THE HISTORY OF

THE PENCIL
For 400 years, pencils have been used to record, create and share.

A pencil is a writing implement or art medium constructed of a narrow,

solid pigment core inside a protective casing which prevents the core from being broken or
leaving marks on the users hand during use.

Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving behind a trail of solid core material
that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. They are distinct from pens, which instead
disperse a trail of liquid or gel ink that stains the light colour of the paper.

A) What Is A Lead Pencil Made Of?

You might be surprised to learn that a pencil is not made of lead, and it never has
been. The core of a pencil is actually made with a non-toxic mineral: graphite.

The use of graphite came into discovery in 1564 when a large deposit was found in
Borrowdale, England. Discoverers found that it left a dark mark, making it ideal for writing.
However, graphite was also soft and brittle so early users wrapped graphite with string to
keep it together. Later, people sawed this graphite into thin rods and sandwiched them
between pieces of wood to make the first crude lead pencil.
 Did you know: The word graphite stems from the Ancient Greek word graphein,
meaning to write/draw.

It wasnt until 1795 when a French chemist and fighter in Napoleons army, Nicholas
Jacques Cont, discovered a new process for making graphite pencil leads he added clay.
He found that mixing powdered graphite and clay in water formed a texture that made the
graphite harder, while also giving it shape and improving adhesion to the writing surface.
Later on, this also allowed manufacturers to control the hardness or lightness of the mark left
on paper.

b) How The Pencil is Made ??

Once the graphite and clay have been processed to remove any impurities, a machine
shapes the mixture into a block that looks like a large square cake. Depending on the
manufacturer this is either baked in a kiln to remove the moisture; or a machine is used to
squeeze out all the water.

The mixture is then ground into another fine powder and water is blended in to make a
soft paste. The paste is then pushed through a metal tube and comes out in the shape of thin
rods, shaped like spaghetti-like strands of lead that are cut into pencil-length pieces and
dried. They are then soaked in an oil or wax to add smoothness.

c) What About the Outer Casing?

Pencils are most often made from wood, with one tree able to produce about 2,500
pencils. The most common woods used for pencils are Incense-cedar and Basswood. Once
the tree is harvested its sawn into pencil stock, which looks like a block thats slightly
longer than the length of a pencil, before a factory turns them into slats.
 These slats are then sent to the pencil factory where they are sent to the Grooving
department. Here the writing core is sandwiched between two layers of wood panels. The two
panels are then glued together and set to dry.

Once dry they are transferred to a Shaper, where they are trimmed to their correct
length and cut into its pencil shape: round, triangular or hexagonal.

The pencil is then given a polish through a machine where it receives layers of
lacquer, sometimes up to ten, depending on the desired colour. Optionally, each pencil has a
shoulder cut on one end to allow for the ferrule to be secured onto the wood, which holds the
eraser.

Manufacturers will usually also engrave the pencil with their brand name, number
and/or a design, which takes place in the Finishing department. And voila, the pencils are
then ready to be sharpened and used!

Did you know: An enterprising Hyman Lipman attached a rubber eraser to a pencil in
1858 and patented it. Prior to that, bread was used to remove graphite marks. Mr Lipman is
the reason why we celebrate Pencil Day on March 30 each year!