Artist Sketching Pencils & Drawing Pencil Sets

Sketching and drawing pencil sets containing a selection of pencils in different lead grades. Choose from major brands which include the British made Derwent pencils, Daler Rowney Sketching Pencils and Cretacolor Monolith Solid Graphite pencils.

Although there is no specific industrial standard, the grade shown on the pencil can be used as an indication of the lead’s blackness or hardness, and it will differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. The letter ‘B’ stands for Black and the letter ‘H’ for Hard.

Pencil ‘lead’ is made from graphite combined with a clay binder. The standard lead grade for a writing pencil is HB. As the ratio of graphite to binder is increased, the lead core becomes softer and the pencil mark blacker. The next softest grade to HB is B and then subsequently 2B, 3B, 4B etc. The lead becomes harder as the content of clay is increased and the pencil mark is lighter. The next hardest pencil to HB is H, progressing to 2H, 3H etc.

Graphite Pencils

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