Pencil Making

What is a Pencil Made Out Of? (Raw Materials)

A pencil is primarily made out of wood and graphite. The graphite is ground down and mixed
with powdered clay and water to make a thick paste. This paste is then fired in a kiln. The result
is a strong lead core that's difficult to break and extremely smooth for writing on paper.

Rubber and aluminum are also part of a pencil's anatomy. The rubber is used to make the
erasers, while the aluminum creates the ferrules that hold the erasers in place. You wouldn't be
able to fix your writing mistakes if it weren't for these two pieces!

What Wood Do Pencils Use?

Cedar wood is commonly used to make pencils. The best trees are around 14-years-old since
they're mature enough to be cut down. 1 tree can make up to 300,000 pencils.

Caring for cedar trees is extremely important, but unfortunately, many are in danger of
extinction due to over-harvesting, habitat loss, and climate change. We should do everything
we can to care for the environment, so trees can grow nice and strong into the future.

How is a Pencil Made?

Pencil manufacturing is done at factories that are able to work with a large quantity of wood,
graphite, and clay. These materials are put on an assembly line and made into pencils with the
help of machinery like mechanical saws, lacquer sprayers, and giant kilns.

Here is how a pencil is made:

1. Sawmills pre-cut wood into squares that are uniform in size. These wood slats are then
shipped to a pencil factory.
2. Each wood square is treated with a wax and stain. Grooves are also cut along the edges,
which will eventually hold the graphite in place.
3. The grooves are filled with strong glue.
4. Graphite is mixed with clay, and the entire mixture is baked in an oven at 1500°F.
5. The graphite is put inside the wood slat with the glue and another piece of wood is
stacked on top, creating a graphite sandwich.
6. The wood slats are squeezed together by a mechanized plunger.
7. A mechanical table saw is used to cut individual pencils from the graphite sandwich.
8. The pencils are sprayed with lacquer, giving them their sheen and color.
9. The eraser is added to the top of each pencil.
10. The pencil barrels are decorated with any necessary images or text.
11. The pencils are packaged and ready for shipment.
Step One: Cut the Wood

The wood for a pencil needs to be soft enough to sharpen, but not so soft that it will bend. To
achieve this, the wood is pre-cut at sawmills into slats called "pencil stock" or "pencil squares."
Each slat is then placed in a dry kiln before it's shipped to the factory. This gives the wood a
uniform size and moisture content, ultimately making the pencil assembly easier later.

Step Two: Create Grooves in the Wood

Once the factories receive the wood stock, they put it on an assembly line for production. The
first stage is treating the squares with a wax and stain. The squares then pass under a giant
cutting wheel that carves grooves along the edges. These grooves will eventually hold the
graphite in place.

Step Three: Fill the Grooves With Glue

The grooves are filled with a special elastic glue that acts as a cushion for the graphite. Without
this glue, the graphite has the potential to break before the pencil is finished.

Step Four: Bake the Graphite

Now it's time to make the graphite. The graphite is mixed with clay and the entire mixture is
baked in an oven at about 1500°F.

Step Five: Make a Graphite Sandwich

An automated arm puts the graphite into the wood slat with the glue, flips that wood slat over,
and then stacks another piece of wood on top. Think of this creation as a graphite sandwich!

Step Six: Squeeze the Sandwich

A mechanized plunger squeezes the "sandwich" together with over 2,000 pounds of pressure.
The wood slats are compressed, and the glue has time to dry.

Step Seven: Cut the Sandwich Into Pencils

The glue takes about an hour to dry. After that, the "sandwiches" are ready to be sliced into
pencils. A fast-spinning cutter is used to shape the pencils into a hexagonal design. From there,
the pencils are cut out of the sandwich into individual pieces. Any pencils with defects are
discarded.
Step Eight: Take a Lacquer Shower

The pencils go under a shower head that sprays them with lacquer. Each pencil is coated with 4
to 10 coats of lacquer, depending on the desired quality, sheen, and color.

Step Nine: Add the Eraser

At this stage, the metal ferrule and rubber eraser are added to the top. The pencils are almost
ready for writing!

Step Ten: Print With Image or Text

Most pencils have an image or text printed on the barrel, whether it's the "HB" or "2" used for
grading graphite, the name of the company that made the pencils, or some other fun design or
message. This customization is done using screen printing, engraving, or foil stamping.

Step Eleven: Packaging

The final result is beautiful pencils ready for sharpening! All of the pencils made by the factory
are packaged for shipment. You will then buy these pencils and use them at home, school,
work, and everywhere in between.
Demand and Supply Schedule for Pencils

Demand and Supply Curve (Equilibrium Price)

Equilibrium

Price
Advertisement