No 2 and HB are both lead hardness grade scale measurements. There's no standardised definition of No 2 or of HB but they are both the same thing – the ordinary everyday writing grade. Why are wooden pencils called #2 and mechanical pencils are called HB? History. Industry non-standardisation.

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However, even those mechanical pencils that claim to use No. 2 arrive in those very thin, easily breakable cylinder shapes. The never-dull, constantly sharp fine point that makes mechanical pencils so appealing, also make mechanical pencils more prone to breaking.

Pen+Gear #2 Mechanical Pencils, Black Lead, 5 Pack>

This is because pencils are composed of two grooved pieces of cedar with a length of graphite sandwiched between them. Most #2 pencils are hexagonal.

The lead in the pencil is.

This is because pencils are composed of two grooved pieces of cedar with a length of graphite sandwiched between them. Most #2 pencils are hexagonal.

Shooter you're gonna take your mechanical pencil. And you're gonna push down the top okay and hold it there you're gonna push that black contraption. Back so it opens up the prongs. Put in the staple.

Typical. A standard, hexagonal, "#2 pencil" is cut to a hexagonal height of 6 mm (1⁄4 in), but the outer diameter is slightly larger (about 7 mm or 9⁄32 in) A standard, "#2", hexagonal pencil is 19 cm (7.5 in) long.

Another way of sharpening these pencils. I'll just replace the cap. Press the button at the back and just bring the lead to maybe about three quarters of an inch in length.

"No. 2 was the one that was a happy medium between being too hard and being too soft." said Petroski. That number two rating is based on a scale for hardness: 1, 2, 3, or 4. That scale was created by American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau when he was working at his family's pencil factory.