User:Kimsuzu/Pencil: Grading and classification
As of 2009, a set of pencils ranging from a very soft, black-marking pencil to a very hard, light-marking pencil usually ranges from softest to hardest as follows:
| Tone and grade designations | Character | Application examples | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | USA | RUS | ||
| 9B | – | – | extreme soft, black |
for artistic purposes:
|
| 8B | – | – | ||
| 7B | – | – | ||
| 6B | – | – | ||
| 5B | – | – | ||
| 4B | – | – | ||
| 3B | – | – | soft |
|
| 2B | – | 2М | ||
| B | #1 | M | ||
| HB | #2 | TM | medium |
|
| F | #2½* | – | ||
| H | #3 | T | hard |
|
| 2H | #4 | 2T | ||
| 3H | – | – | very hard |
|
| 4H | – | – | ||
| 5H | – | – | ||
| 6H | – | – | extreme hard, light grey |
for special purposes: |
| 7H | – | – | ||
| 8H | – | – | ||
| 9H | – | – | ||
| *Also seen as 24/8, 2.5, 25/10 | ||||