Pencils

Pencils are used for writing, drawing, sketching and marking. I have always had questions from buyers on grades and hardness of pencils and their suitable uses . First and foremost, there is no lead (as in Pb or plumbum) in pencil. The lead in pencil is made of graphite also called black lead or plumbago.

When I was in school (aeons ago), the most used pencil was the Staedtler Noris 2B pencil -as shown in photo, especially to fill in the bubbles for the answer sheets when answering multiple choice questions. 2B pencils are recommended for computer OMR or Optical Marking Recognition as their markings are easily captured and read.

Pencils are graded in H and B; H for Hardness and B for Blackness. For H, the bigger number shows harder lead with lighter marking. For B, the bigger number shows softer lead and darker marking. For example, 5H is harder and gives lighter marking than 2H and 7B is softer and darker than 4B. Then what is F? F is for fine point and it comes in between H and B. There's also HB which is the standard grade of pencil.

There are many makers of pencils. Below are two popular brands:

• Staedtler

Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils come in 16 degrees - 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H. Previously (before the mid 2000s), this pencil comes in 19 degrees with the EE, EB and 9H.

• Faber-Castell

Castell 9000 pencils come in 16 degrees - 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H. Previously (in the 1980s), this pencil comes in 17 degrees with 8H.

Left- mid 1980's, R- current

Left- before mid 2000's, R- current


Grades and general uses

• 3B, 2B, B, HB, F - are commonly used for writing.

• 8B, 7B, 6B, 5B, 4B, 3B, 2B, B, HB, F, H, 2H - for drawing, sketching and shading

• HB, F, H, 2H, 3H, 4H, 5H, 6H - for drafting and technical drawing

Coming soon - more information on pencils, Derwent pencils and more...