In recent times, although time is very important as pens and computers are used all over the world, pencils are also used in many professions like drawing and preparing erasers. Usually, students use pencils to complete school assignments or fill out forms and create sketches, etc. Some problems that people face when using pens are ink smearing or leaking and correcting a mistake.
The discovery of graphite in the 15th century marked the beginning of the pencil industry. It was discovered that the graphite could be used to create a mark and could also be cut into whiteboards. To write, they used to wrap the graphite in sheepskin and then continue with their work so as not to stain it.
Today, the modern pencil can be divided into several types depending on the professions:
China Marker: Also known as a crayon, it is made of colored wax. The importance of this pen is that it can write on any surface, mainly to do on hard and shiny surfaces like porcelain, ceramic, glass, etc. It is mainly used by traditional artists.
Carpenter’s pencils: They are easily recognized by their rectangular shape and elliptical section. Since their shape prevents them from rolling and due to their hardness, builders use them to mark on hard and rough surfaces like wood, stone and concrete etc.
Charcoal Pencils: Leaves a very dark black mark when written on and is mainly used by artists for sketching.
Watercolor pencils (Watercolor): used to give color, they are washable and produce an identical effect to watercolor paints.
Pastel Pencils: They are mainly used to mark on dark papers and their color is usually white, similar to chalk.
Colored pencils: They are prepared by mixing graphite and different colors of wax. They can be used to portray various colors.
Cosmetic pencils: These are mainly used for make-up purposes, such as eyeliner or lip liner.
Indelible pencil: The pencil that leaves a permanent mark and cannot be erased.
Woodless Pencil: The graphite is cut into rods and encased in a plastic case (medium HB to 9B).
There are two classification systems based on hardness:
The European system has divided the qualification into two parts. If they are soft they are classified with a B, where as if pressure had to be applied to make a line, it is H. 9B is the softest while 9H is the hardest.
Soft pencils are smooth to write on and make a thick black line that can make a blurry mark. They are distinguished by a mark labeled “B”. They are usually smooth and are used by artists to create drawings and to add shadows to images. “2B” through “4B” is generally used for rubber stamping or stamp carving projects.
Hard pencils (H to 6H) with the letter “H” meaning “hard” are used to make fine lines. To make an impression or dark line, pressure is required.
The US grading system uses number patterns for pencils. They rate it as: 1, 2, 2 ½, 3 and 4.
Uses of pencils in history:
Thomas Alva Edison used to keep a pencil in his pocket and a small notebook to jot down ideas and then correct them.
Leonardo da Vinci, the famous sculptor, artist and philosopher used pencils to make drawings.
The first advertisement for the sale of pencils is found in the “Pennsylvania Gazette” newspaper published by Benjamin Franklin in the 17th century.