The Pencil

THE PENCIL

The pencil is an everyday tool. Some of its uses are for writing school papers, for

completing schoolwork, and for drawing. There are many other uses for the pencil.

In 1564, N.J. Conte invented the pencil. He did so after another family tried but

failed.

There are ten steps that you need to go through to make a pencil. Incense-cedar

logs are cut into pencil blocks, and the pencil blocks are cut into pencil slats. Pencil slats

are treated with wax and stain, and then a machine cuts grooves to accept the writing core. The writing cores are then placed into the grooves.

The next step is another grooved slat is glued into the first slat to make a sandwich, and the sandwich is made into pencil shapes by a machine. After that, the pencils are cut from the sandwich and are sanded smooth, and each pencil is painted. The last step is that a ferrule and eraser are crimped into place on each pencil. A ferrule is the metal ring around the eraser that holds it in place.

Pencils were invented because most lead wasn't being used. Today, lead pencils

contain no lead. Instead of lead, they use a mixture of clay and graphite.

In 1821, Charles Dunbar discovered a graphite deposit in New England. It was certified as far superior to any graphite that was found before in the United States.

The center of a pencil is called the core. Today, the writing cores are made of graphite and clay. Pencil makers can adjust the hardness of the writing core by varying the ratio of graphite to clay.

The hardness of the core is usually marked on the outside of a pencil. It's usually a No.2 or No. 3. The higher the number is, the harder the core of the pencil will be.

There are also different markings you will see on a pencil. There might me an H or a B or an F. The H means that it is a hard pencil. The B tells you how black the mark will be when you write on paper. The F means that you can sharpen the pencil to a fine point.

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