The Harrison times., 1914-07-11
PENCILS OF TODAY
Made Of Graphite and Hardly a
Century Old.
Originally Of Lead and Still SO Called
Popularity, They Are Manufactured
by Maehlnery-Hard to Find
Good Wood.

There are people surviving even to-
day who can remember when the
lead pencil as we know 1t today was
not Like friction matches and pins,
lead pencils have become such an
everyday necessity, 80 cheap and In
such constant requsitlon that little
thought is given to them, to their ori'
gin or the process Of manufacture
II was not until we'll near the mid
die OF the nineteenth century that
quill pens were succeeded by steel
pens, and 1t was In comparatively re-
cent times that the lead pencil Of to-
day, consisting Of a vein Of graphite
inclosed within strips Of wood, was
invented, says the Cleveland Plain
Dealer. The nineteenth century was
we'll under way when the only lead
pencils known we're, in fact, pencils Of
lead literally what the name implied.
They took various forms simply frag'
ments Of the common mineral lead,
exactly such lead as we see today In
the form Of lead pipes and sheet lead,
cut, rolled, or pounded into strips or
pencils.
II anyone will take a piece Of ordi'
nary lead, say from lead pipe, with
a knife scrape or cut away the little
corrosion on the outer surface, and
make rounded point so that It VIII
run smoothly he will find that 1t serves
very well as a pencil, The mark
which It makes Is lighter in color than
that made by the graphite pencil, but
It Is perfectly legible and It Is not
30 easily erased
In the district schools IN the early
part Of the nineteenth century II was
the custom Of pupils to have these
homemade lead pencils, as we have
indicated that were merely sticks or
strips OF lead sharpened to a point
and they were well nigh indostructi'
BILE, for much use made little impress
sion upon the point
The first graphite pencils were
crude. They consisted simply OF strips
Of naked graphite and they were un.
couth, inconveniently modelled and un'
popular because they soIled the hands
Finally the lead pencil consisting OF
the graphite inclosed In wood came
into being, and at first It was crude
Now, graphite IL not lead, although
II IL n mineral, but from the fact,
probably, that It succeeded the real
lead pencil and made clear black
mark It was styled black lead, by
which name II continues to pass to-
day
Graphite In mined In various parts
OF the world, In parts OF Scandinavia,
Germany, Russia, Austria, Wales and
In several parts Of the United States
It has been mined commercially on
the north side Of Mount Monadnock In
New Hampshire, but that waB many
years ago,
The graphite IN It comes from the
mines Is crude, and one might NJ well
attempt TO trace line with piece OF
hard coal as with piece Of rough
graphite. II must first bo refined, and
refining is accomplished by grinding
IT, transforming II into powder wash
Ing II and preelpitatIng II IN wator un'
I'll the pure graphite ID left In the form
Of resduum This lB placed In
mods and kiln dried, resulting In tho
graphite as we have It In different
kinds Of pencils,
As important ~ the graphite ls tho
wood from which tho pencils arc made,
This wood Ia clear The wood for tho
manufacture OF lead pencils should be
Btraightgrained, and must be free
from knots great deal Of the wood
for lead pencils made In this country
comes from Florida, and considerable
Of II comes from other parts OF tho
south,
It Ia known as red cedar although II
In not, strictly speaking, cedar, ol'
though belonging to the same family