The Pencil

The Pencil

 

Man first knew pencils as graphite sticks wrapped in string. They were later inserted into hollow wooden stick and then finally developed into what we use today. Pencils are essentially tools for writing and drawing consisting of a narrow tube of wood, hollow on the inside to carry a strip of graphite or another solid coloring material and most of the time a small cylindrical eraser attached to one end. The pencil is also shaven down to create a hexagonal shape. Primarily this technique came to be when manufacturers saw that they could make more six sided pencils from the same amount of wood than round pencils. The 6-sides also created a more comfortable grip for the hand, and prevented the instrument from rolling off tables as easily. Unlike pens, pencils create marks by leaving pigment on a page through abrasion, rather that dispersing a line of ink or liquid gel ink that stains the paper. This makes a pencil be more convenient and effective when trying to create marks that might want to be removable, or for sketching.

 

To our society, pencils are the fundamental form of communication through drawing, writing, and used in almost every aspect of work and daily life to record things. The pencil is what allows humans to capture, share and learn. The solid pigment inside the protective wooden casing prevents the graphite from being broken or leaving marks on the user’s hand during use. The material graphite is solid, which allow for a dark mark that isn’t too smudgy, yet hard enough so it won’t break or spill. Mistakes are easily fixable especially when having an eraser attached at the top. Its slim and hexagonal figure indicates that we are a society that prefers efficiency. Being able to transport this material is crucial. The pencil is known to hold an amount of graphite capable of drawing a line up to 35 miles long, and known to prevent from fading for roughly 50-100 years.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *