For example, you might choose soft, dark pencils where you want heavy, smudgy shading, and fine, light ones for outlines or brighter parts of the drawing. Understanding the scale will help you to select your pencil with care. Is The HB Scale Used In The US? Here is a table showing how all of the American pencil grades correspond to the international HB grading scale. Grading System In our pencil grade explainer article, we dove deeply into how to determine the relative darkness of a pencil based on its grading — that little mark on the side like, “HB” or “#2”. While you can learn about this topic for some time, researching deeply into the history of pencil hardness scales and so forth, the end result isn’t too complex. We’d summarize it as the following:

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The HB markings are commonly used outside the US, but most of the US uses a numbering system for pencils instead. As a rough guide, an HB is usually a #2 in the US, but there is no fixed guideline that stipulates this because the industry standards are vague. When thinking of different pencils, at first, we think about the number 2 pencil. But do you know what the number 2 pencil means? Like the number 1 pencil, the number 2 pencil is expressed in a separate letter, and that is HB. Pencils are a daily necessity for us. It is used for both writing or drawing. However, if you notice a little, you will see that different types of pencils are used for different types of work. There are several types of pencils, but people use some specific pencils worldwide, those are number 1, number 2, number 3, and number 4 pencils. When most people think pencils, the No. 2 pencil is the first thing that comes to mind. But what does the “2” on a No. 2 pencil actually mean? And what do all of the “B’s,” “H’s” and “HB’s” being thrown around mean, for that matter? Well, it all has to do with the HB graphite grading scale used to classify the pencil’s graphite core. How does it work, you ask? Let’s take a look.Other pencil companies, like Aspara, make drawing pencils that get quite dark, but in our testing they aren’t quite as dark as the ones listed above. Also, many of these pencils have gotten to be hard to find so were didn’t include them on this list some of the excellent, and very dark, but also very rare pencils include: Generally, an HB grade about the middle of the scale is considered to be equivalent to a #2 pencil using the U.S. numbering system. We recommend Pilot Neox as the best all-purpose leads. They're smooth and dark, with a lubricated feel that makes for an effortless writing and sketching experience. They come in a wide range of sizes and hardness grades. If you cannot get HB pencils and you want something that’s somewhere in the middle, a B or an F should work reasonably well. A 2B is starting to get quite soft and may smudge too easily, while the early Hs may be too faint. On the whole, hard is a little better than soft for things like writing documents, and may remain readable for longer.

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Key difference: Both, the HB and No. 2 pencil, are the same type of pencils. The term HB is widely used in England, whereas the term ‘No. 2’ is widely used in America. As you can see, it makes a big difference what number and letter you choose, so make sure you select with care when you decide which pencil you need. Bear in mind that the softer the core (the higher the B number), the more the pencil will smudge. Hard pencils do not smudge easily. Are HB Pencils The Best? Make sure to get leads that are the right size for your pencil. 0.5 mm leads will fall right through a 0.7 mm pencil, and 0.7 mm leads will jam a 0.5 mm pencil. Pencil manufacturers make a variety of pencils, the No. 1 pencil being one of them. However, many do not understand what kind of pencil number 1 is. We’re trying to make it easy for them.Pencils are commonly graded in two scales: one that uses Hs and Bs and another that uses single digit numbers (mostly 1, 2 and 3) A pencil’s location on the HB graphite grading scale depends on the hardness of its graphite core. The hardness of the graphite core is often marked on the pencil — look for a number (such as “2” “2-1/2” or “3”) — and the higher the number, the harder the writing core and the lighter the mark left on the paper. As the pencil core becomes softer (through the use of lower proportions of clay) it leaves a darker mark as it deposits more graphite material on the paper. Softer pencils will dull faster than harder leads and require more frequent sharpening. Keep collections to yourself or inspire other shoppers! Keep in mind that anyone can view public collections - they may also appear in recommendations and other places. Have you ever looked at the two letters HB inscribed on your pencil and wondered, what is HB pencil? These letters are seen everywhere, across various brands, so what do they mean? Drawing pencils are graded with letters and numbers according to their hardness and relative darkness. They become softer and darker than the hardest and lightest 6B from H6. HB is very medium. These are often used in mechanical drafts and then in regular drawings.