The pencil is graphite mixed with clay, encased in wood. Learn pencil grades from 9H to 9B, the history from 1564 Borrowdale graphite to Conté's clay process, and how artists use them.
In 1564, a storm uprooted a tree near Seathwaite in the Borrowdale valley of Cumbria, England. Under the roots, locals found a massive deposit of pure, solid graphite. It was so dense and pure that it could be sawn into sticks. The locals thought it was a form of lead. They were wrong, but the misnomer stuck, and we still call the core of a pencil a "lead" 460 years later. That single deposit in Borrowdale remained the only known source of solid graphite of that quality for centuries, and the British Crown kept it under armed guard.
A pencil is a drawing and writing tool consisting of a solid core of graphite mixed with clay, encased in wood. The ratio of graphite to clay determines the hardness or softness of the core, which is graded on a scale from H (hard) to B (black). More graphite produces a softer, darker mark. More clay produces a harder, lighter mark. The pencil is the most widely used drawing instrument in the world, and for many artists it is the first tool they pick up and the last one they put down.
This entry covers what a pencil is, how the grading system works, the history of graphite from the Borrowdale discovery to Nicolas-Jacques Conte's clay process, and how artists from Albrecht Durer to Kathe Kollwitz used graphite to make drawings that still matter.
A pencil works by abrasion. The surface of the paper acts as a rasp, shaving off microscopic particles of the graphite-clay core as the pencil moves across it. Those particles adhere to the paper fibers, and what you see as a line is a trail of graphite flakes caught in the texture of the sheet. The rougher the paper, the more material is deposited and the darker the line. On smooth paper, less graphite is transferred and the line appears lighter.
Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon. Its atoms are arranged in flat layers stacked on top of each other, held together by weak van der Waals forces. This layered structure is what makes graphite useful as a drawing material. The layers slide apart easily, which is why graphite deposits so readily on a surface. The same property makes graphite an effective lubricant in industrial applications. A pencil is, in a sense, a precision delivery system for layered carbon.
The modern pencil core is not pure graphite. It is a mixture of graphite powder and clay, mixed with water, pressed into thin strands, dried, and fired at temperatures up to 1000 degrees Celsius. This process was invented by Nicolas-Jacques Conte in 1794 and remains the basis of pencil manufacturing today. The clay acts as a binder and a hardening agent. By varying the proportion of graphite to clay, manufacturers can produce cores of any desired hardness. The Faber-Castell guide to graphite hardness explains that the company's hardness scale has remained unchanged since 1910 and currently offers 19 degrees of hardness.
Pencil grades are designated by letters and numbers. The two most common letters are H (hard) and B (black). An HB pencil sits in the middle of the scale and is the standard writing pencil, equivalent to a #2 pencil in the American numeric system. The letter F (firm or fine) sits between HB and H and is the only grade not accompanied by a number. Numbers indicate degree: a 2B is softer and darker than a B, a 4H is harder and lighter than a 2H.
The scale runs from approximately 9H at the hard end to 9B or even 14B at the soft end. Hard pencils (2H through 9H) produce light, precise lines and are used for technical drawing, architectural drafting, and fine detail work. Medium pencils (H through B) are used for general writing and linear drawing. Soft pencils (2B through 9B and beyond) produce rich, dark marks and are used for artistic sketching, shading, and tonal drawing.
There is no universal standard for what a given grade means. An HB pencil from one manufacturer will not necessarily produce the same mark as an HB from another. Japanese manufacturers tend to produce softer, darker leads for the same grade because Japanese consumers prefer softer pencils. European manufacturers tend to produce harder, lighter leads. The Cowan's guide to pencil leads notes that industry-wide standards do not exist for the darkness of the mark left by any given grade. Artists typically settle on a brand after experimentation and stick with it.
Several manufacturers offer extended ranges. Staedtler produces 24 grades from 10H to 12B for its Mars Lumograph line. Mitsubishi Pencil offers 22 grades from 10H to 10B for its Hi-uni range. Derwent produces 20 grades from 9H to 9B. Faber-Castell's Pitt Graphite Matte line reaches 14B, the softest graphite pencil grade commercially available, designed to produce an ultra-matte finish with reduced reflection on paper.
Before graphite, artists drew with silverpoint, leadpoint, charcoal, chalk, and pen and ink. Metalpoint required a specially prepared surface and produced a narrow tonal range. Charcoal was powdery and impermanent. Chalk was fragile. The discovery of solid graphite in Borrowdale in 1564 changed everything. For the first time, artists had a drawing material that was dark, erasable, required no surface preparation, and could be sharpened to a fine point.
The Borrowdale graphite was sawn into sticks and wrapped in string or wood for easier handling. The first wooden pencils were manufactured in the 17th century, with graphite glued between two halves of a cedar or juniper stick. But the Borrowdale deposit was finite, and as supplies dwindled, graphite became expensive. The British government restricted access to the mine and at times posted guards. By the late 18th century, the shortage was acute, and the Napoleonic Wars made matters worse when the British naval blockade cut off France from English graphite entirely.
This is where Nicolas-Jacques Conte enters the story. In 1794, the French Republic was at war and could not import graphite from England. Lazare Carnot asked Conte, a painter, scientist, and inventor, to develop a pencil that did not rely on English graphite. Conte's solution was to mix powdered graphite with clay, press the mixture into thin rods, and fire it in a kiln. The process allowed manufacturers to control hardness by adjusting the graphite-to-clay ratio, and it used lower-quality graphite that was available in France. Conte patented the process on January 7, 1795, and his company, la Societe Conte, began production. The French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) retains the original patent, filed as the 77th patent since France's first patent law of 1791.
In England, a parallel development occurred. Joseph Hardtmuth, an Austrian, founded the Koh-i-Noor pencil company in 1790 and developed a similar clay-bonding process. The Koh-i-Noor company claims to have originated the HB designation, with H standing for Hardtmuth, B for Budweis (the company's location), and F for Franz Hardtmuth, who improved the manufacturing process. Whether or not this etymology is accurate, the HB system became the standard pencil grading system worldwide.
The 19th century saw the pencil become a mass-produced commodity. The introduction of compulsory education in Europe and America created enormous demand. The Conté company was acquired by Bic in 1979, and the brand remains a reference in drawing and dry techniques. Modern pencil manufacturing is dominated by a handful of companies: Faber-Castell (founded 1761), Staedtler (founded 1835), Caran d'Ache (founded 1915), and Mitsubishi Pencil (founded 1887).
Durer drew with silverpoint and pen and ink, but he also used graphite sticks for preparatory sketches. His Self-Portrait at Thirteen (1484, Albertina) is a silverpoint drawing, but his later landscape studies and figure drawings show the influence of graphite's darker, more flexible line. Durer's precision suited the pencil's capacity for fine detail.
Leonardo drew primarily with metalpoint, red chalk, and pen and ink, but graphite sticks were available in his lifetime and he may have used them for some studies. His anatomical drawings, with their fine hatching and precise description, demonstrate the kind of controlled linework that graphite excels at.
Ingres produced hundreds of graphite portrait drawings that are among the finest pencil drawings ever made. His portraits of friends and patrons, such as Portrait of Madame Panckoucke (1810, Musee du Louvre), use a hard graphite pencil on smooth paper to produce lines of extraordinary delicacy. Ingres drew with a precision that left no visible correction, building form through minute parallel hatching.
Kollwitz used graphite and charcoal for her drawings and prints. Her self-portraits, such as Self-Portrait, Facing Right (c. 1930s), use soft graphite built up in layers to create deep tonal contrasts. Kollwitz exploited the full range of pencil grades, from hard lines for structural drawing to soft graphite for emotional shading.
Wyeth used graphite pencils for preparatory studies for his tempera paintings. His pencil studies, such as those for Christina's World (1948), show a meticulous approach to graphite, building form through careful hatching and blending. Wyeth preferred harder grades for the precise linear work that underpinned his paintings.
Beyond the standard wooden graphite pencil, several variations serve artists. Graphite sticks, made of compressed graphite without wood casing, allow for broad strokes and large-scale work. They come in square or round forms and in a range of grades. Water-soluble graphite pencils contain a water-soluble binder that allows the artist to wash over graphite lines with a wet brush, turning them into a gray wash similar to watercolor. Mechanical pencils, with thin graphite refills in a metal or plastic holder, provide a consistent line width without sharpening, though they lack the tonal range of wooden pencils.
Charcoal pencils encase compressed charcoal in wood, combining the dark, rich marks of charcoal with the control of a pencil. Conte crayons, invented by the same Nicolas-Jacques Conte who developed the clay-graphite process, are a hybrid of graphite and clay pressed into square sticks, available in black, red, and brown.
For general drawing, a set of pencils ranging from 2H to 6B covers most needs. Hard pencils (2H, H) are good for initial construction lines and fine detail. Medium pencils (HB, B) handle general linework. Soft pencils (2B through 6B) handle shading, tonal work, and dark accents. Artists who work in a highly tonal style may prefer a range from B to 9B, skipping the hard grades entirely.
Paper choice affects pencil performance. Rough paper with heavy tooth grabs more graphite and produces darker, more textured lines. Smooth paper produces cleaner, lighter lines and suits detailed work. The Jackson's Art guide to graphite pencils recommends matching pencil grade to paper texture: harder pencils on rough paper, softer pencils on smooth paper.
For more on drawing materials and techniques, read our entries on charcoal, Conte crayon, and silverpoint, or explore our post on how to read a painting.
The Albertina in Vienna holds one of the world's finest collections of graphite drawings, including works by Durer, Ingres, and Rembrandt. The British Museum's Department of Prints and Drawings holds Ingres portrait drawings and Renaissance studies. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a large collection of 19th-century graphite drawings. These works are light-sensitive and displayed in rotation, so check museum websites for current exhibitions.
The pencil is the most democratic of art materials. It costs less than a cup of coffee and requires no setup, no cleanup, and no special surface. But the simplicity of the tool belies its range. A 9H pencil and a 9B pencil are the same object made from the same materials, yet they produce marks that look nothing alike. For more on the history of drawing, read our entries on cross hatching and tonal drawing, or explore our guide to oil painting techniques.
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