Graphite pencils Artist Color

Graphite pencils can be distinguished in different degrees of hardness. Roughly these can be classified by letters: B stands for "black". These pencils are soft. H stands for "hard" and HB stands for "hard black", which means "medium hard". The numbers in front of the letters make an even more precise statement about the degree of hardness. The higher the number, the harder, softer or more black the pencil is.