How to Choose a Graphite Pencil

There are hundreds of different pencils available。 In this guide, we will show you what makes a good pencil and how to choose the best pencils for drawing sketching and writing.

             The wood

The wood is one of the most important components of a high-quality pencil. The best pencils are made out of Genuine Incense-cedar, while quality budget pencils are made of Basswood or Poplar.

Incense-cedar

· The superior wood for pencil making.

· Smooth, straight grain.

· Grown in the United States.

· Sharpens evenly, without splinters.

· Soft wood, causing minimal sharpener wear.

· Machines extremely well, resulting in a smooth finish.

Linden& Poplar Wood

· The budget wood for making pencils.

· Sharpens adequately, with some splinters.

· Soften linden and poplar wood is almost same as Cedar

Other materials

Avoid pencils made with tropical and pitted woods. These pencils can be identified by the small holes or pits in the wood. The wood for these pencils is often unsustainably harvested, and the pencils tend to sharpen unevenly.

Avoid pencils made with extruded plastic. These pencils can be identified by their smooth, plastic casing. These pencils are not biodegradable, and do not sharpen well.

           The graphite

The hardness of a pencil’s graphite is designated by a letter and/or number. High-quality pencils have centered graphite.

There is no lead in a “lead pencil.” The core is instead made of a mixture of graphite and wax or oil. The hardestgraphite available is 9H, while the softest is 9B. Most eraser-tipped pencils fall between 2H and 4B. There is nostandardized graphite grading scale, so graphite hardness, smoothness and overall quality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. In general, a #2 pencil is the same as an HB pencil. Learn more about the graphite grading scale.

There is no lead in a “lead pencil.” The core is instead made of a mixture of graphite and wax or oil. The hardest graphite available is 9H, while the softest is 9B. Most eraser-tipped pencils fall between 2H and 4B. There is no standardized graphite grading scale, so graphite hardness, smoothness and overall quality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. In general, a #2 pencil is the same as an HB pencil. Learn more about the graphite grading scale.

                   The shape

Hexagonal pencils are great for everyday use, while round and triangular pencils are good for learning. In general, premium pencils take on a hexagonal shape. Pencil diameter varies slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, and there are mini-jumbo and jumbo pencil profiles for those who prefer larger pencils.

      Lacquer & imprint

The lacquer and imprint impact the finished look and feel of a pencil.

Quality imprint     

Poor imprint

The number of lacquer coats on a pencil can vary from three coats in most entry-level pencils, to seven or more coats in premium pencils like high quality Luna HB we made. Even then, the quality of the lacquer varies greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Most pencils are imprinted using the foil stamping method. In order to get a crisp, clean imprint, quality pencils are imprinted slowly using finely tuned machinery. The use of low quality woods and rushing the imprint process can result in crushing and uneven imprints.

                                       Safety & the environment

All of our pencils that are responsibly made and conform to  EN-71safety standards. Below are our certificate for reference.