For centuries it has been the faithful recorder of our thoughts and artistic abilities. With it men have created masterpieces of literature, children have transferred their imaginations to paper and artists have drawn superb pictures. Yet, throughout all of this, the humble work-horse behind it all has gone unrecognised. Who gives a thought to the pencil? Well, it’s about time this injustice was corrected. So, lets take a closer look at our trusty servant – the pencil.
The word pencil is derived from the Latin pencillus, meaning ‘painters’ brush.’ The earliest pencils were, in fact, fine brushes that hardly resemble our modern version. When graphite was discovered in Bavaria, however, the fine hairs of the brush were replaced with this new find and encased in wood. Graphite was originally known as plumbago – acting like lead –and up to this day people still believe that pencils contain lead, which is not the case.
The type of graphite used today wasn’t discovered until 1564. This solid, high purity graphite gave a far better result than that previously used. This graphite was initially held in the hand without any covering, The mess it made of the writer’s hand, however, became a major hassle and soon efforts were made to overcome this problem. The graphite was wrapped in a waxy material by some, enclosed in a metal tube by others and wrapped with cord or string-like material by still others. A wood encased graphite rod pencil wasn’t manufactured until 1660. This was further refined in the late 1700s when a method of grinding graphite with clay to produce a much finer, more consistent and smoother pencil was found. Thus, the modern pencil was developed into a form which has remained substantially unchanged for 300 years.
How is a pencil made? It all starts with the grinding of graphite and clay into a stiff, doughy consistency. This is then extruded through a small hole in a tungsten carbide die. The finished graphite is then cut into about 7 inch lengths. These individual ‘leads’ are then dried and fired in a kiln and then impregnated with a lubricant to make them smoother for writing. The gradient of the pencil is dependant on the amount of clay initially added to the mixture.
The wood used to encase the graphite must be soft enough for sharpening, yet stable enough that it will not bend. Red cedar is the most popular timber chosen for this purpose. The timber is first milled into slats about seven inches long, by two inches thick. Next, six half round grooves are machined along one side to accept the graphite leads. Then two such grooves are glued together with the lead in between them. After the glue has cured, the pencil is cut to shape by a special machine. Painting follows, and, finally, the name, identity and grade of the pencil are printed on the side. In all, 125 different operations have gone into the making of each pencil.
So, next time you utilise the humble pencil, take a moment to appreciate where it’s come from and where you’d be if you didn’t have it as your faithful transmitting device.
