The Pencil: A Simple Tool with a Long History

(1) Few objects seem as ordinary as the pencil, yet its history is surprisingly rich. The story begins in the sixteenth century, when people in the Borrowdale area of northern England found a large deposit of a black, shiny mineral. Local farmers soon discovered that it left dark marks on almost any surface, and they used it to mark their sheep.

(2) The mineral was graphite, a form of carbon. At the time, however, many people believed it was a kind of lead, and the name stuck. Even today, we speak of the "lead" of a pencil, although pencils have never contained any lead at all. Because pure graphite is soft and breaks easily, early users wrapped the sticks in string or sheepskin to keep their fingers clean. Later, craftsmen began to place the graphite inside wooden holders, which gave the pencil its familiar shape.

(3) For many years, England controlled the best supply of graphite, and other countries found it hard to obtain. In the 1790s, when France was at war with England, the French could no longer import English pencils. A French scientist and inventor, Nicolas-Jacques Conté, found a solution. He mixed powdered graphite with clay, shaped the mixture into thin rods, and baked them in an oven.

(4) Conté's method had an important advantage. By changing the amount of clay in the mixture, manufacturers could make pencils that were harder or softer, lighter or darker. Factories still use the same basic process today. Thanks to this invention, a tool that once depended on a single English mine could be made almost anywhere in the world.

(1) Few objects seem as ordinary as the pencil, yet its history is surprisingly rich. The story begins in the sixteenth century, when people in the Borrowdale area of northern England found a large deposit of a black, shiny mineral. Local farmers soon discovered that it left dark marks on almost any surface, and they used it to mark their sheep.

(2) The mineral was graphite, a form of carbon. At the time, however, many people believed it was a kind of lead, and the name stuck. Even today, we speak of the "lead" of a pencil, although pencils have never contained any lead at all. Because pure graphite is soft and breaks easily, early users wrapped the sticks in string or sheepskin to keep their fingers clean. Later, craftsmen began to place the graphite inside wooden holders, which gave the pencil its familiar shape.

(3) For many years, England controlled the best supply of graphite, and other countries found it hard to obtain. In the 1790s, when France was at war with England, the French could no longer import English pencils. A French scientist and inventor, Nicolas-Jacques Conté, found a solution. He mixed powdered graphite with clay, shaped the mixture into thin rods, and baked them in an oven.

(4) Conté's method had an important advantage. By changing the amount of clay in the mixture, manufacturers could make pencils that were harder or softer, lighter or darker. Factories still use the same basic process today. Thanks to this invention, a tool that once depended on a single English mine could be made almost anywhere in the world.

(1) Few objects seem as ordinary as the pencil, yet its history is surprisingly rich. The story begins in the sixteenth century, when people in the Borrowdale area of northern England found a large deposit of a black, shiny mineral. Local farmers soon discovered that it left dark marks on almost any surface, and they used it to mark their sheep.

(2) The mineral was graphite, a form of carbon. At the time, however, many people believed it was a kind of lead, and the name stuck. Even today, we speak of the "lead" of a pencil, although pencils have never contained any lead at all. Because pure graphite is soft and breaks easily, early users wrapped the sticks in string or sheepskin to keep their fingers clean. Later, craftsmen began to place the graphite inside wooden holders, which gave the pencil its familiar shape.

(3) For many years, England controlled the best supply of graphite, and other countries found it hard to obtain. In the 1790s, when France was at war with England, the French could no longer import English pencils. A French scientist and inventor, Nicolas-Jacques Conté, found a solution. He mixed powdered graphite with clay, shaped the mixture into thin rods, and baked them in an oven.

(4) Conté's method had an important advantage. By changing the amount of clay in the mixture, manufacturers could make pencils that were harder or softer, lighter or darker. Factories still use the same basic process today. Thanks to this invention, a tool that once depended on a single English mine could be made almost anywhere in the world.