A Pencil is a writing instrument or drawing instrument consisting of a thin stick of pigment (usually graphite, but can also be coloured pigment or charcoal) and clay, usually encased in a thin wood cylinder though paper and plastic sheaths are also used.
Raw Material of Pencil
The most important ingredient in a pencil is the graphite, which most people continue to call lead. The method of combining graphite with clay is still used, and wax or other chemicals are sometimes added as well. Virtually all graphite used today is a manufactured mixture of natural graphite and chemicals.
The wood used to manufacture pencils must be able to withstand repeated sharpening and cut easily without splintering. Most pencils are made from cedar (specifically, California cedar), the choice wood for many years. Cedar has a pleasant odor, does not warp or lose its shape, and is readily available.
Some pencils have erasers, which are held on with a ferrule, a metal case that is either glued or held on with metal prongs. The erasers themselves consist of pumice and rubber.
Pencil Types
According to the material used to make them
- Graphite Pencils
- Charcoal Pencils
- Crayon Pencils
- Grease Pencils
- Carpenter's Pencils
- Copying Pencils
- Col-Erase.
- Non-Reproducing Pencils
- Stenographer's Pencils
- Golf Pencils
- Triangular
- Hexagonal
- Round
- Quadrachromic
- Penny Pencil
- Mechanical Pencils
- Hard Pencils
- Soft Pencils
- Natraj Pencils Ltd.
- Faber Castel Ltd.
- Kores India Ltd.
- Camlin Ltd
- Omega