Pencil

Pencils create marks via physical abrasion, leaving behind a trail of solid core material that adheres to a sheet of paper or other surface. Most pencil cores are made of graphite mixed with a clay binder, leaving grey or black marks that can be easily erased. Graphite pencils are used for both writing and drawing, and the result is durable, although writing can usually be removed with an eraser. Pencil was a very important invention, because without it, we couldn't write. They were used extensively by the ancient Egyptians and Romans. The word //pencil// comes from the Old French word //pincel//, a small paintbrush, ultimately deriving from the Latin word //penicillus// a "little tail". Many pencils across the world, and almost all in Europe, are graded on the European system using a continuum from “H” (for hardness) to “B” (for blackness), as well as “F” (for fine point). The standard writing pencil is graded **HB**. This system might have been developed in the early 20th century by Brookman, an English pencil maker. A grading chart ranging from 9B to 9H