History of the Pencil - Product Evolution Project

First Wood-Encased pencil invented

Jan 1, 1555

In 1564, an extremely large natural graphite deposit was discovered in Borrowdale, England. The discoverers of this material recognized it as lead because it had similar properties and texture, even though graphite has no lead in it. Graphite is made of carbon and is very brittle. Swiss scientist Conrad Gessner found that graphite left dark marks on paper. He made the first pencil by sawing graphite into elongated pieces that fit into a wooden casing. Source: http://pencils.com/pencil-history/

Hollow wood pencil invented

Jan 1, 1560

In 1560, an Italian couple named Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti developed a technique to make wood-encased graphite pencils. Unlike Gessner's method of placing a nail through the graphite, the Bernacottis' method involved hollowing out a wooden stick and inserting a piece of lead into it. This pencil was more durable and did not leave lead residue on the user's hands. http://pencils.com/pencil-history/

Mechanical Pencil invented

Jan 1, 1791

In 1791, the earliest mechanical pencil was found in the wreckage from the H.M.S. Pandora. In 1822, Sampson Mordan received a patent for a refillable mechanical pencil with a lead propelling mechanism. The mechanism has been improvised since the original invention. Jaws and lead holders have been added to the mechanisms to ease kead feed. There are currently three types of lead feed mechanisms, the clutch, screw, and ratchet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_pencil

Graphite Rods Developed

Jan 1, 1795

sourceIn 1795, French inventor Nicolas Conté developed a method of mixing clay with graphite powder to develop different hardnesses of graphite. The method involved mixing a certain ratio of clay to graphite powder, which was then compressed and fired in a kiln. the semisolid material was then shaped into thin rods and left to dry. This method is still used to manufacture graphite for pencils. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pencil

Pencil Eraser Invented

Mar 30, 1858

On March 30, 1858, Hymen Lipman received a patent for inventing the first pencil eraser. In the past, pencil users had to scratch out unwanted markings created by the pencil or use charcoal or lead tablets to black out pencil marks. Lipman created the rubber eraser, which could be conveniently attached to the back of a pencil or used as an individual unit. The eraser removes graphite markings from paper.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraser