popular media for color...
-like waxy core that can leave marks on smooth surfaces such as glass or porcelain.
The most common type of pencil casing is a thin wooden cylinder
Cylinder (geometry)
A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given line segment, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
permanently bonded around the core. Similar permanent casings may be constructed of other materials such as plastic or paper. In order to use the pencil, the casing must be carved or peeled off to expose the working end of the core as a sharp point. Mechanical pencil
Mechanical pencil
A mechanical pencil or a propelling pencil is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a lead . It is designed such that the lead can be extended as its point is worn away...
s have more elaborate casings that support mobile pieces of pigment core, which can be extended or retracted through the casing tip as needed.
History
Stylus
A stylus is a writing utensil, or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example in pottery. The word is also used for a computer accessory . It usually refers to a narrow elongated staff, similar to a modern ballpoint pen. Many styli are heavily curved to be held more easily...
, which was a thin metal stick, often made from lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and used for scratching in papyrus
Papyrus
Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....
, a form of early paper. They were used extensively by the ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ians and Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. The word pencil comes from the Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
word pincel, a small paintbrush, ultimately deriving from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word a "little tail" — pincellus is Latin from the post-classical period.
Discovery of graphite deposit
Some time before 1565 (some sources say as early as 1500), an enormous deposit of graphiteGraphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts
Grey Knotts
Grey Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District, it is situated one kilometre south of the B5289 road as it crosses the Honister Pass, it is well seen from mid Borrowdale as it rises above Seatoller...
from the hamlet of Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish
Borrowdale
Borrowdale is a valley and civil parish in the English Lake District in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England.Borrowdale lies within the historic county boundaries of Cumberland, and is sometimes referred to as Cumberland Borrowdale in order to distinguish it from another Borrowdale in the...
, Cumbria, England. The locals found that it was very useful for marking sheep. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid, and it could easily be sawn into sticks. This remains the only large scale deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form. Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
was in its infancy and the substance was thought to be a form of lead. Consequently, it was called plumbago (Latin for "lead ore"). The black core of pencils is still referred to as lead, even though it never contained the element
Chemical element
A chemical element is a pure chemical substance consisting of one type of atom distinguished by its atomic number, which is the number of protons in its nucleus. Familiar examples of elements include carbon, oxygen, aluminum, iron, copper, gold, mercury, and lead.As of November 2011, 118 elements...
lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
. The words for pencil in German (Bleistift), Irish (Peann Luaidhe), Arabic (قلم رصاص qalam ruṣāṣ), and other languages literally mean lead pen.
The value of graphite was soon realised to be enormous, mainly because it could be used to line the moulds for cannonballs
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
, and the mines were taken over by the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
and guarded. When sufficient stores of graphite had been accumulated, the mines were flooded to prevent theft until more was required. Graphite had to be smuggled out for use in pencils. Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of encasement. Graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
for stability. The news of the usefulness of these early pencils spread far and wide, attracting the attention of artists all over the known world.
Although deposits of graphite had been found in other parts of the world, they were not of the same purity and quality as the Borrowdale find, and had to be crushed to remove the impurities, leaving only graphite powder. England continued to enjoy a monopoly on the production of pencils until a method of reconstituting the graphite powder was found. The distinctively square English pencils continued to be made with sticks cut from natural duck graphite into the 1860s. The town of Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, near the original findings of block graphite still manufactures pencils, the factory also being the location of the Cumberland pencil museum.
The first attempt to manufacture graphite sticks from powdered graphite was in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, Germany, in 1662. It used a mixture of graphite, sulphur, and antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
.
Residual graphite from a pencil stick is not poisonous, and graphite is harmless if consumed.
Wood holders added
An Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti made what are likely the first blueprints for the modern, wood-encased carpentry pencil. Their version was a flat, oval, more compact type of pencil. Their concept involved the hollowing out of a stick of juniperJuniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
wood. Shortly thereafter, a superior technique was discovered: two wooden halves were carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together—essentially the same method in use to this day.
English and German pencils were not available to the French during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
; France, under naval blockade imposed by Great Britain, was unable to import the pure graphite sticks from the British Grey Knotts
Grey Knotts
Grey Knotts is a fell in the English Lake District, it is situated one kilometre south of the B5289 road as it crosses the Honister Pass, it is well seen from mid Borrowdale as it rises above Seatoller...
mines – the only known source in the world for solid graphite. France was also unable to import the inferior German graphite pencil substitute. It took the efforts of an officer in Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's army to change this. In 1795, Nicholas Jacques Conté discovered a method of mixing powdered graphite with clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and forming the mixture into rods that were then fired in a kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
. By varying the ratio of graphite to clay, the hardness of the graphite rod could also be varied. This method of manufacture, which had been earlier discovered by the Austrian Joseph Hardtmuth
Joseph Hardtmuth
Joseph Hardtmuth was a successful Austrian architect, inventor and entrepreneur.- Inventions :...
of Koh-I-Noor
Koh-I-Noor (company)
Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth a.s. is a Czech manufacturer of a full line of pencils, pens, and art supplies. Formed in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmuth of Austria, the company was named after the Koh-i-Noor, a famous Indian diamond...
in 1790, remains in use.
In England, pencils continued to be made from whole sawn graphite. Henry Bessemer
Henry Bessemer
Sir Henry Bessemer was an English engineer, inventor, and businessman. Bessemer's name is chiefly known in connection with the Bessemer process for the manufacture of steel.-Anthony Bessemer:...
's first successful invention (1838) was a method of compressing graphite powder into solid graphite thus allowing the waste from sawing to be reused.
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
advertised pencils for sale in his Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729, and George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
used a three-inch pencil when he surveyed the Ohio Territory in 1762. It is said that William Munroe
William Munroe (pencil maker)
William Munroe was a prominent cabinet-maker and pencil manufacturer of Concord, Massachusetts.-Early life:...
, a cabinetmaker in Concord, Massachusetts
Concord, Massachusetts
Concord is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 17,668. Although a small town, Concord is noted for its leading roles in American history and literature.-History:...
, made the first American wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
pencils in 1812. This was not the only pencil-making occurring in Concord. According to Henry Petroski
Henry Petroski
Henry Petroski is an American engineer specializing in failure analysis. A professor both of civil engineering and history at Duke University, he is also a prolific author...
, transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
discovered how to make a good pencil out of inferior graphite using clay as the binder
Binder (material)
-See also:*Adhesive or Glue*Cement*Paint...
; this invention was prompted by his father's pencil factory in Concord, which employed graphite found in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
in 1821 by Charles Dunbar.
Munroe's method of making pencils was painstakingly slow, and in the neighbouring town of Acton
Acton, Massachusetts
Acton is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States about twenty-one miles west-northwest of Boston along Route 2 west of Concord and about ten miles southwest of Lowell. The population was 21,924 at the 2010 census...
, a pencil mill owner named Ebenezer Wood set out to automate the process at his own pencil mill located at Nashoba Brook along the old Davis Road
Nashoba Brook Pencil Factory Site
The Nashoba Brook Pencil Factory Site contains the ruins of a 19th century dam-powered pencil factory. This factory was one of several in Acton and Concord, Massachusetts at the time that brought important developments to pencil manufacturing. All that remain today of the factory are the ruins of...
. He used the first circular saw in pencil production. He constructed the first of the hexagon- and octagon-shaped wooden casings that we have today. Ebenezer did not patent his invention and shared his techniques with whomever asked. One of those was Eberhard Faber
Eberhard Faber
Eberhard Faber GmbH was founded in 1922 in Neumarkt, near Nuremberg, Germany, as a pencil factory. It was taken over in 1978 by Staedtler, a stationery company with global presence...
of New York, who became the leader in pencil production.
Joseph Dixon, an inventor and entrepreneur involved with the Tantiusques
Tantiusques
Tantiusques is a open space reservation and historic site registered with the National Register of Historic Places. The reservation is located in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and is owned and managed by The Trustees of Reservations; it is notable for its historic, defunct graphite mines...
granite mine in Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Sturbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to Old Sturbridge Village living history museum and other sites of historical interest such as Tantiusques.The population was 9,268 at the 2010 census...
, developed a means to mass produce
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
pencils. By 1870, The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company was the world’s largest dealer and consumer of graphite and later became the contemporary Dixon Ticonderoga
Dixon Ticonderoga
The Dixon Ticonderoga Company is an office and art supplies maker from the USA, with headquarters in Heathrow, Florida, which offers a number of brands. One of the most well-known is Ticonderoga - the yellow No. 2 pencil, known for its distinctive green and yellow ferrule...
pencil and art supplies company.
By the end of the 19th century over 240,000 pencils were used each day in the United States alone. The favoured timber for pencils was Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...
as it was aromatic and did not splinter when sharpened. In the early 20th century supplies of Red Cedar were dwindling so that pencil manufacturers were forced to recycle the wood from cedar fences and barns to maintain supply. Britain went as far as declaring the use of pencil sharpener
Pencil sharpener
A pencil sharpener is a device for sharpening a pencil's writing point by shaving away its worn surface. Pencil sharpeners may be operated manually or by an electric motor.-History:...
s illegal to discourage unnecessary sharpening. It was soon discovered that Incense cedar
Calocedrus
Calocedrus is a genus of three species of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae.The generic name means "beautiful cedar".-Description:...
, when dyed and perfumed to resemble Red Cedar, was a suitable alternative and most pencils today are made from this timber which is grown in managed forests. Over 14 billion pencils are manufactured worldwide annually.
Eraser attached
Hymen Lipman
Hymen L. Lipman is credited with registering the first patent for a pencil with an attached eraser on March 30, 1858 .Hymen L. Lipman was born March 20, 1817, in Kingston, Jamaica, to English parents...
received the first patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for attaching an eraser
Eraser
An eraser or rubber is an article of stationery that is used for rubbing out pencil markings. Erasers have a rubbery consistency and are often white or pink, although modern materials allow them to be made in any color. Many pencils are equipped with an eraser on one end...
to the end of a pencil. In 1862 Lipman sold his patent to Joseph Reckendorfer for $100,000, who went on to sue the pencil manufacturer Faber-Castell for infringement. In 1875, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against Reckendorfer declaring the patent invalid.
Lead poisoning
Although leadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
has not been used for writing since Roman times
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, lead poisoning from pencils was not uncommon; until the middle of the twentieth century the paint used for the outer coating could contain high concentrations of the element and this could be ingested when the pencil was sucked or chewed.
Manufacture
Modern pencils are made industrially by mixing finely ground graphite and clay powders, adding water, forming long spaghettiSpaghetti
Spaghetti is a long, thin, cylindrical pasta of Italian origin. Spaghetti is made of semolina or flour and water. Italian dried spaghetti is made from durum wheat semolina, but outside of Italy it may be made with other kinds of flour...
-like strings, and firing them in a kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
. The resulting strings are dipped in oil or molten wax, which seeps into the tiny holes of the material, resulting in smoother writing. A juniper or incense-cedar plank with several long parallel grooves is cut to fashion a "slat," and the graphite/clay strings are inserted into the grooves. Another grooved plank is glued on top, and the whole assembly is then cut into individual pencils, which are then varnished or painted. Afterwards people can then add personal things like pencil grips and eraser toppers. Eraser toppers are extra erasers that can be removed after being used.
Grading and classification
As of 2009, a set of pencils ranging from a very hard, light-marking pencil to a very soft, black-marking pencil usually ranges from hardest to softest as follows:
| 9H | 8H | 7H | 6H | 5H | 4H | 3H | 2H | H | F | HB | B | 2B | 3B | 4B | 5B | 6B | 7B | 8B | 9B |
| Hardest | → | Medium | → | Softest | |||||||||||||||
Koh-i-noor offers twenty grades from 10H to 8B for its 1500 series; Derwent produces twenty grades from 9H to 9B for its graphic pencils and Staedtler
Staedtler
Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG is a German fine writing instruments company and one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of writing, artist, and engineering drawing instruments. The firm was founded by J.S. Staedtler in 1835 and produces a large variety of writing instruments, including...
produces nineteen from 9H to 8B for its Mars Lumograph pencils.
The main market for such wide range of grades are artists who are interested in creating a full range of tones from light grey to black. Engineers prefer harder pencils which allow for a greater control in the shape of the lead. This is reflected in the way pencils are packaged and marketed. For example, for its Graphic pencils Derwent offers three packages of 12 pencils each: Technical (with hard grades from 9H to B), Sketching (with soft grades H to 9B), and Designer (with medium grades 4H to 6B).
Pencils graded using this system are used to measure the hardness and resistance of varnishes and paints. The resistance of a coating (also known as its pencil hardness) is determined as the grade of the hardest pencil that does not mark the coating when pressed firmly against it at a 45 degree angle.
Another common method uses numbers to designate the grade of a pencil. It was originally created by Conté and adopted in the United States by John Thoreau, father of Henry Thoreau, in the 19th century. The following table shows approximate equivalences between the different systems:
| Tone | U.S. | | World |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | B | |
| #2 | HB | |
| #2½ * | F | |
| #3 | H | |
| #4 | 2H |
Although Conté/Thoreau's system is widely accepted, not all manufacturers follow it; for example, Faber-Castell uses a different equivalence table in its Grip 2001 pencils: 1 = 2B, 2 = B, 2½ = HB, 3 = H, 4 = 2H.
The various graphite pencil grades are achieved by altering the proportion of graphite to clay: the more clay the harder the pencil. Two pencils of the same grade but different manufacturers will not necessarily make a mark of identical tone nor have the same hardness.
External color and shape of pencils
The majority of pencils made in the United States are painted yellow. According to Henry PetroskiHenry Petroski
Henry Petroski is an American engineer specializing in failure analysis. A professor both of civil engineering and history at Duke University, he is also a prolific author...
, this tradition began in 1890 when the L. & C. Hardtmuth Company of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
introduced their Koh-I-Noor
Koh-I-Noor (company)
Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth a.s. is a Czech manufacturer of a full line of pencils, pens, and art supplies. Formed in 1790 by Joseph Hardtmuth of Austria, the company was named after the Koh-i-Noor, a famous Indian diamond...
brand, named after the famous diamond
Koh-i-Noor
The Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...
. It was intended to be the world's best and most expensive pencil, and at a time when most pencils were either painted in dark colours or not at all, the Koh-I-Noor was yellow.
As well as simply being distinctive, the color may have been inspired by the Austro-Hungarian flag; it was also suggestive of the Orient
The Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
at a time when the best-quality graphite came from Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. Other companies then copied the yellow color so that their pencils would be associated with this high-quality brand, and chose brand names with explicit Oriental references, such as Mikado (renamed Mirado) and Mongol.
Not all countries use yellow pencils, however; German and Brazilian pencils, for example, are often green, blue or black, based on the trademark colours of Faber-Castell
Faber-Castell
Faber-Castell is one of the world's largest manufacturers of pens, pencils, other office supplies and art supplies, as well as high-end writing instruments and luxury leather goods...
, a major German stationery company which has major plants in those countries. In southern European countries pencils tend to be dark red or black with yellow lines while in Australia they are red with black bands at one end. In India the most common pencil colour scheme was dark red with black lines, and pencils with a large number of colour schemes are produced by various companies.
Pencils are commonly round, hexagonal or sometimes triangular in section. Carpenters' pencils (see below) are typically oval or rectangular, so they cannot easily roll away during work.
Notable pencil users
- Thomas EdisonThomas EdisonThomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
had his pencils specially made by Eagle Pencil. Each pencil was three inches long, was thicker than standard pencils and had softer graphite than was normally available. - Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
rewrote everything he had ever published, usually several times, by pencil. - John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
was an obsessive pencil user and is said to have used as many as 60 a day. His novel East of Eden took more than 300 pencils to write. - Vincent van GoghVincent van GoghVincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
only used FaberFaber-CastellFaber-Castell is one of the world's largest manufacturers of pens, pencils, other office supplies and art supplies, as well as high-end writing instruments and luxury leather goods...
pencils as they were "superior to Carpenters pencils, a capital black and most agreeable". - Johnny CarsonJohnny CarsonJohn William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
regularly played with pencils at his Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
desk. These pencils were specially made with erasers at both ends in order to avoid on set accidents. - Roald DahlRoald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
only used pencils with yellow casing to write his books. He had 6 sharpened pencils ready at the beginning of each day and only when all 6 pencils became unusable did he resharpen them.
According to their marking material
Graphite pencils: These are the most common types of pencils, and are encased in wood. They are made of a mixture of clayClay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Ancient Greek γράφω , "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead . Unlike diamond , graphite is an electrical conductor, a semimetal...
and their darkness varies from light grey to black. Their composition allows for the smoothest strokes.
Solid graphite pencils: As the name implies, these are solid sticks of graphite, about the diameter of a common pencil, which have no casing. They are used primarily for art purposes as the lack of casing allows for more interesting effects. They are available in the same darkness range as wood-encased graphite pencils.
Charcoal pencils: They are made of charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
and provide fuller blacks than graphite pencils, but tend to smudge easily and are more abrasive than graphite. Sepia-toned and white pencils are also available for duotone
Duotone
Duotone is a halftone reproduction of an image using the superimposition of one contrasting color halftone over another color halftone. This is most often used to bring out middle tones and highlights of an image...
techniques.
Carbon pencils: They generally are made of a mixture of clay and lamp black, but are sometimes blended with charcoal or graphite depending on the darkness and manufacturer. They produce a fuller black than graphite pencils, but are smoother than charcoal.
Coloured pencils, or pencil crayons: These have wax-like cores with pigment and other fillers. Multiple colours are often blended together.
Grease pencil
Grease pencil
The grease pencil, a wax writing tool also known as a wax pencil, china marker, , is made of hardened colored wax and is useful for marking on hard, glossy non-porous surfaces such as porcelain, glass, polished stone, plastic, ceramics and other glazed, lacquered or polished surfaces, as well as...
s: They write on virtually any surface (including glass, plastic, metal and photographs). The most commonly found grease pencils are encased in paper (Berol and Sanford Peel-off), but they can also be encased in wood (Staedtler Omnichrom).
Watercolour pencils: These are designed for use with watercolour techniques. The pencils can be used by themselves for sharp, bold lines. Strokes made by the pencil can also be saturated with water and spread with brushes.
According to their use
Copying pencils: These are graphite pencils with an added dye that creates an indelible mark. They were invented in the late 19th century for press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
copying and as a practical substitute for fountain pens. Their markings are often visually indistinguishable from those of standard graphite pencils, but when moistened their markings dissolve into a coloured ink, which is then pressed into another piece of paper. They posed significant health risks (see below). They were widely used until the mid 20th century when ball pens slowly replaced them. In Italy their use is still mandated by law for voting paper ballots in elections and referenda.
Erasable colour pencils: Unlike wax-based coloured pencils, these can be easily erased. Their main use is in sketching, where the objective is to create an outline using the same colour that other media (such as wax pencils, or watercolour paints) would fill or when the objective is to scan the colour sketch. Some animators prefer erasable colour pencils as opposed to graphite pencils because they don't smudge as easily, and the different colours allow for better separation of objects in the sketch. Copy-editors find them useful too, as their markings stand out more than graphite but can be erased.
Non-reproducing: or non-photo blue
Non-photo blue
Non-photo blue is a common tool used in the graphic design and print industry. It is a particular shade of blue that can not be detected by graphic arts cameras. This allows layout editors to write notes to the printer on the print flat which will not show in the final form...
pencils make marks that are not reproduced by photocopiers (Sanford's Copy-not or Staedtler's Mars Non-photo) or by whiteprint
Whiteprint
Whiteprint is the commercial terminology to describe document reproduction using the diazo chemical process. It is also known as the blue-line or blue-line process...
copiers (Staedtler's Mars Non-Print).
Stenographer's pencil: Also known as a steno pencil. These pencils are expected to be very reliable, and their lead is break proof. Nevertheless sometimes steno pencils are sharpened at both ends to enhance reliability. They are round to avoid pressure pain during long texts.
Golf pencil: Golf pencils are usually short (a common length is 9 cm) and very cheap. They are also known as library pencils, as many libraries offer them as disposable, unspillable writing instruments.
According to their shape
- Triangular (more accurately a Reuleaux triangleReuleaux triangleA Reuleaux triangle is, apart from the trivial case of the circle, the simplest and best known Reuleaux polygon, a curve of constant width. The separation of two parallel lines tangent to the curve is independent of their orientation...
) - Hexagonal
- Round
- Bendable (flexible plastic)
According to their size
Typical:
A standard, #2, hexagonal pencil is 19 cm (7.5 in) long.
Biggest: On 3 September 2007, Ashrita Furman
Ashrita Furman
Ashrita Furman has set more than 300 Guinness records since 1979 and currently holds131 Guinness records. He has set records on all seven continents and in more than 30 different countries...
unveiled his giant US$20,000 pencil – 76 feet (23.2 m) long, 18000 pounds (8,164.7 kg) (with over 4500 pounds (2,041.2 kg) for the graphite centre) – after three weeks of creation in August 2007 as a birthday gift for teacher Sri Chinmoy
Sri Chinmoy
Chinmoy Kumar Ghose, also known as Sri Chinmoy was an Indian spiritual teacher, poet, artist and athlete who immigrated to the U.S. in 1964., the founder of the religious organization "Sri Chinmoy Centre Church, Inc." better known as "Sri Chinmoy Centre"...
. It is longer than the 65 feet (19.8 m) pencil outside the Malaysia HQ of stationers Faber-Castell.
According to their manufacture
Mechanical pencilMechanical pencil
A mechanical pencil or a propelling pencil is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a lead . It is designed such that the lead can be extended as its point is worn away...
s:
Pop a Point Pencils:
Pioneered by Taiwanese stationery manufacturer Bensia Pioneer Industrial Corporation in the early 70's, the product is also known as Bensia Pencils, non-sharpening pencils, is a type of pencil where many sharp points are housed in the body of the pencil in cartridge style plastic holders, removing a blunt point by pulling it from the writing end of the body and re-inserting it to the top of the body causes the next point to appear from the writing end of the pencil body.
Plastic pencils:
Invented by Arthur D. Little for Empire Pencil Company in the early 1970s; commercialised by Empire as the "EPCON" Pencil. These pencils were co-extruded, extruding a plasticised graphite mix within a wood-composite core.
Stackable pencils:
Other types
- The Quadrachromic Pencil is a slightly enlarged pencil with four colours equally partitioned on the tip. The use of each color while drawing is accomplished by rotating the pencil between the fingers.
- Penny pencil
- Recycled newspaper pencil
Health risks
Indelible pencils were the cause of significant health risks due to the presence of aniline dyes. Exposure to aniline dyes could lead to eczemaEczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
, acne and carcinoma
Carcinoma
Carcinoma is the medical term for the most common type of cancer occurring in humans. Put simply, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that generally arises from cells originating in the endodermal or ectodermal germ layer during...
. Penetration of the pencil lead into the body commonly leads to severe and debilitating effects such as fever, anaemia, elevated white cell count, gastro-intestinal upset, kidney and liver damage, anorexia
Anorexia (symptom)
Anorexia is the decreased sensation of appetite...
and necrosis
Necrosis
Necrosis is the premature death of cells in living tissue. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma. This is in contrast to apoptosis, which is a naturally occurring cause of cellular death...
of the tissue surrounding the wound. Such risks are not associated with ordinary graphite pencils. While these symptoms may appear after a couple of days they often develop only after weeks have passed since the injury was sustained. Surgery is required to remove the lead and the infected tissue and "the necrotizing action may be so severe and extensive amputation is necessary".
External links
- The history of pencils, pencils.com
- Pencil made, pencils.net
- Video produced by Staedtler showing how pencils are made (55.3 MB), staedtler.com
- Recycling newspapers into pencils, treesmart.com