A pencil is a strange tool. They are graded in letters H for hardness and B for blackness. The most popular pencils are just in the middle of the range. But you will find exceptional tools on the fringes. Some pens will die in no time, others will serve for 25 years. There are even luxury pencils for people that want to show off. This article is dedicated to pencils.
Not just for kids
Kids often use pencils to leave erasable marks in their books and notebooks. Personally, as a kid, I almost always used pens because pens require discipline and proper handwriting. Yet my kids use pencils and fix small grammar issues and numerical errors as needed, and yes, they draw a lot in their books – something which I never did.
Somehow pencils are associated with kids, yet this association is misplaced. Doctors and lawyers will use pens, not pencils. Engineers can use pens and pencils based on the situation. Artists and architects often use pencils more than pens and probably more kids. Only they use a very different sort of pencils.
There are many kinds of pencils with different uses.
Strange etymology
Pencil, from Old French pincel, from Latin penicillus a “little tail” (see penis; pincellus in Latin) originally referred to an artist’s fine brush of camel hair, also used for writing before modern lead or chalk pencils.
As a technique for drawing, the closest predecessor to the pencil was silverpoint until in the 16th century, a large deposit of graphite was discovered in England. It remains the only large-scale deposit of graphite ever found in pure and solid form. While graphite is carbon, medieval chemists mistook it for the element lead, and the black pencil cores are still called a lead. In many languages pencil is literally called a lead pen. The russian word Caran d’Ache is borrowed from Turkic, meaning “Black stone”.
The graphite was a great mold for cannons, and to be used in pencils, it had to be smuggled. Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of the encasement. Graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin for stability. Later the wood holders were added in italy, and used for carpentry marks.
During the age of Napoleon, pure graphite could not be smuggled. so a mixture of graphite and sulfur powder was added to clay and baked in kiln. By varying the ratio of graphite to clay, the hardness of the graphite rod could also be varied. The method was discovered by Austrian Joseph Hardtmuth, the founder of the Koh-I-Noor in 1790. The oldest surviving pencil is a german carpenter’s pencil dating from the 17th Century and now in the Faber-Castell collection.
Only kids use colored pencils
Kids will often use colored pencils. Why? Because their parents ask them to. Colored pencils will not dry out, will not leave permanent marks of furniture and the kids’ hands, and they are very easy to use and stay within lines. Quality color pencils can be used like water colors: you add water and draw with them.
In theory, professionals can easily use color pencils for highlighting or sketching. Only the need of non-permanent highlighting is almost theoretical. If we highlighted something by mistake, we can highlight more. No harm is done. Felt-tip or fountain pens leave very strong easy to spot highlights, while pencils are rather pale.
For sketching, black pencils are more portable, easier to use, and more erasable than colored pencils. And the result is very pleasing. If color is needed for a sketch there are other better solutions: colored ink pens and brushes or oil pastels.
So basically the colored pencils, and the erasers for colored pencils are for kids. Grown-ups will probably use graphite and erasers especially tuned for graphite.
Outline or shading
For most art projects grow-ups will need outlines. Some outlines are barely visible, and to put them accurately narrow hard pencils are used. Other outlines need to be very visible in any situation, and they are left with very black pencils. Companies like graf faber castell have around twenty grades of hardness with different compositions of graphite.
While for outline very sharp pencils or pencils with very narrow nib are used to achieve maximal accuracy, for shading very broad nib soft pencils are used. Shading with a pencil is somewhat similar to working with pastel colors: soft and lubricated. Graphite is an excellent lubricant, which contributes to the experience.
So there are different pencils for each application.
Pencil hardness scale
Fancy companies use very complex graphite composites. They include polyurethane, varnish, acrylic, and more exotic substances. Simpler methods used just baked graphite and clay or grease. Graphite is a substance very similar to charcoal, so it is very easy to produce.
B – stands for blackness in a soft clay-rich mixture. H stands for hardness. There are no common scale, and each company has its own grades from oily super-black 12B to needle-like 12H. The most commonly used pencils are just in the middle of the scale. #1=B, #2=HB, #2-1/2=F, #3=H, and #4=2H, where #2 is sold and used more than other grades.
The oily black pencils are hard to sharpen, and even sharpened they rarely hold their edge. Our grandparents used these pencils for cosmetics, to emphasize the outlines of facial hair. They can often be used like pastel colors.
The hard pencils leave a very accurate grayish mark. Quite often you will not be able to see the mark unless you look specifically for it. Artists use them for outlines since graphite used for outlines can surface above most colors. The grayish marks are easier to remove or cover than black.
For writing, HB is probably the best combo. It holds the sharpened nib, while leaving a beautiful black mark. Some are used by stenographers and called steno pencils. They allow very quick recording. The hard #4 or 2H (2T in Russian) pencil is used for technical drawings, while the soft 2B (2M in Russian) are used for freehand drawing and sketching.
Wooden pencils
As kids, we usually work with wooden pencils. Wooden pencils are often cut hexagonally to optimize the use of wood. Hexagonal pencils will be less inclined to roll off the table and they are appropriate for our trigonal “dynamic tripod” grip. To halves of hexagonal pencils are drilled, and the drilled area is filled with a graphite rod. Then the halves are glued to each other, generating the wooden pencils we love.
The wooden pencils are the traditional form we associate with pencils. It is very natural and fun to use. As kids, we learn to love the smell. However, it is not ideal. Sharpening can be an issue as wood and graphite are cut differently. Also, using varying lengths of pencils is a logistical and ergonomic issue.
To deal with it, pencil extenders are sometimes used. These are rods, often with eraser and sharpener, that small used pencil ends can be inserted into. A good pencil extender will cost you dozens of dollars, but then you can reuse it with many pencils.
Luxury pencils
Most wooden pencils we use are dirt-cheap. Probably the best pencils manufactured are Palomino Blackwing 602 pencils. They are distinguished by ar rectangular eraser that reminds me of a brush. The quality is generating matching the hardness of the wood to the core, using very pure graphite and strict quality control. They boast “half the pressure twice the speed” of a regular pencil, and cost around two dollars per pencil. These are by no means the most expensive pencils.
A set of graf Faber castell prestigious pencils can cost hundreds and thousands of dollars. These “perfect” pencils will incorporate a silver extender with a clip, an eraser, and a sharpener, and they may have a very special ergonomic shape.
To be honest, a true luxury lover will probably prefer a mechanical pencil or an eternal pencil.
Eternal inkless pencils
Before the discovery of graphite, scribes and artists used silverpoint. A silverpoint is lead, tin, and silver alloy that was used by artists and scribes for the ruling of the parchments and outlines. The metal is highly oxidizing and it leaves a permanent grayish outline like 5H modern pencil. Repeating the marking several times, a full drawing can be made. There are not many traditional silverpoint stylus on the market today, but you can buy a rather affordable cretacolor silverpoint stylus.
Then in the first decade of the 21st century, the idea was given a design twist. An Italian company Napkin introduced a “forever inkless pen”. This pen will cost you like a regular fountain pen, but it is actually a repackaged silverpoint idea. The new alloys are ecologically friendly, and non-toxic for kids. They can oxidize paper for 25 years, leaving a grayish mark.
It is a wonderful tool for ruling and outlines, but not really a pen you will want to write with. Silverpoint is beautiful, accurate and hard, but not black enough compared with the alternatives. Still, the idea of a pencil you do not have to sharpen is pleasing.
Mechanical pencils
Modern mechanical pencils can be sold in any price range to go with your favorite pen. The idea that you can have a controllable nib you do not need to sharpen is very pleasant. There is even a modern twist on the idea which Japanese called kuru toga: rotating tip that ensures a consistant abrasion from all sides.
Nibs of 0.5mm and 0.7mm are the most popular nibs, and they are usually supplied in HB hardness. 2B or 4H refills are also available, but they are less popular. While you do not need to shapen the rod, it is likely to break quite often. For a mechanical pencil, you need a combination of a relatively hard rod that does not break easily with some blackness so that you do not apply pressure on it. Breaking can be an issue, but most pencils hold multiple replacement rods, so break away!
To be honest, it is probably the best shape factor for drawing, steno writing, and most other applications. It can match your pen in style, color, and grip. It comes with a clip for your pockets, and it will be extremely accurate.
If you fear breaking the fine metal tip that protects the lead or soiling your shirt with the rod, you can buy a pencil with a retractable tip: in one twist, the tip will be hidden.
This is probably a great tool for a student, a stenographer, or an architect. But not for everybody.
Lead holders clutch pencils
Carpenters who want to see their marks, artists working on sketching or shading, or simply a person of age who loves to write in elegant bold black may enjoy clutch lead holders with thicker leads. The standards are 2mm, 3mm and 5mm. The 2mm leads are better for writing, the 5 mm leads are better for shading, and 3mm are somewhere in-between. I love to doodle with 3mm as they provide very bold text without bleeding or feathering, shading, and outline in the same device.
Some of the best clutch pencils are manufactured by koh-i-noor (which invented baked graphite), but I personally use Kaweco sport model. A 3.2 mm lead holder will also hold a 3 mm lead, and a 5.6mm lead holder will hold a 5 mm lead. These leads will often be black, and you may be tempted to sharpen them routinely. In fact, some lead holders house a sharpener as well as erasers in their detachable clutch activation buttons.
Notice that most wooden pencils come with 2mm rods. What is the main selling point or a more expensive clutch? You have a wonderful thick pencil that always keeps the same size and is very easy to sharpen. It has a clip and you can perfectly control the grip zone.
This is also an interesting format for highlighters, as you can experiment with various refill colors and rods.
Bottom line
Pencils are with us for 500 years. There are different pencils for kids, carpenters or engineers, artists or gallery owners. Some are focused on cheap fun, others on accuracy and functionality, and there are also fashionable luxury pencils. Choose the best pencil for your particular application.