Best graphite pencils: Staedtler Pencil Mars Lumograph 12-Piece Set - See at Amazon Staedtler comes with all the graphite pencils you need to draw like a pro. Best charcoal: ...

The Graphite Pencil was discovered before 1565, when a deposit of graphite was discovered near Grey Knotts of Seathwaite in Cumbria, England. The locals being traditional farmers found that it was ...

Conté's innovation led to decades of experimentation. German pencil-makers tried out different proportions of clay and graphite to achieve softer and harder pencils that made darker or lighter marks.

1. There is no risk of lead poisoning if you stab yourself (or someone else) with a pencil because it contains no lead — just a mixture of clay and graphite. Still, pencil wounds carry a risk of ...

In all likelihood, if you rummaged through any given school desk in the U.S., the first pencil you'd encounter would be a number two pencil. Here's why. The United States tends to do its own thing ...