Slight sanding and up to eight coats of paint are then applied. The last part of the construction is the addition of the metal collar, or ferrule, that holds the eraser in place. In the U.S., hundreds of tons of erasers are produced for the 2.8 billion pencils sold each year. However, in Europe most pencils sold do not have erasers. Different grades, or varying hardness, of lead are accomplished by adding more or less graphite to the mixture.
Extreme care is given to the formulas used to insure uniform repetition of pencil marking qualities.
This means that there could be more than 25 variances in any given line of artists' graphite drawing pencils. A true pencil aficionado would never think of sharpening his slender collection with an electric apparatus. But among devoted pencil persons, perhaps the most popular sharpening device is a small hand-held sharpener. This is said to give the most even point shape and the most control over the amount of sharpening with the least waste. Some artists abhor super sharpness in favor of a slightly blunt point.