![]() ![]() Other types of pencil cores, such as those of charcoal, are mainly used for drawing and sketching. Graphite pencils (traditionally known as "lead pencils") produce grey or black marks that are easily erased, but otherwise resistant to moisture, most chemicals, ultraviolet radiation and natural aging. Most pencil cores are made of graphite powder mixed with a clay binder. They are distinct from pens, which dispense liquid or gel ink onto the marked surface. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of solid core material that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. Solid pigment core (typically graphite, commonly called pencil lead)Ī pencil ( / ˈ p ɛ n s ə l/ ( listen)) is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand.They’ll think you’re pretty sharp.Īny topics you want to know more about? Let us know! The Varsity Tutors Blog editors love hearing your feedback and opinions. You might even share a couple of historic pencil facts with your friends. The next time you grab a #2 pencil, think about its evolution. pencil makers use a system known as the HB scale to measure hardness. Like with soccer and the metric system, though, Americans do things a little differently when it comes to pencils. Plus, some technical work such as woodworking or other precise drawing benefits from using a harder, sharper pencil (like a #3 or #4). For example, a #1 pencil is soft and will smudge easily-good for artists, bad for test-takers filling in answer bubbles. Besides the ubiquitous #2, #1, #3, and #4 are used, with number signifying softness.īut why are there so many variations when #2 is so commonly used? Artists need a wider variety of pencil hardness so they can create a larger range of tones. When scannable answer forms became popular, the technology handled #2 pencils best-they had trouble picking up marks from harder pencils, and the softer ones would smudge.Īmericans use a numerical system to label pencils based on hardness. But do you know why? It’s mostly the result of standardized testing. You know that the standard school pencil is a #2. A Philadelphia man patented his idea to attach an eraser to the end of a pencil, but the patent was later invalidated since it was just two existing products stuck together. In the 19th century, people figured out how to cure raw rubber and make it durable, thus beginning the rubber eraser’s current reign. Or maybe that should be peanut butter and bread: before rubber erasers came along, some people further back in history used crustless bread as erasers. The eraser: Pencils and erasers now go together like peanut butter and jelly. Other pencil makers quickly followed suit. ![]() The yellow color, traditionally associated with royalty in China, was meant to portray the pencils as a luxury item. The color: Historical accounts vary, but a Czech company is credited with starting this trend at the World’s Fair in 1889, painting its pencils containing fine graphite from the Far East. But when did pencils start looking the way they do today? When it comes to today’s pencil, there are a few traits you probably associate with it. ![]() The #2 pencil: A sharper styleįrom those early days, the pencil has evolved into the familiar tool we know today. ![]() The Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner is credited as being the first person to describe putting graphite into a wooden holder. That’s why, to this day, we refer to what’s in a pencil as “lead,” even though it’s not.Įarly on, the graphite was sometimes wrapped in sheepskin or string to make it easier for the writer to hold. People weren’t quite up on chemistry in those days, so it was another couple of centuries before a chemist determined graphite was a form of carbon, not lead as they originally thought. The graphite was pure and solid, perfectly suited for writing, although the only people using it at first were shepherds marking their sheep. In the 1500s, according to common legend, a large deposit of graphite was discovered in England when a storm uprooted it along with a tree. The pencil has been around for ages, although you might not recognize its earlier cousins. Here’s a crash course on how the #2 pencil’s history has been written: The origin of the #2 pencil Without the #2 pencil, how would you have learned to write your name or to divide fractions? But how well do you know the trusty pencil? Have you ever wondered where it came from, or why #2 is often chosen over #1? There is a great deal of history behind the #2 pencil, including its origin, evolution, and current use. We owe a lot to pencils-especially those famous #2 yellows. Throughout the month of August, visit the Varsity Tutors blog for back-to-school advice, tips, and tricks for all ages. This post is part of our 2017 Back-to-School Series. ![]()
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