But as soon as you start to use them, they feel completely different from your old pencils
That’s probably because your new pencils have different pencil lead
Yes, that black stuff at the center of your pencil is actually important
And if you want to know which pencil to buy, you first need to understand the graphite hardness scale
What is pencil lead made of?
Lead was used in an ancient Roman tool called a stylus, and pencil lead is a result of the association to that idea
Instead, they are filled with a mineral called graphite, which is completely non-toxic and can be adjusted to fit a range of light and dark values
The residents of the town of Borrowdale found bits of the hard, black mineral around a tree that was ideal for making marks
The modern pencil – a combination of graphite and clay in a wooden casing – was developed by French chemist Nicholas Jacques Conté in 1795
Hard pencils are made from a careful mix of graphite and wax additive
These pencils leave very light marks that can be easily erased, as the hard wax prevents much of the graphite from being left behind on the page
Hard leads are also great for fine details like hair and eyelashes
These pencils maintain their points for long periods of time
However, a disadvantage to hard pencils is that you will be unable to achieve rich shadows and contrast in your work
On the flip side, soft pencils come in darker, more “black” shades
These pencils are soft, which means that they leave a lot of graphite behind
They also need to sharpen these pencils much more frequently than hard pencils and will be used up quickly because of this
Be cautious when using softer lead pencils, as you can easily smudge the results
We recommend placing a sheet of paper between your wrist and your illustration as you work if you decide to use a soft pencil lead
In order to get the variation and contrast shown in an impressive pencil drawing, you’ll need a set of pencils with varying hardness
This will allow you to create lighter or darker marks in your illustrations and get the best results possible
For example, if you are sketching on canvas an H pencil works much better than a pencil with soft lead
The Graphite Hardness Scale
Now that you know the advantages and disadvantages of each type of pencil lead, how do you tell the difference between them?
Fortunately, pencil manufacturers have a widely accepted numerical and alphabet scale that helps identify what kind of mark the pencil will leave behind
A note on quality: the higher the quality of the pencil you purchase, the more true it will be to its assigned hardness or numerical scale
Low-quality pencils tend to contain extra additives or impurities, such as an excess of wax filler or minerals from processing
Moreover, there is no universal formula for pencil lead that is consistent between companies, so a 2B pencil from one brand may be slightly darker or lighter than a 2B pencil from a different brand
The HB scale is what determines whether the pencil lead is “hard” (denoted by an “H”) or “black” (denoted by a “B”)
Harder leads, as stated above, contain more wax and leave lighter marks on the paper
With this logic in mind, “HH” leads would be considered “very hard,” and “BB” leads would be considered “very soft” “HB” pencils are middle-of-the-road as they are both hard and black
So nowadays the HB scale uses a number and a letter, where the number shows the hardness or softness
The full hardness scale ranges from 9H (being the hardest) to 9B (being the softest), with “HB” perfectly in the center
There is one last letter designation that you may come across, which is “F” “F” stands for “fine” lead, which is manufactured specifically so that it maintains a fine point
Most people are familiar with the classic #2 pencil, which is an example of the numerical scale of pencil lead
The #2 pencils are generally equivalent to an HB pencil, which means they are not too hard and not too soft
From there, the numbers increase as the pencil lead becomes harder
The most common numerical value range for pencils includes #2, #2-1/2, and #3
Which pencil lead is the darkest?
Soft pencil lead is darker than hard pencil lead
By looking at the HB scale, one can see that 9B pencils are the darkest, and 9H pencils are the least dark
On the numerical scale, the #1 pencil is the darkest pencil lead
Which pencil lead is the softest?
The softest pencil lead is the 9B pencil
If you are using the numerical scale, the softest pencil lead is the #1 pencil
These pencils are manufactured specifically so that it maintains a fine point
In terms of hardness, the F pencil is slightly harder than an HB pencil
The “H” stands for “Hard” and indicates how hard the pencil lead is
The “B” stands for “Black” and indicates how soft and dark the pencil lead is
In this case the 2B would be softer and darker than a B pencil
An HB pencil sits in the center of the graphite hardness scale and can be considered to be of medium hardness
Which pencil lead is best for writing?
The HB pencils are the best for writing, since they are neither too hard nor too soft
Softer pencils such as B or 2B are not recommended for writing since they are easy to smudge
What pencil is best for sketching?
For sketching you want to use a variety of different pencil leads
The HB pencil is a good option to put down some rough and suggestive lines
Softer pencils such as B, 2B, and 3B can be used to add textures, shadows, and tonal range
And harder pencils such as H, 2H, and 3H are great for adding small lines and details
What mechanical pencil lead is number 2?
The number 2 pencil lead from the numerical scale is equivalent to an HB pencil on the HB scale
But keep in mind, that the hardness accuracy of cheap pencils isn’t very high
What pencil lead is the softest and which is the hardest?
All B pencils are classified as soft lead, while all the H pencils are hard lead
All B pencils are classified as soft lead, while all the H pencils are hard lead
The softest pencil lead is 9B and the hardest pencil lead is 9H
On the numerical scale, the softest pencil lead is #1 and the hardest pencil lead is #4
HB pencils, B pencils, and H pencils are all different forms of graphite pencils labeled with letters and numbers with each letter and number signifying different degrees of hardness or softness
The lead in a graphite pencil comprises graphite and clay as its primary components
These two substances are used by pencil makers in various degrees to determine the texture of a graphite pencil
The more graphite in the pencil, the softer the lead will be and produce darker marks
On the other hand, the more clay in the pencil, the harder the lead will be and produce lighter marks
Graphite pencils are labeled with letters and numbers with each letter and number signifying specific effects
The letters H, F, HB, and B are used to represent the texture of a graphite pencil in the grading structure
H is the hardest of all graphite pencil grades while B is the softest
An HB pencil is used in many different ways in drawing because it writes clearly but does not leave much graphite on paper
Also, it does not leave many smears on paper, unlike an outright B pencil
B pencils represent graphite pencils with a softer core
There are different derivations of the B pencils ranging from 1 to 9
The higher the number on a B pencil, the softer and darker the texture will be
As such, 5B is darker and softer than 2B pencil and 8B is darker and softer than 5B
In its composition, a B-grade pencil has more graphite than clay
The marks made with a B pencil are bolder, darker, and softer
The B-grade pencil ranges from 1 to 9
Therefore, 9B which is the highest in the range, is the darkest as well as the softest graphite pencil
Because of its soft texture, the B pencil smudges easily on a drawing surface
A B pencil is used for creating dark marks
Because it is soft, it leaves more graphite on a drawing surface allowing it to produce dark shades
Working with a B pencil does not require much pressure to produce dark marks
The B-grade pencils are softer in texture and produce darker marks with little pressure from the artist
This makes them the ideal pencils for shading and tonal display
When a B pencil comes with higher numbers such as 8B or 9B, you can use it to blend and smudge even more
The letter “H” in an H pencil stands for hard
It represents the hardest range of the graphite pencil
The composition of H-grade pencil features more clay in the lead which makes it harder, lighter, and able to produce cleaner lines
The H pencil ranges from 1H to 9H
An H pencil contains less graphite, is relatively light, and is formed with break-resistant leads
Visual artists use this pencil grade to create thinner lines, light marks, light sketches on a realistic drawing, or lighter grey marks in dark areas
H pencil releases only a tiny amount of graphite because of the hardness of the core
It is the best pencil to produce the lightest lines
You can make your sketches with an H pencil and then use a softer pencil to create darker marks or shades
An H-grade pencil contains more clay in the lead and is used to create finer but also lighter lines
The lead on H pencils does not easily smudge which makes it the ideal pencil for technical drawing
The higher the number appended on it, the harder pencils they are, and the lighter marks they make
Because of its relatively light output, an H pencil is ideal for making light sketches before you start the actual drawing
The biggest challenge an artist would experience with an H pencil is exerting much pressure to make the line darker when the need arises
Other Graphite Pencil Related Posts
The letter “B” on pencils stands for black or blackness
B pencils are composed of softer lead which allows them to leave more graphite on paper
The B-grade pencils have more graphite than clay contrary to the composition of an H pencil
The B pencil leaves marks that are darker, softer, and bolder
Just like the scaling in the H-grade which shows different degrees of hardness, the scaling on a B pencil shows the blackness of the pencil
The higher the appended number on a B pencil, the darker and softer the lead is
A 9B pencil is the highest in the B grade, but it is also the darkest and softest graphite pencil available
The downside is that the lead on the B pencil easily smudges
The lead in an H pencil is tightly compacted and contains more filler resulting in the H pencils releasing a little amount of graphite when in use
Because of its hard texture, it will take much pressure to produce darker marks or darker values with an H pencil
Stemming from the grading structure, H is the hardest of all graphite pencil grades
H pencils do not require frequent sharpening because of their break-resistant cores
They are ideal for creating fine lines and marking fine points because they have harder pencil cores
Today, graphite pencils are differentiated for different degrees of hardness represented by H, B, HB, and F
It also implies that F pencils sharpen to a much finer point
The different pencil grades are used for varying drawing techniques
While an HB pencil is darker and softer than an H pencil, it is at the same time harder and lighter than a B pencil
So, a drawing made with an HB pencil will be a lighter drawing with less blackness
A B pencil is a good graphite pencil that has more blackness and produces darker marks
Practically, B pencils are used to create features such as dark marks, dark shading, dark lines, dark values, and overall darker features in a drawing
On the other hand, an H pencil contains more clay composite than graphite and therefore is the best pencil for creating fine lines or a fine point
If your drawing requires different types of marks, then an H pencil would come in handy for producing lighter lines and values
The HB pencil, which represents Hard Black, falls between softer B pencils and harder H pencils
The HB pencil is more like in the middle of the scale for pencil drawing
There are 9 variations in the B-grade of pencils which range from B to 9B
B pencils are dark and soft and are used to create darker lines and darker shades
The number found in front of the letter shows how soft the pencil in this range is
That is to say, a 4B pencil is softer and darker than a 2B pencil
Since the highest number on the B-grade pencils is 9, it means that 9B is the softest and darkest graphite pencil and they are great pencils for darkest shades
The graphite grading scale is used to determine the hardness of a pencil’s graphite core
The core of the pencil is the lead inside the pencil which comes in various degrees of hardness
The mixture of graphite and clay determines the hardness or lightness of a pencil
The degrees of combination are represented in numeric scale that allows an artist to select the ideal pencil for a good range of tones
The grading scale used to measure the core of a pencil comes in two ways
The Numerical Graphite Scale –
The numeric graphite scale uses numbers such as 1, 2, 3, or 4 to represent how hard a pencil’s core is
This implies that the higher the number marked on a pencil, the harder the pencil’s writing core is
On the other hand, the lower the number marked on a pencil, the softer and darker the writing core is
When a pencil core is made of lower proportions of clay, it becomes softer and produces darker marks
At this point, it could create heavy lines or a darker mark because it is softer and leaves more graphite on the drawing surface
When in use, pencils with softer graphite cores diminish faster and require sharpening more often
Pencil manufacturers use letters to indicate the various degrees of hardness of the lead in a pencil
The letter “H” is used to indicate a hard pencil
“B” is used to indicate the blackness of a pencil, and “F” indicates that a pencil is firm and sharpens to a fine point
When a pencil is marked HB, it means that it is between two extremes of hard and light on the one hand, and dark and soft on the other hand
Pencils with a harder core are lighter while pencils with a softer core produce darker marks
Final Thoughts on the Difference Among HB, B, and H pencils
They are categorized as graphite pencils, but they fall under different pencil grades and come with different degrees of hardness as well as softness
The drawing techniques of the artist will determine their choice of the best pencil to use for their drawing project
It is pointless owning all types of graphite pencils
Pencils that fall on a close range can produce similar effects
For instance, in many cases, pencils in the same range but with different numbers can have almost the same degree of hardness or blackness
A 4B pencil can produce similar dark shades as a 5B pencil; also, they both require frequent sharpening
In the same vein, a 3H pencil can produce fine lines or detailed work similar to that of a 4H pencil
But, a 2H pencil cannot produce the same dark shades or thicker lead attributed to an 8B pencil
The H pencils can all produce thin lines and fine points, while the B pencils can produce dark shade and thick lines
The HB pencil falls between the H-grade and the B-grade
Understanding their differences and uses could guide you to make the best choice of professional-grade pencils