The HB Graphite Grading Scale". Pencils.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012 . Retrieved 14 March 2012.

Weaver, Caroline (3 November 2018). Why the pencil is perfect | Small Thing Big Idea, a TED series. American colonists imported pencils from Europe until after the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin advertised pencils for sale in his Pennsylvania Gazette in 1729, and George Washington used a three inches (7.5cm) pencil when he surveyed the Ohio Country in 1762. [26] [ bettersourceneeded] William Munroe, a cabinetmaker in Concord, Massachusetts, made the first American wood pencils in 1812. This was not the only pencil-making occurring in Concord. According to Henry Petroski, transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau discovered how to make a good pencil out of inferior graphite using clay as the binder; this invention was prompted by his father's pencil factory in Concord, which employed graphite found in New Hampshire in 1821 by Charles Dunbar. [7] Lead Facts - Uses, Properties, Element Pb, Plumbing, Pipes, Weights". www.sciencekids.co.nz. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016 . Retrieved 29 October 2016.a b c d e Franco, Michael. "Famous Pencil Pushers". The Point of it All – History of the Pencil. Archived from the original on 17 June 2009. Stenographer's pencils, also known as a steno pencil, are expected to be very reliable, and their lead is break-proof. Nevertheless, steno pencils are sometimes sharpened at both ends to enhance reliability. They are round to avoid pressure pain during long texts. [49] Golf Lakeland's Mining Heritage". cumbria-industries.org.uk. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008 . Retrieved 27 March 2008. Gyaat:The weapon we use from adolescence". www.gyaat.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015 . Retrieved 23 November 2015.

A standard, hexagonal, "#2 pencil" is cut to a hexagonal height of 1⁄ 4in), but the outer diameter is slightly larger (about 7mm or 9⁄ 32in) Copying pencils (or indelible pencils) are graphite pencils with an added dye that creates an indelible mark. They were invented in the late 19th century for press 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 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 referendums. [43] EyelinerO'Shaughnessy, Lynn (22 July 2010). "Why Are Pencils Yellow?". CBS News MoneyWatch . Retrieved 24 July 2021.

Roald Dahl used only 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. [81]Colored pencils, or pencil crayons, have wax-like cores with pigment and other fillers. Several colors are sometimes blended together. [39] Grease Unlike wax-based colored pencils, the erasable variants can be easily erased. Their main use is in sketching, where the objective is to create an outline using the same color that other media (such as wax pencils, or watercolor paints) would fill [45] or when the objective is to scan the color sketch. [46] Some animators prefer erasable color pencils as opposed to graphite pencils because they do not smudge as easily, and the different colors allow for better separation of objects in the sketch. [47] Copy-editors find them useful too as markings stand out more than those of graphite, but can be erased.

Simmons, Mac (April 2000). "The Pencil Hardness Test". Woodwork: 76. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007 . Retrieved 13 September 2007.Petroski, Henry (1990). The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-57422-2. Pencils are commonly round, hexagonal, or sometimes triangular in section. Carpenters' pencils are typically oval or rectangular, so they cannot easily roll away during work.