The photo is of a pencil I use occasionally. I keep it at my desk but use a pen much more often than I use a pencil. It is helpful when you know whatever you are writing down is temporary. I remember using a big, fat No. 2 pencil as a child. It gave me a real sense of accomplishment when I learned to write a letter or a number. You really had to use your brain to remember where all the squiggles, curves and straight lines belonged. I know pencils are frequently used for miniature golf and probably regular golf, making it especially easy to change your score. After charcoal, the pencil is probably the first form of written communication that was easy to edit. Long before word processors and delete keys, erasers were the best form of removing unwanted words. Misspell a word? All you had to do was erase it and start over. It made for a much cleaner manuscript. It really was quite an extraordinary invention. Let’s learn more about it.
According to Wikipedia, a pencil is an implement for writing or drawing, constructed of a narrow, solid pigment core in a protective casing that prevents the core from being broken or marking the user's hand.
Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail of solid core material that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. They are distinct from pens, which dispense liquid or gel ink onto the marked surface.
Most pencil cores are made of graphite powder mixed with a clay binder. 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. Other types of pencil cores, such as those of charcoal, are mainly used for drawing and sketching. Colored pencils are sometimes used by teachers or editors to correct submitted texts, but are typically regarded as art supplies, especially those with cores made from wax-based binders that tend to smear when erasers are applied to them. Grease pencils have a softer, oily core that can leave marks on smooth surfaces such as glass or porcelain.
The most common pencil casing is thin wood, usually hexagonal in section but sometimes cylindrical or triangular, permanently bonded to the core. Casings may be of other materials, such as plastic or paper. To use the pencil, the casing must be carved or peeled off to expose the working end of the core as a sharp point. Mechanical pencils have more elaborate casings which are not bonded to the core; instead, they support separate, mobile pigment cores that can be extended or retracted — usually through the casing's tip — as needed. These casings can be reloaded with new cores, usually graphite, as the previous ones are exhausted.
Camel’s hair pencil
“Pencil” — from Old French pincel, from Latin penicillus a "little tail" — originally referred to an artist's fine brush of camel hair, also used for writing before modern lead or chalk pencils.
Though the archetypal pencil was an artist's brush, the stylus — a thin metal stick used for scratching in papyrus or wax tablets — was used extensively by the Romans and for palm-leaf manuscripts.
Discovery of graphite deposit
As a technique for drawing, the closest predecessor to the pencil was silverpoint or leadpoint until in 1565 — some sources say as early as 1500, a large deposit of graphite was discovered on the approach to Grey Knotts from the hamlet of Seathwaite in Borrowdale parish, Cumbria, England. This particular deposit of graphite was extremely pure and solid, and it could easily be sawn into sticks. It remains the only large-scale deposit of graphite ever found in this solid form. Chemistry was in its infancy and the substance was thought to be a form of lead.
Consequently, it was called plumbago, Latin for "lead ore". Because the pencil core is still referred to as "lead" or "a lead," many people have the misconception that the graphite in the pencil is lead, and the black core of pencils is still referred to as lead, even though it never contained the element lead. The words for pencil in German (Bleistift), Irish (peann luaidhe), Arabic (قلم رصاص qalam raṣāṣ) and some other languages literally mean “lead pen.”
The value of graphite would soon be realized to be enormous, mainly because it could be used to line the molds for cannonballs; the mines were taken over by the Crown and were guarded. When sufficient stores of graphite had been accumulated, the mines were flooded to prevent theft until more was required.
The usefulness of graphite for pencils was discovered as well, but graphite for pencils had to be smuggled. Because graphite is soft, it requires some form of encasement. Graphite sticks were initially wrapped in string or sheepskin for stability. England would enjoy a monopoly on the production of pencils until a method of reconstituting the graphite powder was found in 1662 in Italy. However, the distinctively square English pencils continued to be made with sticks cut from natural graphite into the 1860s. The town of Keswick, near the original findings of block graphite, still manufactures pencils, the factory also being the location of the Derwent Pencil Museum. The meaning of "graphite writing implement" apparently evolved late in the 16th century.
Wood holders added
Around 1560, an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti made what are likely the first blueprints for the modern, wood-encased carpentry pencil. Their version was a flat, oval, more compact type of pencil. Their concept involved the hollowing out of a stick of juniper wood. Shortly thereafter, a superior technique was discovered: two wooden halves were carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together — essentially the same method in use to this day.
New pencils from graphite powder, and graphite and clay
The first attempt to manufacture graphite sticks from powdered graphite was in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1662. It used a mixture of graphite, sulphur and antimony.
English and German pencils were not available to the French during the Napoleonic Wars; France — under naval blockade imposed by Great Britain — was unable to import the pure graphite sticks from the British Grey Knotts mines, the only known source in the world. France was also unable to import the inferior German graphite pencil substitute. It took the efforts of an officer in Napoleon's army to change this. In 1795, Nicolas-Jacques Conté discovered a method of mixing powdered graphite with clay and forming the mixture into rods that were then fired in a kiln. By varying the ratio of graphite to clay, the hardness of the graphite rod could also be varied. This method of manufacture, which had been earlier discovered in 1790 by Austrian Joseph Hardtmuth, the founder of Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth a.s. — a Czech manufacturing company of stationery products — remains in use. In 1802, the production of graphite leads from graphite and clay was patented by the Koh-I-Noor company in Vienna.
In England, pencils continued to be made from whole sawn graphite. Henry Bessemer's first successful invention in 1838 was a method of compressing graphite powder into solid graphite, thus allowing the waste from sawing to be reused.
Pencil in the United States
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-inch pencil when he surveyed the Ohio Country in 1762. It is said that 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.
Munroe's method of making pencils was painstakingly slow, and in the neighboring town of Acton, a pencil mill owner named Ebenezer Wood set out to automate the process at his own pencil mill located at Nashoba Brook. He used the first circular saw in pencil production. He constructed the first of the hexagon- and octagon-shaped wooden casings. Wood did not patent his invention and shared his techniques with anyone. One of those was Eberhard Faber, who built a factory in New York and became the leader in pencil production.
Joseph Dixon, an inventor and entrepreneur involved with the Tantiusques graphite mine in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, developed a means to mass-produce pencils. By 1870, Joseph Dixon Crucible Co. was the world's largest dealer and consumer of graphite and later became the contemporary Dixon Ticonderoga pencil and art supplies company.
By the end of the 19th century, over 240,000 pencils were used each day in the U.S. The favored timber for pencils was red cedar, as it was aromatic and did not splinter when sharpened. In the early 20th century, supplies of red cedar were dwindling, so that pencil manufacturers were forced to recycle the wood from cedar fences and barns to maintain supply.
One effect of this was that "during World War II, rotary pencil sharpeners were outlawed in Britain because they wasted so much scarce lead and wood, and pencils had to be sharpened in the more conservative manner – with knives."
It was soon discovered that incense cedar — when dyed and perfumed to resemble red cedar — was a suitable alternative and most pencils today are made from this timber which is grown in managed forests. Over 14 billion pencils are manufactured worldwide annually. Less popular alternatives to cedar include basswood and alder.
In Southeast Asia, the wood Jelutong may be used to create pencils, though the use of this rainforest species is controversial. Environmentalists prefer the use of pulai – another wood native to the region and used in pencil manufacturing.
Eraser attached
On March 30, 1858, Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil. In 1862, Lipman sold his patent to Joseph Reckendorfer for $100,000, who went on to sue pencil manufacturer Faber-Castell for infringement. In 1875, the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled against Reckendorfer declaring the patent invalid.
Pencil extenders
Ever more efficient means of mass production of pencils has driven the replacement cost of a pencil down. Before this, people would continue to use the stub of a pencil to delay the cost of a new one. For those who "did not feel comfortable using a stub, pencil extenders were sold. These devices function something like a porte-crayon [...] the pencil stub can be inserted into the end of a shaft [...] Extenders were especially common among engineers and draftsmen, whose favorite pencils were prized dearly. The use of an extender also has the advantage that the pencil does not appreciably change its heft as it wears down." Artists currently use extenders to maximize the use of their colored pencils.
Liquid graphite pencils
Liquid graphite pencils are pencils that write like pens. The technology was first invented in 1955 by Scripto and Parker Pens. Scripto's liquid graphite formula came out about three months before Parker's liquid lead formula. To avoid a lengthy patent fight the two companies agreed to share their formulas.
Charcoal pencils
Charcoal pencils are made of charcoal and provide fuller blacks than graphite pencils but tend to smudge easily and are more abrasive than graphite. Sepia-toned and white pencils are also available for duotone techniques.
Carbon pencils
Carbon pencils are generally made of a mixture of clay and lamp black, but are sometimes blended with charcoal or graphite depending on the darkness and manufacturer. They produce a fuller black than graphite pencils, are smoother than charcoal, and have minimal dust and smudging. They also blend very well, much like charcoal.
Grease pencils
The grease pencil — a wax writing tool also known as a wax pencil, china marker or chinagraph pencil, especially in the United Kingdom — is a writing implement made of hardened colored wax and is useful for marking on hard, glossy non-porous surfaces. This pencil is usually made from non-toxic opaque wax such
as paraffin, beeswax, ceresin, carnauba or spermaceti wax that is similar to a crayon but stronger. Marks made by grease pencils are resistant to moisture and can usually be removed by rubbing the marked surface with a paper towel.
Grease pencils are available in several forms. The outer casing may be made of wood like an ordinary pencil and sharpened with a knife or pencil sharpener. Other types are covered in paper and sharpened by pulling a string to peel off the paper, needing no additional tools to remain functional. More recently, it has been produced in propelling form, essentially similar to a clutch pencil, this type in particular being associated with knee boards employed by NATO aircrew.
Surfaces used with grease pencils include porcelain, glass, rock, polished stone, plastic, ceramics, acetate and other glazed, lacquered or polished surfaces and metal, as well as the glossy paper that is used for photographic printing — particularly for contact sheets, x-rays, maps and for marking edits on analog audio tape and film. It is also used to label theatrical lighting gels. It is often used as a construction or handyman's marking tool as it rarely scratches the surface it is used on. It may be used to mark a wet surface. They are also favored among some traditional artists. They were also used to mark glassware during production — the original chinagraph is so-named for marking porcelain during manufacture — and in medical or scientific applications.
Grease pencils were also widely used during the mid-20th century in aircraft control centers, military radar defense system stations on land and in aircraft carriers in particular. As information came in from radar and radio operators, technicians would take details of aircraft locations, vectors, weapons and fuel status and other information and write it in reverse on a large, clear panel of glass, which was readable to the officers on the other side of the panel. The information would be continuously updated as the situation changed. They have largely been replaced by digital displays in the modern era.
In the days when broadcast studios had a library of LP records, a track which was prohibited from public performance could be defaced by a wavy white or yellow chinagraph line, giving a visible warning to the presenter as well as making that track unusable.
Watercolor pencils
Watercolor pencils are designed for use with watercolor techniques. Their cores can be diluted by water. The pencils can be used by themselves for sharp, bold lines. Strokes made by the pencil can also be saturated with water and spread with brushes.
Carpenter’s pencils
Carpenter's pencils are pencils that have two main properties: their shape prevents them from rolling, and their graphite is strong. The oldest surviving pencil is a German carpenter's pencil dating from the 17th century and now in the Faber-Castell collection.
Copying or indelible pencils
Copying 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 colored 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.
Erasable colored pencils
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 or when the objective is to scan the color sketch. Some animators prefer erasable color pencils as opposed to graphite pencils because they don't smudge as easily, and the different colors allow for better separation of objects in the sketch.
Non-reproducing pencils
Also known as non-photo blue pencils, the non-reproducing types make marks that are not reproducible by photocopiers —examples include "Copy-not" by Sanford and "Mars Non-photo" by Staedtler — or by whiteprint copiers such as "Mars Non-Print" by Staedtler.
Stenographer’s pencils
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.
Golf pencils
Golf pencils are usually short — a common length is 3.5 inches — and very cheap. They are also known as library pencils, as many libraries offer them as disposable, leakproof writing instruments.
Mechanical pencils
Mechanical pencils use mechanical methods to push lead through a hole at the end. These can be divided into two groups: with propelling pencils an internal mechanism is employed to push the lead out from an internal compartment, while clutch pencils merely hold the lead in place; the lead is extended by releasing it and allowing some external force, usually gravity, to pull it out of the body. The erasers (sometimes replaced by a sharpener on pencils with larger lead sizes) are also removable (and thus replaceable), and usually cover a place to store replacement leads. Mechanical pencils are popular for their longevity and the fact that they may never need sharpening. Lead types are based on grade and size; with standard sizes being 2.00 mm (0.079 in), 1.40 mm (0.055 in), 1.00 mm (0.039 in), 0.70 mm (0.028 in), 0.50 mm (0.020 in), 0.35 mm (0.014 in), 0.25 mm (0.0098 in), 0.18 mm (0.0071 in) and 0.13 mm (0.0051 in).
Notable pencil users
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison had his pencils specially made by Eagle Pencil. Each pencil was three inches long, was thicker than standard pencils and had softer graphite than was normally available.
Charles Fraser-Smith
Charles Fraser-Smith was an author and one-time missionary who is widely credited as being the inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond quartermaster Q. During World War II, he worked for the Ministry of Supply, fabricating equipment nicknamed "Q-devices" after Q-ships for Special Operations Executive — a secret British World War II organization — agents operating in occupied Europe. In 1942, Fraser-Smith, who worked in MI9, arrived at the Cumberland pencil factory and had an idea to create a secret map and compass pencil. These were given to Lancaster Bomber airmen and were made secretly under the Official Secrets Act, in Keswick.
John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck was an obsessive pencil user and is said to have used as many as 60 a day. His novel “East of Eden” took more than 300 pencils to write.
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh used only Faber pencils as they were "superior to carpenter’s pencils, a capital black and most agreeable."
Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson regularly played with pencils at his Tonight Show desk. These pencils were specially made with erasers at both ends to avoid on-set accidents.
Roald Dahl
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.
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