Lead Grades and Hardness - what you need to know (2024)

FAQs

Is 0.5 or 0.7 pencil better? ›

With modern leads, 0.5mm is quite strong enough for most people, but more heavy-handed people do sometimes find they snap such thin leads, and 0.7mm or even 0.9mm leads are better for them. Some have cushioned lead, where an internal spring cushions the lead against rough treatment.

9H has the hardest graphite lead. The letter “H” is used to indicate the hardness of a pencil's mark. The letter “B” is used to indicate the blackness of a pencil's mark (a darker mark means a softer lead).

HB are known as medium-dark pencils and are the best choice for writing as they produce medium hard lines, whilst also creating soft marks. 2B pencils are a dark lead as they contain less clay. These are a great choice for all types of drawing.

The 2B pencil has a higher blackness, and the marks drawn are relatively black, while the HB pencil has a lower blackness, and the color of the marks drawn is relatively light, which is very different. ... 2B pencil is darker in color and lower in hardness.

Both 0,5 and 0,7 mm are perfect for technical drawing. 0.9 MM: If you usually apply much preassure to your mechanical pencil, use a 0,9 mm lead as they are darker and leave less grooves on the paper.

A: Yes, it's equivalent to a #2 pencil.

For writing, a 0.5mm lead is versatile and widely used. Sketching often benefits from a slightly thicker lead like 0.7mm for a balance between precision and durability. Technical drawing, which requires clear and precise lines, may call for 0.3mm or 0.2mm lead sizes.

The best pencil lead size for drawing depends on the desired effect and level of detail in your artwork. Thicker leads, such as 2B or 4B, are suitable for bold lines and shading, while finer leads like 2H or HB are ideal for intricate details and precise linework.

The pencils that, generally speaking, erase the best are in the 2B, 3B and 4B grades.

What is a F pencil lead? ›

The F pencil grade means Fine. This pencil is hard which means that it maintains a fine point.

The membrane manufacturers will often specify what the maximum hardness concentration can be, but the industry rule of thumb is that hardness should not exceed 120 to 170 mg/L (7 to 10 grains per gallon).

The three most commonly used are the Brinell test, the Vicker's Diamond test, and the Rockwell test. All three methods involve indentation of the material. The hardness is calculated by measuring the force applied and comparing this to some geometrical aspect of the indentation such as the surface area or depth.

The hardness of a material is measured against the scale by finding the hardest material that the given material can scratch, or the softest material that can scratch the given material. For example, if some material is scratched by apatite but not by fluorite, its hardness on the Mohs scale would be between 4 and 5.

(The "H" stands for "hard".) "B" pencils feature softer graphite. (The "B" stands for "black".) The number found in front of the letter reveals just how soft or hard the pencil is. In other words, a "4H" pencil is harder than a "2H" pencil while a "4B" pencil is softer than a "2B" pencil.

Today, however, most pencils using the HB system are designated by a number such as 2B, 4B or 2H to indicate the degree of hardness. For example, a 4B would be softer than a 2B and a 3H harder than an H.

Pencils that fall into the B grade, on the other hand, make a darker mark because they're softer and don't contain as much filler. Pencils are graded in the following order: 9H, 8H, 7H, 6H, 5H, 4H, 3H, 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B, 9B, 9xxB.

#2-1/2 wood pencil. NOT #2 OR #3. Two and one half hardness. This pencil will write on paper without ripping it, and make marks on wood a hundred times after a #2 is crumbled.