A Pencil is a tool used for writing or drawing. It has a thin round dowel shape with a sharpened end to expose the core of graphite or charcoal pigmented clay. Mechanical pencils have a plastic shell that holds a stick of graphite. This stick can be pushed out as it is used and is replaceable, thus mechanical pencils are more economic and cost efficient. The word "pencil" derives from the Latin word "pencillus", meaning tail or little brush.http://www.induspencil.com/history1.html

Pencil leads contains no lead, but instead is made of graphite and clay. The graphite to clay ratio determines the hardness of the lead and its color. The more clay used the harder and lighter it turns out.http://www.pencils.com/unleaded-pencil

In the 16th century, a large amount of graphite was discovered near Borrowdale, England. http://www.cumbria-industries.org.uk/wad.htm The local people soon found it useful for marking sheep.http://www.induspencil.com/history1.html Graphite was also used to line cannonball molds and was very expensive. This was the first and only deposit of pure graphite ever found and because of its location, England had the advantage when it came to pencil production.http://www.induspencil.com/history1.html

Originally, graphite sticks were supported by sheep skin; the Italians were the first to encase graphite in a wooden shell.http://www.induspencil.com/history1.html The first mass-produced pencils were made in 1662, in Nuremberg, Germany.http://www.pencils.com/pencil-history In 1729, Benjamin Franklin advertised the very first American made pencil in his paper The Pennsylvania Gazette.http://www.induspencil.com/history1.html

On March 30, 1858, a man named Hymen Lipman patented his idea of attaching the first eraser to a pencil.http://www.pencils.com/hymen-lipman-pencil-patent He sold his patent for $100,000 to Joseph Reckendorfer in 1862. When Faber started to use erasers on their pencils, Reckendorfer sued them for infringement; The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Reckendorfer and declared the patent invalid. http://www.induspencil.com/history2.html

Pencils have been painted yellow ever since the 1890s. American pencil makers wanted to show off the high quality of their products according to one saying. But Henry Petroski indicates in his book that the European producer Koh-I-Noor was the first to paint one of their pencils yellow.http://www.pratt.duke.edu/node/1583http://www.pencils.com/why-are-pencils-yellow