Pencils Toison d’Or assorted, 8B-2H

These classic, wood-cased pencils from Toison d’Or are visually similar to the lead holder of the same name (with item number 70667), which we have carried for years. We offer them in a metal case with twelve different gradations: 2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B, 5B, 6B, 7B and 8B. (Incidentally, in addition to the different applications of the gradations - harder for writing and preliminary sketching, softer for shading - the pencils are also suitable for Mikado, thanks to the name.)
The gradations are created by pressing the graphite and clay in different proportions and firing them for different lengths of time: The higher the graphite content, the softer the lead will be, and the more clay it contains and the longer it is fired, the harder it will be. Two scales have become established for designating the degrees of hardness or gradations: The European scale from H to B was introduced by Koh-i-Noor. It is said to be derived from the name Hardtmuth (H - for hard mines) and the company's headquarters in Budweis (B - for soft mines); grade F goes back to Hardtmuth's first name, Franz. This grade is only slightly harder than HB and therefore rather rare. In English, the degree of hardness is indicated with the same abbreviations, but they stand for different terms: H (hard), HB (hard-black), F (firm) and B (black). In both scales, the B and H variants are additionally differentiated by digits from 2 to 9 (the higher the digit, the softer or harder the lead).

• The medium-hard pencils (2H, HB/F, B and2B) are all-rounders and are suitable for sketching and writing.

• More hard pencils (3H-6H) are good for preliminary drawings and sketches, because the lines are very precise and very bright. Also suitable for light shadows or shading.

• Soft pencils (3B-8B) with stronger material application are mostly used to flesh out preliminary drawings and for very dark hatching. They need to be re-sharpened very often because they are so soft and the tip rounds off quickly and then draws broad, imprecise lines.

The history of the renowned pencil manufacturer Koh-i-Noor dates back to the 18th century. Throughout the world, Koh-i-Noor became known through the innovative invention of Joseph Hardtmuth, who in 1792 developed a novel method for pressing and baking pencil leads - mines did not have to be cut from the solid stone any longer. This innovative ability has been preserved at Koh-i-Noor to this day.

”A pencil – if you should produce it from scratch! Imagine humanity is gone, and you have to make a pencil yourself – it’s magic!“ (Arno Schmidt)

The history of the modern pencil begins with the discovery of the first English graphite mines in the 17th century. However, with success came a problem: The pencil leads were cut from massive material, and the resulting pieces were a luxury. That changed when the Frenchman Nicolas Jacques Conté and the Austrian Josef Hardtmuth developed a ceramic process to produce pencil leads. At the end of the 18th century, they began to mix graphite dust with clay and fired the leads in an oven, with the amount of clay and length of time in the oven determining the hardness of the lead. The advantages of this mixture made history: With the high level of stability, it became possible to write with a vertical tip, with satisfying smear resistance, that was relatively impervious to fading. And a welcome opportunity for the writer emerged: upon sober reconsideration, one could erase what one had written.