Drawing Pencils & Leads

Technology Education Department
Introduction to Technical Drawing

DRAWING PENCILS & LEADS

Wooden "Drawing" pencils are specially made to allow for the drawing of lines at different thicknesses or darknesses. The "HARDNESS" or "SOFTNESS" of the lead determines the darkness or thickness of the line. Hard leads provide "light" or "thin" lines. Soft leads provide "dark" or "thick" lines. "Lead Holders" are an improvement over wooden pencils as the different leads can be used and finer points can be obtained. Standard leads are 2 mm in diameter. Fine line leads are available in .3, .5, .7 and .9 mm diameters.

6B - Very soft for shading and rendering of pictorial views
B - Soft for drawing thick "border" lines on title blocks and drawing sheets
HB - Medium thick lines for freehand sketching
F - Medium thick lines for freehand sketching
H - Medium thick lines for freehand sketching or lettering or drawing visible edges and outlines of surfaces
2H - Hard thin lines for drawing hidden lines to show hidden surfaces or interior details
4H - Hard thinner lines for drawing center lines and locating centers of circle and arcs or the axis of a cylinder
6H - Hard very thin lines for drawing construction or layout lines and guide lines for lettering.