What is the order of pencil hardness?

The hardest is a 9H, followed by 8H, 7H, 6H, 5H, 4H, 3H, 2H, and H. F is the middle of the hardness scale; then comes HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B, and 9B, which is the softest.

What is a number 1 pencil?

Lead pencils are graded on a scale from No. 1 to No. 4 based on how much graphite is inside the core. The #1 pencils are the softest, while the #4 pencils are the hardest.

What hardness of pencil is best for sketching?

The best pencils for drawing and sketching are a HB, 2B, 6B and 9B.

What is a #2 pencil?

Pencils above number two are filled with harder graphite and tend to have lighter markings and are frequently used in draughting pencils, often used by architects and designers. A number two pencil on the numeric scale is roughly equivalent to an HB pencil on the international scale.

What is 4B pencil used for?

A “4B” pencil for example can produce lighter marks by reducing pressure, but is also capable of producing darker marks with additional pressure. Take your pencil drawings to the next level.

Is HB pencil dark?

Historically, pencil makers also use combinations of letters to tell us about the graphite — a pencil marked “HB” is hard and black, a pencil marked “HH” is very hard, and a pencil marked “BBB” is really, really black!

What is a #4 pencil?

(The “H” stands for “hard”.) “B” pencils feature softer graphite. (The “B” stands for “black”.) The number found in front of the letter reveals just how soft or hard the pencil is. In other words, a “4H” pencil is harder than a “2H” pencil while a “4B” pencil is softer than a “2B” pencil.

What’s the difference between a #1 and #2 pencil?

“What’s the difference between a #1 and a #2 pencil?” Hardness. A #2 pencil is the US designation for an HB pencil, which is a medium-grade pencil. A #1 pencil is softer, so it leaves a darker line, but it wears down faster.

What hardness is a #2 pencil?

Generally, a #2 pencil is about the equivalent of an HB pencil. According to this system, pencils are graded on a continuum for “H” (hardness) and “B” (blackness), with a number to say how hard or how black it is. The more H’s you have, the harder the lead and the lighter the lines.

What is an HB pencil?

The degree of hardness of a pencil is printed on the pencil. These pencils are soft. H stands for “hard”. HB stands for “hard black”, which means “medium hard”. F stands for “firm”.